Since the late nineteenth century, most populations of whales in the world have been decimated by commercial whaling.

Despite the moratorium on whaling imposed by the international community in 1986, the whales are still threatened. A number of countries and their whaling industries continue pushing for resumption of commercial whaling.

An effective method to give further protection to the whales is the creation of sanctuaries -- areas where whaling is forbidden not just temporarily, but for the indefinite future and the benign study and conservation of whales is encouraged.