kelpiewilson

For the Love of Whales

By Kelpie Wilson
t r u t h o u t | Environmental Editor
Wednesday 30 May 2007

Once again, in what has become an annual rite, Japan, Iceland and Norway will try, at the meeting of the International Whaling Commission this week, to overturn the international ban on hunting whales, while a global coalition of whale lovers urges governments to stand firm against the move.

This year the meeting takes place in Anchorage, Alaska, where Japan has introduced a new twist to the debate. Japan is asking the IWC to approve a quota for traditional cultural whaling along its coasts, similar to the quotas in place for traditional subsistence whale hunts in Alaska.

Japan has also announced that it will be going after a self-administered quota of 50 humpback whales in the Southern Ocean next year. Japan began a program of so-called "scientific" whaling in 1987 after the IWC imposed the ban on commercial whaling. Japan kills around a thousand whales every year under this program, mostly the smaller minke whales.

Targeting humpback whales is winning Japan no friends. Humpbacks are one of the most charismatic whale species. Known for their enchanting songs and acrobatic displays, they are a whale watcher's delight.

Australian Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull called Japan's plan to kill humpbacks "needlessly provocative," and warned Japan that its whaling practices have a negative impact on public opinion in Australia.

New Zealand Conservation Minister Chris Carter said, "World opinion is on the side of conservation, and the vast majority of people on Earth don't want to eat whales; they want to protect them at a time of global climate change. You know, killing whales shouldn't be happening."

Pirates Stick By Whales

By Kelpie Wilson
t r u t h o u t | Columnist
Sunday 28 January 2007

Every winter, the Japanese whaling fleet heads to the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica on a mission to kill a thousand whales. Ever since the International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commercial whaling in 1986, Japan has used a curious rationale for its whaling. It does not kill a thousand whales for commercial purposes. It kills them for scientific research.

The major whaling nations, Japan, Iceland and Norway, have been persistent in their efforts to reinstate commercial whaling. They say that the IWC is supposed to be a marine resources management agency and that the stocks of certain whales, even endangered species like humpbacks and finned whales, have recovered enough to allow for regulated commercial whaling. At last summer's IWC meeting, Japan scored a symbolic victory by pressuring enough member nations to achieve a one-vote majority in favor of lifting the ban. However, the ban remains in place, because IWC rules require a supermajority to overturn it, and so Japan is back to hunting whales under the rubric of science.

As the Japanese whaling fleet combs the Southern Ocean, harvesting its self-imposed quota of 935 minke whales, 50 humpback whales and 10 finned whales, members of the Sea Shepherd Society are hunting the whalers, intent on intercepting the Japanese fleet and placing their own bodies between the harpoons and the victims, the sentient cetaceans.

I spoke with Captain Paul Watson by satellite phone this week about the Sea Shepherd's campaign. Watson is aboard the Robert Hunter, a fast-pursuit vessel that is one of two ships and a helicopter now deployed by the Sea Shepherd Society in the Southern Ocean.