The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has proposed allowing whales to be hunted under strict quotas, bringing the world a step closer to the first legal commercial whaling in nearly 25 years. The proposal would allow Japan, Norway and Iceland to kill whales for 10 years, under strict limits set by the IWC that apparently would reduce the overall catch.

Japan's self-imposed annual quota of 935 Antarctic minke whales would be lowered to 400 over the next five years, then reduced to 200 for the next five years. The country's current take of 320 sei and minke whales in waters near Japan would be cut to 210. The commission argues that allowing whaling under strict quotas would be an improvement to the current hunts, over which it has no control. Various small indigenous groups could continue to hunt in limited numbers.The newest proposal from the commission's chairman suggested specific catch quotas for various species, allowing 69 bowhead whales, 145 gray whales, 14 humpbacks and 109 fin whales to be hunted each year around the world. It would also allow Japan to commercially hunt minke whales close to its shores.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said the IWC's proposal does not deliver what New Zealand wants and will not accept it. The commission has 88 member countries and the proposal will be debated at the IWC meeting in June in Morocco although it is unclear whether an agreement will be reached at the gathering, with some antiwhaling nations viewing the proposal as an effective approval for the resumption of currently banned commercial whaling.