The allegation comes as delegates head for one of the states concerned, Grenada, for the 1999 meeting of the International Whaling Commission. 28 May. An IWC moratorium on commercial whaling has been in force since 1986, but members can kill unlimited numbers of whales of any species in the name of scientific research. Binding decisions Japan killed 389 Antarctic minke whales this year for research. Norway, the only other country with an active whaling fleet, plans to catch 753 north Atlantic minkes. Minkes face the greatest threat - but other species could follow It objected to the moratorium decision, and so is not bound by it.
Voting requires a three-quarters majority to pass any binding decision.
Japan and its supporters control more than a quarter of the votes, so they can block anything they do not like. The WDCS says Japan has been buying up the votes of small island states which are IWC members. It says the potential for whale watching in the Caribbean is large, but mainly untapped, and could far exceed Japan's aid. WWF says the five Caribbean states in the IWC used to support the moratorium, but have changed their stance since Japan began helping them. They are Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.