Whaling commission rejects humpback permit for Greenland fishermen

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The International Whaling Commission voted down on Thursday a request by indigenous Greenland fishermen to kill 10 humpback whales a year. The fisherman offered to give up rights to 8 fin whales in return for the humpbacks. Denmark pushed for a vote on the controversial proposal despite efforts by the whaling commission this week to find compromise between pro- and anti- whaling nations and postpone divisive issues. Denmark said its request was supported by a commission report that found stocks of humpback whales in Greenland waters have grown in recent years. But commission officials said the request went beyond subsistence purposes and appeared to involve commercial interests in violation of the commission's 22-year-old moritorium on commercial whaling.