Aboriginal whaling is the hunting of whales carried out by aboriginal groups who have a tradition of whaling. (The hunting of smaller cetaceans is covered at Dolphin drive hunting.)
Under the terms of the 1986 moratorium on whaling, the International Whaling Commission allows whaling carried out by aboriginal groups if it occurs on a subsistence basis.
The IWC says that:
- aboriginal subsistence whaling is of a different nature to commercial whaling. This is reflected in the different objectives for the two. For aboriginal subsistence whaling these are to:
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- ensure risks of extinction not seriously increased (highest priority);
- enable harvests in perpetuity appropriate to cultural and nutritional requirements;
- maintain stocks at highest net recruitment level and if below that ensure they move towards it.
In order for a country to carry out a hunt under the aboriginal group clause, the nation must provide the IWC with evidence of "the cultural and subsistence needs of their people." In particular the hunt is not intended for commercial purposes and the caught meat cannot be exported.
Read more about Aboriginal Whaling: United States Whaling, Russian Whaling, Canadian Whaling, Caribbean Whaling, Indonesian Whaling
Famous quotes containing the words aboriginal and/or whaling:
“John Eliot came to preach to the Podunks in 1657, translated the Bible into their language, but made little progress in aboriginal soul-saving. The Indians answered his pleas with: ‘No, you have taken away our lands, and now you wish to make us a race of slaves.’”
—Administration for the State of Con, U.S. public relief program. Connecticut: A Guide to Its Roads, Lore, and People (The WPA Guide to Connecticut)
“The only thing that was dispensed free to the old New Bedford whalemen was a Bible. A well-known owner of one of that city’s whaling fleets once described the Bible as the best cheap investment a shipowner could make.”
—For the State of Massachusetts, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)