At this year's International Whaling Commission meeting, where ‘horse trading’ between whalers and conservationists was again a conspicuous feature, sperm whales got a respite, but at the expense of the North Atlantic fin whales. For the British ngo-s, banded together in Wildlife Link (which includes ffPS), the main disappointment was the failure of all three major proposals to halt whaling altogether. They now look to a future where hunting has been given up for lack of whales to hunt, and whale-watching takes over. A remarkable feature of the meetings was the leadership of the Seychelles Government, which last year succeded in getting the Indian Ocean Sanctuary for whales.