The government of Canada has announced its intention to create 10 new parks and five new national marine conservation areas over the next five years. It is the most ambitious plan to expand and protect the country’s natural areas in 117 years, since Canad

Handing a victory to whalers, at a special meeting of the International Whaling Commission here today, national delegates voted by a margin of one to let Iceland join the commission. The single vote was that of Iceland itself. Full Story: http://ens

This has been a defining year for Ole Myklebust and his family fishing firm off the west coast of Norway. In July, he sent a small shipment of minke whale meat to Iceland – followed by a second consignment in September. Full Story: http://news

Aichi Prefecture residents will file a lawsuit with the Nagoya District Court as early as Tuesday seeking the suspension of the planned purchase of two killer whales by the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium, they said Sunday. Full Story: http://japantod

Stealth technology used in warships has helped to produce a new ultra-low noise survey vessel which is working on ways to prevent whales beaching themselves. Full Story: http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1135392002

A whaling dispute which is setting remote Arctic communities against the Japanese Government could soon be resolved. Full Story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2319855.stm

The lone survivor among nine short-finned pilot whales found stranded on a Florida Panhandle beach last year has died, officials said. Full Story: http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/apnews/stories/101202/D7MK9V9G0.html

Global warming could be behind the mysterious deaths of giant squid off the north coast of Spain, a marine biologist said. Full Story: http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/18158/story.htm

The Inuit, an indigenous people of the Arctic, will stick to a traditional diet including whale blubber despite mounting pollution from industrial toxins and worries about global warming. Full Story: http://abcnews.go.com/wire/SciTech/reuters20021010

The European Commission has unveiled the outline of a wide ranging European Union marine environment protection strategy in a communication addressed to governments and the European Parliament. It promised for 2004 a full “thematic strategy,” as demanded