ENVIRONMENT REPORT - International Whaling Commission

By Cynthia Kirk
ENVIRONMENT REPORT -June 21, 2002: International Whaling Commission¹

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

Delegations² from around the world attended a yearly meeting of the International Whaling Commission last
month in Japan. The commission is deeply divided about the issue of whale hunting. Countries including Japan
want to lift the ban on whale hunting ordered in nineteen-eighty-six. Countries including the United States
support the ban.

The whaling commission defeated a proposal to permit limited whale hunting for
native people in the United States and Russia. These native people depend on whale
meat for food.

The commission voted to continue the worldwide ban on whale hunting. Japan has
fought to end the ban on hunting some kinds of whales. Whale hunting is a cultural
tradition in Japan.

Environmental groups are opposed to killing³ whales. But Japan says whale populations have risen sharply⁴ since
the ban was established.

A year after the ban, Japan began hunting hundreds of whales. Japanese officials said these yearly hunts are
necessary in order to study how whales feed and move in the oceans.

Japan is permitted to sell meat collected during these whale hunts. But opponents dispute the value of Japan’s
research. They say Japan is doing research in order to kill whales. They say whales can be studied without killing
them.

Japan says many kinds of whales have increased quickly and are eating too many fish. It says whales are harming
the fishing industry. But American experts at the conference say there is no scientific evidence that whales are
causing a decrease of fish in the oceans. They say decreasing fish populations are caused by people, not whales.

This year, Japan plans to kill seven-hundred whales during hunts in Antarctic waters and the northwestern Pacific
Ocean. The hunt includes one kind of whale that the World Conservation Union considers to be endangered.

The international movement against whale hunting is having an effect in Japan. Some Japanese say they no
longer want to eat whale meat because it costs too much and it is no longer a popular food.

Norway is the only other major whale-hunting nation in the International Whaling Commission. Norway objected
to the organization’s ban on killing whales and has continued to hunt them.

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written by Cynthia Kirk.

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1 commission   

n.委托，授权，委员会，拥金，回扣，委任状

参考例句：

• The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
• The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成，其中包括两名妇女。

2 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。