themi01, it's not about the oil, but the meat and prestige.

Alas, it all came to nothing. No compromise. No reduction in the number of whales killed each year.

Perhaps next year. :(

Why does that not suprise me!

The Japanese got their second preferred option.

The failure seems to me to have been an own goal by the anti-whaling nations. In the compromise, they had an opportunity to get the whaling nations to agree to a reduction in the size of the whale catch, and to include on board observers to verify the counts.

In their inability to negotiate away from their unrealistic zero catch goal, the anti-whaling nations have permitted the whaling nations to continue to set whatever limit they choose.

The IWC’s meeting was a disappointing political failure.