The world’s whaling watchdog agency moved Thursday to restrict Japan’s annual whale hunt, rejecting claims by Japanese whalers that they kill the marine mammals for scientific research. Advocate Nicolas Entrup of the group OceanCare applauded the move by the International Whaling Commission, but said the organization lacked the teeth needed to enforce its decision.

Nicolas Entrup: “Our concern, of course, remains, because so far, even with the ruling of the International Court of Justice, Japan has not stuck to that ruling and has ignored it. It continued scientific whaling under a new name, but very little has changed.”