Japan launched a partial boycott of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting on Tuesday after anti-whaling nations backed protection measures that could tear the polarized organization apart.

Japan, one of the world’s biggest consumers of whale meat, said on Tuesday it had not yet decided whether to quit the International Whaling Commission over new moves to protect marine mammals but was considering all options.

A New Zealand man trying to free a 15-metre (50 foot) humpback whale ensnared in lobster pot ropes is missing and presumed dead after being hit by the whale’s tail, police said yesterday.

Conservation of the world’s whales will be the future guiding principle of the International Whaling Commission after a vote today that creates a Conservation Committee to protect these marine mammals from the many threats that assail them. The proposal w

The rising tide of debate over the world’s fishing practices hit the Senate Commerce Committee Thursday and although there was widespread agreement that overfishing is a global problem, disagreement raged over the state of fishing in U.S. waters.

The Japanese government will tighten its inspections of fish vendors to prevent dolphin and porpoise meat from being illegally sold as whale meat, an official said Thursday.

Japan today threatened to walk out of the International Whaling Commission’s annual meeting next week if the group adopted a resolution Tokyo says puts too much emphasis on protecting whales.

Four Vancouver Island boaters spent a night trapped on the ocean when Luna, the lonely killer whale, kept blocking their vessel, shoving it away from shore.

Ireland mounted a fresh bid this week to force Britain to shut down a controversial nuclear fuel manufacturing plant by taking its concerns about pollution to an international arbitration tribunal in The Hague.

Norway defended its whale hunts but said it had scant hope of winning support at an international meeting next week for its policy on whaling. Full Story<