The International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commercial whaling in 1986, except for the subsistence needs of Indigenous people and research. Norway and Iceland formally object to the moratorium and are therefore exempt from IWC regulations. Last month the IWC held its annual meeting, chaired by Cristian Maquieira, in Madeira, Portugal, on June 22-26. The committee met to provide a compromise on whaling regulation. Due to lack of progress within this year's meeting, any decision has been deferred until next year, with prospects of a new Japanese Government (a major whaling nation) in forthcoming elections. Also, the meeting did not come to a decision on Greenland's request to hunt ten humpback whales. The IWC grants the Greenland Inuit permission to hunt whales for subsistence.
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