Australian scientist Tim Flannery declared his support for the Japanese whaling
He says there is nothing unsustainable about Japan's annual hunt of up to 1000 minke whales. It's hard to imagine that the whaling would lead to a new decline in population.
There were much bigger threats to marine biodiversity and sustainability, including to the future of krill, small crustaceans essential in the sea food chain - and the main sustenance for whales in the Southern Ocean.
Krill populations are declining as a result of over-fishing and because rising sea temperatures are killing off their food sources.