Whaling
Whaling relates to the hunting of whales and dates back thousands of years. As demands for whale products (oil, meat, baleen) increased, so did hunting methods and techniques from 17th century onwards. Whaling represented Australia’s first primary industry with hunting primarily focusing on Southern Right Whales. These were so named as they moved slowly, were easy to hunt and were therefore the ‘right’ whale to catch. As species became endangered or depleted, the need arose for conservation and resource management and so the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was born (1946). Australia ceased all whaling operations in 1978. Today many species are on the critical or endangered list while a host of others are dependent upon conservation for survival.

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