Norway recently hit back at a group of 12 nations led by the uk, which insisted the Scandinavian country put an end to whale hunts. Norway broke the global moratorium on commercial whaling in 1993 and will harpoon the largest number of whales in 2006 since the 1980s. The nations protesting include France and Australia.

"The charges are baseless. They have failed to do their homework,' said Norway's whaling commissioner Karsten Klepsvik. Norway harpoons about 750 minke whales each year.

Meanwhile, the secretary of fisheries of the pacific island of Tonga recently expressed his country's reservations to join the International Whaling Commission, an inter-governmental body responsible for the conservation of whales. The minister said the whaling issue was too politicised.