Counting -- and hunting -- whales
Oh, countries listen to the International Whaling Commission all right -- as long as they want to. Most nations observe the international ban on whale hunting because they agree with it. As for the rest -- well, of the big three that continue to kill whales, Iceland and Norway simply ignore the ban. And for years, Japan has operated under an exemption allowing it to take whales for scientific research. But with each whale worth tens of thousands of dollars in meat and other products, you can bet a lot more than research is going on, like whale dinners served in upscale restaurants. And does it really take close to 1,000 whales to conduct this research, which is the quota that Japan sets for itself?
The whales that the Japanese hunt, mostly minke, are considered to be at "lower risk" of extinction. Now Greenland wants to hunt 50 endangered humpback whales over the next few years, saying this would be subsistence hunting for its indigenous people. There's certainly precedence for this: The Inuit have been allowed to take several dozen bowhead whales for years. This kind of subsistence hunting is an ancient part of their tradition. But there's more to it. Under the Inuits' tightly managed hunt, the bowhead comeback in the eastern Arctic has been a conservation success story. Adding an endangered species like the humpback whale to the list, though, raises a new set of complications -- which the International Whaling Commission put off dealing with at its recent meeting.
Another issue that has to be addressed is which individual whales are selected out for hunting by the Japanese whalers. A study presented at the IWC meeting found that nearly a third of the whales killed were pregnant. Assuming those whale calves would otherwise have been born and survived, this means a lot more whales are being killed than the number being counted as part of Japan's research.
* Photo of humpback whale by Greenpeace
If you put whales (of all kinds) into a separate category of animals that can not be touched, I understand your opinion. For many people, whaling is an emotional and not a scientific matter. There are many kinds of whales, and many kinds of whaling. I'm also for the whales, and would never support any kind of unsustainable whaling. The minke whale that Norway and Iceland hunt in small numbers is a small whale, not the "leviathans of the deep" that most people imagine when the word "whale" is mentioned. Norway and Iceland are not savage nations, but among the richest and most developed countries in the world. They are leading the world in questions relating to the management of fisheries and quotas. Having worked in Norwegian fish export for 6 years, I can tell you that the Norwegian government would never allow unsustainable whaling. Both countries have depended on the riches of the sea for centuries and live very close to nature. Finally, the EU is starting to adopt some of the quota systems that have been developed in Norway. Norway will hunt a couple of hundred whales in 2009. It may be more important to look at how the thousands of cows and chicken are treated on thousands of industrial farms world-wide to feed the insatiable demand of McDonalds and KFC around the world. That is the elephant in the living room.
Posted by: Gjert Myrestrand | July 16, 2009 at 09:28 AM
The Japanese have started to buy whale meat from elsewhere ..Norway is suppling the japanese fish markets with whale meat...look a little closer and i think you will find iceland is also bowing to the imperial japanese whalers.
Posted by: Imforthewhales | July 14, 2009 at 04:45 PM
It is important to realize that the Norwegian whaling is very small and strictly controlled. Only the minke whale is hunted, and this species is absolutely not threatened in any way. It is abundant. Norway is a very environmentally conscious nation, and would never allow whaling if there was a threat to the population of whales in its waters. This whaling is done with small boats and does not resemble "industrial whaling" in any shape or form. Norway has a common sense approach to this. As long as there is an abundant resource, some harvesting makes sense. If not, it will stop immediately. Sustainability is a key word. WIth movies like "Free Willy"(a killer whale) it is easy to shape a public opinion against whaling, but no killer whale is hunted in Norway. Killer whales can be observed in Norwegian fjords in the summer, but they are left alone to enjoy herring and other delicacies that are abundant in those waters.
Posted by: Gjert Myrestrand | July 14, 2009 at 06:40 AM
"Utilisation of whale resources has been a traditional part of Iceland’s history, providing an important dietary component throughout the ages. Long before any international agreements on whale conservation the Icelandic Parliament (Althing) banned all whaling on species larger than minke whales in 1915, after a period of overexploitation from foreign land-stations in Iceland during the period 1883-1915. This Icelandic "moratorium" lasted, apart from some limited catches during 1935-1939, until 1948 when a licence was given to a single land-station. When commercial whaling was halted from 1986 it had a negative economic and social impact on communities dependent on whaling. In the years 1986-1989 Iceland conducted a scientific research program, including takes of a limited number of fin and sei whales. No whaling was conducted in the period of 1990-2002. During 2003-2007 Iceland implemented the common minke whale research program, including the take of a total of 200 common minke whales in this period." (Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries)
FMI: http://www.pbase.com/bolli/firstwhale
Posted by: Bolli Valgardsson | July 08, 2009 at 04:28 AM
You really should do your research. The whales that Iceland is "killing" is not endangered. Even though the type of whale is endangered in other parts of the world there is lot´s and lot´s of them around Iceland. It would be similar to if you had 300.000 elefants in the USA but only 100 in Africa. You wouldn´t be allowed to kill one of those in the US because it´s endangered in Africa... does that make sence?
Also have you looked at how much fish one whale eats? Have you considered other endangered fish that only get´s more endangered by whales eating so much...? Did you know that Iceland has probably the best fishing policy in the world regarding not over fishing?
Sorry about my bad English but i just had to say something...
Posted by: Jóhannes | July 08, 2009 at 01:46 AM