Whales Losing the Will to Live?

I came across this British article from 2008. Very disturbing and sad hypotheses, especially in light of the unconscionable actions (or lack of) by CITES recently.

From the Daily Mail...

The steeply declining number of whales in the world's oceans is causing the remaining creatures to suffer loneliness and 'lose the will the live', a leading expert has claimed.

The psychological impact of over-hunting on the highly intelligent and sociable animals has been identified as the latest threat to the survival of the species...

But now a French scientist has said the majestic mammals - which can reach 80ft in length and weigh the same as a passenger jet - could also suffer from heartbreak.
Paris naturalist Yves Paccalet said: 'It may be that these intelligent animals are so exhausted from their combat with humankind that they have simply have given up the fight.

'And the psychological consequences of our aggression have compromised their will to live.'

Labour Urges New Zealand to Support Australia's Call to End Whaling

I hope they do it. We just need to end this useless practice of whaling.

An End to Japanese Whaling?

I seriously doubt it, despite the Greenpeace report in Wildlife Extra News.. It's too much a matter of international pride. (I know, I know, I'm always a pessimist....but I'm so good at it!)

A major review of Japanese government spending could spell the end to whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, according to Greenpeace, after the review committee proposed massive cuts in subsidies to a body which funds the so-called scientific research programme.

The Spending Review Committee recommended that the Overseas Fisheries Cooperation Fund (OFCF), which gives loans to the Institute for Cetacean Research (ICR) to run the discredited science programme, have all of its funding revoked, except monies needed for loans in 2010.

Paul Watson Gets His Australian Visa

Ecorazzi has the story. Sea Shepherd is gearing up to go out again.

Japanese whaling continues, with 59 Minke whales killed off Kushiro. The stunning conclusion from their "research": Minke whales eat krill, pollack and anchovies. Wow, whales eat krill? Who knew?

Japan's New Government Supports Whaling

Japan's new center left Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama continues to support Japan's whaling operations.

Japan's new government urged Australia on Tuesday to help prevent violent attacks by activists on Japanese whalers as it stood by the country's traditional support for whaling, an official said.

Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada met his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith on the sidelines of this year's UN General Assembly.

Efforts Being Made to Halt Dolphin Slaughter in Japan

It's that time of year in Taiji Japan when they start slaughtering dolphins. You can read about Save Japan Dolphin's efforts here. It looks like there is at least some hope.

Almost One-Third of Japanese Whale Kill Was Pregnant

Leave it to the Japanese. Always classy.

From Wildlife Extra....

Of 679 whales reported to have been killed during the 2008-2009 whale hunt in Antarctica, 304 were female. Four of the female whales were lactating, and 192 were pregnant at the time of death. The Japanese government's "Cruise Report" gives gruesome details on the foetuses killed. The four lactating females would each have had a dependent calf that would inevitably have starved to death.

Whaling Compromises Of Little Use

This sucks.

The packages, announced by IWC Chairman William Hogarth, would either phase out Japan's scientific whaling programme in the Southern Ocean in exchange for Japan being allowed to take a unspecified number of Minke whales off its own coast in the North Pacific or would allow Japan's scientific whaling programme to continue in the Southern Ocean if it adheres to annual limits set by the IWC's Scientific Committee.

What about Norway and Iceland? Nada. And they flagrantly continue killing.

Iceland recently announced a quota of 100 fin whales - an endangered species - which is a dramatic increase its original self-assigned quota of nine.

They also almost doubled their quota of Minke whales. "

Right Whale Sighting in the Azores

A brief story with two subjects I love, whales and the Azores.

On 5th January 2009 a North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) was seen 5 miles south of Faial Island in the Azores by biologists from Whale Watch Azores and the University of the Azores (UA). Lisa Steiner of Whale Watch Azores and Monica Silva from UA were guided to the animal by a land based lookout and recorded the animal travelling in a westerly direction for just over an hour....

This sighting is the first confirmed sighting of a right whale in the Azores since 1888. The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered species in the world with an estimated population of just 300 in the North Atlantic. They grow to a length of 11-18 metres (36-59 feet) and typically weigh 60-80 tonnes.

Japanese Whaling Crewmen Falls Overboard

A crewmen from the Kyoshin Maru is missing and believed dead.

Japanese Whaling Ship Found Guilty of Violating Environmental Agreement

The Japanese whaler Bluebird has been stripped of it's Panamanian flag. From Sea Shepherd:

The Japanese whaling fleet supply ship Oriental Bluebird has been de-flagged and fined by the Panamanian Registry after being found guilty of:

Using the ship for purposes it was not licensed for (i.e. carrying whale meat rather than oil)

Violating the MARPOL convention (a treaty designed to eliminate the deliberate, negligent or accidental release of oil and other harmful substances from ships into the marine environment) after illegally re-fuelling whaling vessels in Antarctic waters.

The illegal operations of the Oriental Bluebird underscore the illegality of the entire Japanese whaling fleet. Japanese whalers are targeting endangered whales in the legally established Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in violation of a global moratorium on commercial whaling.

I'm surprised that nobody has ever put pressure on the Panamanians to not register whaling vessels in the first place.

Sea Shepherd Announces New Campaign

Sea Shepherd has announced their new plan for stopping Japanese whaling in Antarctic waters. Called Operation Musashi, named after Japanese strategist Miyamoto Musashi. Musashi is famous for his strategy book called the Book of Five Rings.

The plan this year is to send 2 ships. Hopefully that will be a little more effective then just the one that they had in the last campaign (although it was quite effective, but faced limitations given Japan's refueling and support capabilities).

Whaling Commision Meeting: Big Yawn

I resisted the idea of doing some sort of in depth coverage of the Whaling Commission because I really didn't feel like reading about it every day. So, I thought I would do a summary at the very end. Here goes:

The meeting went from Monday of this week and wrapped up on Friday. That about covers it. Did I leave anything out?

Whaling Commission Meeting Next Week

The International Whaling Commmission is meeting next week in Chile. That should be interesting. There have been all kinds of rumors that the Rudd Govt. in Austraia is going to backslide on the ban (Sea Shepherd is among one of the main accusers). Rudd denies it.

Australia has certainly done a fantastic job in leading the charge to end whaling. They deserve a lot of credit for that. You don't hear a peep out of the US about it.

Sea Shepherd will be there. Nothing about this on the Greenpeace site, although I'm sure they will have someone there.

Makah Tribe Decides Not To Prosecute Illegal Whalers

So can someone explain to me why they should be entrusted with legal whaling? They said they would prosecute them. Now they decide they can't figure out how to do that. Disgusting.

A Makah tribal judge has deferred prosecution for five tribal members who killed a gray whale last September in an unsanctioned hunt off the Washington coast.

Wednesday's decision came months after the Makah Tribal Council had publicly promised to prosecute those responsible and had called the hunt "a blatant violation of our law."

Tribal Judge Stanley Myers had called more than 200 potential jurors but was unable to seat a jury since most either had strong opinions on the case or were related to the defendants, said one of the five, Wayne Johnson.

Again, why should they be trusted with legal whaling if they are INCAPABLE of enforcing their own regulations and laws on whaling? And these were the people complaining about outsiders regulating their so-called whaling culture.

Cheney Targets Whales

Does anyone think he wouldn't kick a puppy or small child if it would benefit industry? Or even just for fun?

TPM has the latest from the Dark Lord.

The latest contribution to good government from Vice President Dick Cheney: preventing the implementation of rules to protect the endangered right whale.

This comes from a letter House sleuth Henry Waxman (D-CA) sent to the White House today, requesting that the administration quit delaying the rules, which would restrict the speed of ships near American ports. Faster moving ships hit the whales, causing injury or death, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say.

Check it out.

Japanese Kill Less Whales Due to Activists

The Japanese whaling fleet has returned to port, and has only killed about 60 percent of what they set out to kill.

The mother ship of Japan's whaling fleet has returned to port with a catch of 551 - just about 60 per cent of its target.

The Nisshin Maru docked in Tokyo on Monday, having caught all minke whales and no fin whales.

It had hoped to kill 900 overall, including 50 humpback whales.

The mission had faced a series of violent protests and harassment by animal rights activists in the Antarctic Ocean.

Ah what the Japanese have to put up with for their phony research.

Japan May Leave Whaling Commission

Japan is threatening to leave the International Whaling Commission if it doesn't straighten itself out. Meaning if it doesn't ultimately let Japan do what it wants.

The Commission sounds screwed up anyway.

Now the Washington-based Pew Charitable Trusts is leading an effort to fix the IWC for the first time since its founding in 1946. "The member nations need to think seriously about modernizing the IWC," says J. Charles Fox, a whaling expert with the Pew Charitable Trusts' environment group. In the past year, Pew officials have brought the opposing camps together to discuss ways to overhaul the IWC. They have done so in two special, closed-door meetings—in New York last April and in Tokyo at the end of January.

Most agree that the IWC is dysfunctional. Its worst failing: It lacks the power to resolve disputes. And countries can simply opt out of the ban, as Norway did in 1993, to resume commercial whaling. The hard part is figuring out what a new commission should look like.

I still don't understand why Japan is so hell-bent on whaling. Read this....

Japanese consumers' demand for whale meat peaked after World War II, when protein was in short supply; it has declined steadily since, although whale meat is still considered a traditional food. The country's research whaling program only began in the 1990s. It spends $60 million a year on the hunts and defrays the costs by selling 5,000 to 6,000 tons of whale meat annually to wholesalers. The stated aim: To use data collected from the hunts to show that whales are plentiful.

So, they are researching just to show that whales are plentiful. Sixty million is a lot of money just to prove a point. There are so many better uses of this money. It's simply a matter of stubborn pride and economic support of the flagging whaling industry.

Stupid.

Photo by Greenpeace_Flor.

Iceland May Begin Whaling Soon

Iceland said they may begin whaling soon. I hope it will be met with the same revulsion as when the Japanese do it.

Iceland is likely to start whaling again this summer in a move certain to draw the ire of conservationists, the BBC said on its website on Thursday.

Iceland ended its ban on commercial whaling in 2006, but in August last year its fisheries ministry said it would not issue new quotas until market demand increased and an export agreement with Japan -- where whale meat is popular -- was in place.

What utter crap. They are going to start whaling so they can export it? And since when is whale meat that popular anywhere?

It's just as barbaric and sick when blond-haired fair skinned people do it too.

Australia Rejects Talk of Compromise on Commercial Mailing

Australia has rejected any talk of allowing Japan to resume coastal whaling in return for discontinuing the discredited "Scientiffic Whaling" that Japan now currrently engages in. Other members of the 78-nation International Whaling Commission, however, might be more agreeable to such a compromise.

The gulf between Australia and Japan over whaling has deepened as some other conservation nations shift towards a compromise with the Asian power.

A possible trade-off of commercial whaling off Japan's coast for the end of its discredited "scientific" whaling has resurfaced at talks in London. Such a deal was rejected by strong anti-whaling countries, including Australia, which also stiffened its censure of Japan over the conduct of its Antarctic whaling.