William Aron, William Burke, and Milton Freeman

In the following viewpoint William Aron, William Burke, and Milton Freeman claim that the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was established to regulate commercial whaling, not ban it. Efforts by nations morally opposed to commercial whaling to impose a ban on whaling violate international law and risk antagonizing whaling nations, the authors maintain. Moreover, they argue, scientific evidence shows that sustainable whaling is possible and indicates that not all whales are in danger of extinction. Aron, former director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, is a professor at the University of Washington. Burke is a professor of law and marine affairs at the University of Washington, and Freeman is professor of anthropology at the University of Alberta.

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