Carribean Nations Selling out Whales to Japan?

Next week, in the middle eastern nation of Oman, the International Whaling Commission holds its fiftieth annual meeting. And like most gatherings of this organization this one is expected to be controversial. On the agenda: a showdown between countries that want to resume commercial whaling, and those that want to strengthen a world-wide ban on whale hunting that’s been in force since 1982. At the heart of this deadlock is an alliance between the whaling nations of Japan and Norway, and a half dozen tiny island countries, most of them in the Caribbean. The glue for this compact may well be cash. There are allegations that in exchange for foreign aid, the island nations are supporting Japan’s agenda at the International Whaling Commission. John Rudolph has our report.