Whaling conference opens in Portugal

MADEIRA, Portugal, June 22 (UPI) -- Negotiations between between pro- and anti-whaling forces resumed in Portugal Monday at the opening of an annual whaling conference, observers said.

A compromise package presented at the meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Madeira envisions Japan cutting back its Antarctic whale hunt in return for permission to hunt the mammals quasi-commercially in its coastal waters, the BBC reported.

The broadcaster said the commission's original deadline of finishing the negotiations by this year's session has already been passed as the first fin whales of the season were taken this week by Iceland, which is taking criticism from environmentalists for expanding its allowable catch.

The IWC's U.S. chairman, William Hogarth, told the BBC that the compromise talks, which officially began a year ago, have not progressed as many had hoped.

"We didn't get to where we wanted to be, but there's a lot of thought going into how we do it," he said. "Countries take these issues very seriously, and some constituencies don't want to give anything -- that makes things very difficult."