Whale Wars!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Psyche on June 9, 2012 at 9:17pm

I don't know about the Japanese but with the Inuits its part of their culture and I have mixed feelings about them not being allowed using modern technology. As much as I love whales and don't believe in whaling to the point of extinction, BUT with the Inuits I don't know...

I know people might disagree but this is how I feel.

Permalink Reply by Ms.Pouncer-Curiousier&Curiousier on June 9, 2012 at 9:54pm

here's what Wikipedia has to say about the Japanese side of it.

I wonder what exactly they are studying about whales that require 'that many' whales a year.

"In 1986, Japan introduced a similar proposal and later issued itself a scientific permit to take 825 minke whales and 50 sperm whales every year for ten years. Despite the fact that the IWC scientific committee rejected its research proposals, Japan continued whaling."

Based on how long it takes for these whales to reach breeding age..... that's far too many...

Permalink Reply by Psyche on June 9, 2012 at 9:57pm

It seems to me that its a cover up for the hunting of whales. :(

Permalink Reply by Ms.Pouncer-Curiousier&Curiousier on June 9, 2012 at 10:06pm

precicely why they are trying to stop them from whaling..... they now have the Japanese military escorting them to continue their slaughtering...

But what can/should be done about it?

Permalink Reply by Shadow Moon on June 9, 2012 at 10:11pm

Eskimo (Inuit) Whaling Rights and the IWC  

Some Modern Tools Allowed 

Honestly, what are the supposed to do?  They can't grow anything up there, stores are miles away and the whale will be used to feed a family.

Sometimes modern society is too sterilized from the actual place where food comes from.  Just letting you know it's not the supermarket; it's usually an industrialized meat processing plant.

I'm not against eating meat, but I try to be conscious about where my food comes from and how the animals are treated.

There is also concern about whale meat and toxins from the fish and plankton whales eat.  Fact is the higher on the food chain you are the more toxins you collect.

Permalink Reply by Ms.Pouncer-Curiousier&Curiousier on June 9, 2012 at 11:04pm

Thank you for the extra info... I was watching a documentary about the Makah and mistook that for all tribes :P

Here's another Wikipedia link to more on whaling  and gives some of the numbers allowed to be taken.

(for the lazy...)

Canada's quota is: As of 2004, the limit on bowhead whale hunting allows for the hunt of one whale every two years from the Hudson Bay-Foxe Basin population, and one whale every 13 years from the Baffin Bay-Davis Strait population. This is roughly one fiftieth of the bowhead whale harvest limits in Alaska

Faroe Islands:

Around 950 long finned pilot whales (Globicephala melaena, actually a species of dolphin) are slain each year, mainly during the summer. Occasionally, other species are hunted as well, such as the northern bottle nose whale and the Atlantic white-sided dolphin. The hunt is known as the Grindadrap.

Faroese whaling is regulated by Faroese authorities but not by the IWC, which does not regulate the catching of small cetaceans.

Greenland: Greenlandic Inuit whalers catch around 175 whales per year, making them the third largest hunt in the world after Japan and Norway, though their take is small compared to those nations, who annually averaged around 730 (Japan) and 590 (Norway) whales respectively in 1998–2007

Iceland: Iceland did not object to the 1986 IWC moratorium. Between 1986 and 1989 around 60 animals per year were taken under a scientific permit.

Norway: Minke whales are the only legally hunted species. Catches have fluctuated between 487 animals in 2000 to 592 in 2007. For the year 2011 the quota is set at 1286 minke whales. The catch is made solely from the Northeast Atlantic minke whale population, which is estimated at 102,000.

Russia: Russia had a significant whaling hunt of orcas and dolphins along with Iceland and Japan. In 1970 a study published by Bigg M.A. following photographic recognition of orcas found a significant difference in the suspected ages of whale populations and their actual ages. Following this evidence, the Russians continued a scientific whale hunt, though the verisimilitude of the intentions of the hunt over the last 40 years are questioned. They are allowed 140 grey whales from the north east Pacific population each year.

Based on the numbers the 'natives' use for their traditional hunts (and base them off of what is available and what will be able to sustain itself after) Shouldn't Japan (and Norway) have similar smaller quotas? (in light of not causing extinction by over fishing)

Permalink Reply by Lilitu Xoc on June 9, 2012 at 10:33pm

Japan does need to stop. The show is depression though, I'm interested in the new one coming out against Norway because whaling is legal there and it gets dangerous. The Japanese are largely a peaceful nation, that's not true of every nation.

Permalink Reply by Ms.Pouncer-Curiousier&Curiousier on June 9, 2012 at 11:14pm

The problem is that they are using the 'scientific research' as a guise for commercial marketing... My point is that if they are going to whales for food (like the rest of the whale eaters) shouldn't they abide by quotas that are similar in some ways? (lower than what they are now.... like a quarter of what they take now?)

Permalink Reply by Lilitu Xoc on June 10, 2012 at 12:57am

I understand the problem, that isn't what I'm saying. In the previews for the new season they're going up against some people in Norway who get hostile and threaten them with violence/guns. It is illegal to own a gun in Japan and many Japanese cops do not carry guns either. They have a low crime rate. So, while they do whale and get aggressive they aren't as likely to do things as what's going on in the upcoming season's previews on Animal Planet. I don't if you seen them or not.

Permalink Reply by Ms.Pouncer-Curiousier&Curiousier on June 10, 2012 at 1:19am

'Viking Shores' is the new one isn't it? I am waiting to see just what happens..... looks pretty exciting...

But, if there are laws applied to limit (not ban) whaling (which is what caused them to break away from the IWC in the first place...if I'm not mistaken...) this fight would be unnecessacary. I mean, do they really need over 500 whales a year? Could they suffice off of at least half of that?

Permalink Reply by Lilitu Xoc on June 10, 2012 at 1:28am

Even 250 is a lot of whales. The problem with whales is that because they're so large it takes time from them to breed and to grow. I think there should be tougher restrictions in modern societies. The Natives who whale, they have to because I mean their entire diet is meat and not all of them are THAT modern. It's a point you mentioned too. But the way the Norwegians and Japanese do it, is just decimation the populous. (Sorry, if I sound presumptuous. I don't mean to.)

I'm not sure what to do because enforcing such international laws is somewhat hard to do. I'm glad they do this, but I think starting with local government enforcement may be a better step. I really think the numbers for the laws should be a lot smaller.

Permalink Reply by Ms.Pouncer-Curiousier&Curiousier on June 10, 2012 at 2:27am

I do agree, it is still a lot. I was only suggesting that based on the numbers the other communities have. (There are some communities that are limited to one per year or one every few years....)

I think that the number allowed should adequately reflect the rate at which they reproduce (and that they can only take a fraction of that number reproduced each year.... be it for science or for food.... or there will be no more for either in the long run....)

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page