Lots of news stories about Whales at the moment.
A Japanese fleet has set sail with instructions to kill up to 1000 Whales including 50 Humpbacks for "scientific research". This is the first time anyone has hunted Humpbacks since a moratorium since 1963.
The Japanese want to kill 1000 whales (900 Minke Whales plus Humpbacks and Fins) and maintain that Humpback numbers are returning to sustainable numbers and that killing the whales will enable them to study the internal organs.
Meat from the hunt will be sold commercially but Japanese officials deny that the mission intends making a profit.
Tokyo argues that whaling is an ancient Japanese tradition, and has pushed unsuccessfully at the International Whaling Commission to reverse the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling.
And in my opinion lets hope that they keep failing. Whales are magnificent creatures and don't deserve such a fate.
The Whale and Dolphin conservancy Society reports that endangered Humpback and Fin Whales maybe being affected by climate change. Whales were found much further North than would have been expected. Both species were found North of the Bering Straits.
And lastly the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group has a piece on Wouter the juvenile Humpback Whale who in the past 6 months has completed a round trip of EU waters.
4 comments:
I heard the bit about the Japanese whale hunt yesterday. It sickens me!
I think it's a bit of a Mexican Stand-Off thing, isn't it? The world is saying 'don't do it' and to assert their independence, the Japanese have to ignore them. Poor whales, stuck in the middle :(.
Humpback whales have learned to trust man in the forty-five years since we stopped hunting them.
If Japan carries out its aim of harpooning 50 humpback whales in the Antarctic this Southern Hemisphere Summer, the whale watching industry on Australia's east and west coasts will soon find out.
The humpbacks are the same as those who delight Australians each year and have created a $AU 300 million a year whale watching industry.
There is no benefit to mankind by killing these whales. Their meat won't help the poor ease their hunger but will grace the tables of the wealthy. The killing is done in the name of science but is it science to kill the subject?
chris pash
http://thelastwhale.blogspot.com
ta for stepping by Chris. Totally agree with you
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