WHEN settlers arrived in the New World in the 17th century, they found waters so thick with whales it was said you could walk across the bay of Cape Cod on their backs. Such stories have been dismissed as fantasy. Nevertheless, it appears that the whale population was once vastly bigger than we thought, and that our slaughter of them was more thorough than history records (see 鈥淟ost leviathans: Hunting the world鈥檚 missing whales鈥�). This matters because commercial whaling may be allowed to resume once populations reach 54 per cent of their 鈥渉istoric鈥� levels. This is generally assumed to be the population of the mid-19th century, before the explosive harpoon was invented. But if this historic benchmark is too low, the whaling moratorium must continue. Ironically, the vast slaughter of whales past may yet help to secure their future.
Environment
Holster the harpoons till we have the facts
The whale population may once have been vastly bigger than we thought, suggesting that their recovery is still only tentative
