Whale watching is up close and personal. If you think watching whales on TV is exciting, a real life adventure will blow your mind. Few experiences in life are so exhilarating. The Caribbean's gentle seas and underwater contours are ideal for hosting whale populations. These benign, gentle yet enormous mammals can be seen as close as a few hundred yards from shore.

Sperm whales are seen all year round in the islands of St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, and Dominica. Scientists say they feed on giant squids at depths of over 5,000 feet. Sperm whales are often seen, mating and tending to their young. Other whales which visit the Caribbean seas are: Short-finned Pilot, Pygmy Sperm, False Killer, Dwarf Sperm, Beaked and the occasional Killer Whale. Other species of cetaceans seen include: the Spotted, Spinner, Fraser, Bottle-nosed, Striped and common dolphins.

However, some Caribbean nations are also advocates for whale-hunting. They are still bent on lobbying to lift the 20-year embargo on commercial whaling.

Sources reported St. Lucia and St. Vincent & The Grenadines have had their politicians bought and paid for by the Japanese fishing industry. They have been known to slaughter humpback whales, pilot whales and dolphins and market the meat as "Caribbean beef."

At the annual International Whaling Commission (IWC) meetings, Antigua, Grenada, St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and St. Kitts-Nevis continued to vote down whale sanctuaries in favor of undermining restrictions on whaling. They have done so every year since Japan bought their IWC memberships for them almost ten years ago and proceeded to pour more than US$100 million in "fisheries development" aid into their economies in exchange for cooperation on whaling issues at the IWC. This is a dirty secret that needs exposing.

Many whale-watching tour operators fear that if the ban is finally lifted, these nations will restart culling in the Caribbean with more massive operations and it will have a negative impact on the whale-watching industry. Most experts say that in all likelihood, it will be harder for future generations to spot a whale roaming freely in the seas.

So, do your part in saving the whales, take a moment to voice your opinion about the senseless slaughter of whales in the Carribbean and elswhere. Start a letter-writing campaign today. It is important that you write often to remind those in a position of power that the killing of whales is not acceptable in the 21st century.