Whaling lasted for almost four centuries in Brazil (1603-1987). Pressed by environmental protection agencies and the public opinion, the José Sarney Administration (1985-1990) permanently banned whale hunting in December 1987, through the Federal Law 7,643. The law prompted a local and national debate on any losses the end of whaling would bring to the economy of the city of Lucena and the state of Paraíba. This article discusses the crisis of whaling in Brazil by analyzing the debates that occurred among biologists, politicians, environmentalists and the whaling industry workers in the municipality of Lucena. Both the available academic literature on the subject and newspapers of the 1980s were used, especially Paraíba's publications of the period.
whales; environmental history; development; newspapers.
