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You STILL Can't Kill Whales | 15 comments (15 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: You STILL Can't Kill Whales (none / 0)

Ack, you remind me of the piece on whaling I should have done today - nay, actually yesterday - over at European Tribune. Well, in theory the sun also rises tomorrow.

As to your remarks; well, I'm afraid we can still kill whales, the pronoun referring in this case to whaling nations. Doing so is still legal, both for Norway, which lodged an objection to the 1986 moratorium, and Japan, which carries on its scientific program - though the latter really is a commercial season in disguise.

And frankly, like most Norwegians, I don't see what the huge deal is apart from the conservation issue, which at least for North Atlantic minke whales is not acute. (It's not an endangered population, and it is the only one harvested by Norwegians.) Humpbacks may be another matter, though current estimates run on 30,000 in the southern hemisphere. About fin whales I'm not up to date, but according to the BBC there are some signs of recuperation after past excesses.

While I don't enormously trust Japan in this question, that seems to me a good case for reviving the original purpose of the IWC, namely to regulate whaling in a way informed by science. This as opposed to the de facto free for all that exists today, with the IWC an arena for symbolic politics by countries with an often awful environmental record and in a growing number of cases, not even a coastline.

The world's northernmost desert wind.

by Sirocco (sirocco2005 - AT - gmail.com) on Tue Jun 21st, 2005 at 01:52:33 PM EST

Re: You STILL Can't Kill Whales (none / 0)

You're right, I should have a better title to this.

As far as what's the huge deal, I think after nearly slaughtering all of them, we should give them a break. And if you get to see them up close, you may think twice about it.

Dissent Protects Democracy

by cscs on Tue Jun 21st, 2005 at 02:41:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: You STILL Can't Kill Whales (4.00 / 2)

I'm afraid I don't get the point about 'break' in the case of non-endangered populations. In the case of threatened ones, certainly.

Having seen minke whales up close, I'd say their magnificence is somewhat overstated (and they have foul breath!). But then of course, magnificence is in the eye of the beholder. And isn't it a tenuous basis for ethics? Perceived magnificence? Innumberable pigs, say, are suffering in tortuous captivity this very minute. Apparently their magnificence is insufficient, though they have the intelligence of human toddlers.

The world's northernmost desert wind.

by Sirocco (sirocco2005 - AT - gmail.com) on Tue Jun 21st, 2005 at 03:02:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: You STILL Can't Kill Whales (none / 1)

Full disclosure: I work at Earth Island Institute, home of the International Marine Mammal Project (the dolphin-safe tuna people). This is my opinion, not my employers', but you know, take this with however many grains of salt you want as a result of my bias.

Minkes are not endangered, but they are still considered a threatened species under iinternational law. Their numbers have indeed been on the rise, but that's because of the ban. They're not out of the woods yet.

(I know, you didn't know a whale could be in the woods.)

As far as I'm concerned, the population would have to be a lot higher before I'd be happy with even incidental hunting. The oceans are in huge trouble right now - fisheries collapsing and so forth - and there's no need to go hunting the megafauna while they'er still recovering.

by Chris Clarke (cclarke@faultline.org) on Tue Jun 21st, 2005 at 06:02:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: You STILL Can't Kill Whales (none / 0)

Thanks for your response!

Minke whales are not threatened but near-threatened. And that's according to the IWC. There are hundreds of thousands in the North Atlantic, so it's a stretch to call the culling of a few hundred individuals unsustainable.

Personally, I have reasonable confidence in the estimates of Norway's own maritime researchers here. These guys are leading in their field and I see no basis for doubting their independence. So the quotas based on their recommendations I regard as sustainable until proven otherwise.

Japan's hunt may (or may not) be another matter. I can't answer for that.

The world's northernmost desert wind.

by Sirocco (sirocco2005 - AT - gmail.com) on Wed Jun 22nd, 2005 at 04:13:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]

You STILL Can't Kill Whales | 15 comments (15 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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