Revisiting the Classic Moby Dick: The Environmental Significance of the Narrative in the Light of International Environmental Law on the Preservation of the Whaling Marine Life

This article aims to analyze the environmental significance of Moby Dick, narrative that, in the mid-nineteenth century, warned, indirectly, on the need to preserve nature against the excesses of whaling. For this, we analyzed the main regulations that composes the environmental protection regime for whaling marine life, one of which allowed exceptions to the prohibition of hunting, based both on alleged scientific research needs as the claim of cultural practices, and the decision of the ICJ in the case brought by Australia in face of Japan.