Why whale?

Decades of polarised debate and political wrangling across the globe over why we should or should not whale have made every whaling discussion highly charged. But could conservationists and scientific whalers ever have anything in common?

Get on-line and get involved in the highly politicised whaling arena to discuss whether scientific whaling stands up to scrutiny. Encounter different cross-cultural opinions on scientific whaling. And find out what this type of whaling really involves from the marine scientists themselves.

In Iceland, information gained from scientific whaling and the analysis of minke whale stomach contents enables scientists to find out more about marine ecosystem interactions. This may help marine conservation in the future, and improve sustainable fisheries management. Conclusions from research will be used to make better laws governing sustainable fishing practices.

But does scientific whaling have to be lethal? Whose whales are they anyway, and what does sustainable fishing have to do with it? How do international boundaries relate to the world's oceans? Read what the experts have to say and put your questions and comments to them before to the event. Hear your questions answered in our on-line debate.