The International Whaling Commission said in July there was "compelling evidence" that entire populations of marine mammals were at potential risk from increasingly intense man-made underwater noise.

BBC: NEWS | Science/Nature | The deafening sound of the seas

In anticipation of the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Grenada next month, Japan has prepared a motion to abolish a whale sanctuary in the Southern Ocean.

CNN: Japan attempts to abolish whale sanctuary

Greenpeace disputes those figures, saying that other reports show a 5-7% decline in whales off the Korean coast in stocks already marked as protected by the International Whaling Commission.

BBC: Whaling lingers on in South Korean town

However, the fisheries ministry believes there is no ecological reason to cancel a hunt for 40 minkes when the population in the North Atlantic is believed by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to number about 174, 000.

BBC: Iceland minister warns on whaling

As government delegates, scientists, whale-hunters and environmentalists discuss the large ocean-traversing cetaceans at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting here, green group WWF's new report, The Forgotten Whales, concludes that some of the leviathans' smaller brethren are more at risk.

BBC: Finance woes put porpoise at risk

Peter went on to lead several ornithological expeditions worldwide, popularised the study of wildfowl and wetlands through his television appearances, and his pioneering work in conservation also contributed greatly to the shift in policy of the International Whaling Commission and signing of the Antarctic Treaty.

BBC: Gloucestershire - Life and legacy of Sir Peter Scott

That's probably the observation I've heard most often so far at this year's International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting.

BBC: Whaling: Voting, yes or no?