Fausto KUBLI GARCÍA ^**

If it is true that during the XX Century several national and international instruments for the protection of whales were produced, the hunting of such animals for commercial purposes continues to be out of control. The purpose of this article is to analyze both national legislation and inter-national instruments which govern the indus-try related to whales. In first place, the author presents a brief history of the industry. Later, he refers to a taxonomic clasiffication of whales, after which he explains several rules found in the Mexican Constitution and Mexican federal law, such as the General Law on Environmental Balance and Protec-tion and the Criminal Code, which establish some measures of protection of whales. Moreover, the author examines some of the relevant international treaties that establish regulations concerning the hunting of whales. Finally, he refers to the so called Whale War between the USA and Japan.

Descriptors: wild fauna, whales, ecologi-cal balance, environmental protection.

^*Quiero dedicar este trabajo a las personas que lo motivaron: maestro Gabriel Ferrer Ortega, profesor Jack Baron Tapia, camarógrafo subacuático Oliver Velázquez Quijano. Además, a todos los miembros del equipo de buceo de la UNAM. En especial, a don Jorge Calderón Ovando, a don Marco Mayorga Juárez, a don Omar Iturbe Buenfil y a don Hugo Zolezzi Ruiz.

^**Profesor de la Facultad de Derecho de la UNAM; colaborador del Área de Derecho Internacional del Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas de la UNAM.

* Nota: Debido que la traducción es automática podrá ser inexacta o contener errores.