by Miki
3
Introduction
4
General Info
5
Most Endangered
12
Commercial Whaling
14
Scientific Whaling
16
Pollution
18
Save the Whales
20
International Efforts
22
Why You Should Care
23
How to get Involved
24
From Then to Now
25
Conclusion
Whales are the most extreme example of the shocking exploitation and lack of protection of ocean life. They face more threats today than ever before. “Save The Whales” is the famous shout out that brought millions of people together and produced a world-wide ban on commercial whaling in 1986. Though commercial whaling is technically illegal, many countries find a way around the law. There are specific points of interest that “Save The Whales” is trying to draw attention to. They srtive to defend whales by ending commercial whaling, promoting responsible whale watching, reducing injuries to whales, protecting their habitat, conducting research, and supporting the marine mammal and rescue team. Extreme efforts are currently being taken in order to protect these magnificent, and unfortunately endangered creatures. Activists have risked their lives in the Southern Ocean, putting themselves between
the whales and the harpoons; campaigners in Japan have risked their freedom to expose the corruption of the whaling program; people have marched, petitioned and demanded change. The Japanese whaling fleet continues to ignore the sanctuary status of the Southern Ocean, but a properly enforced ocean sanctuary could provide much needed protection for whales and countless other marine species. The purpose of this book is to raise awareness of the plight of the oceans, and hopefully convince more to join the fight and to get involved.
Whales
Whales belong to the cetacean order; which also includes dolphins and porpoises. The sheer size of a whale is amazing. The blue whale can reach lengths of more than 100 feet and weigh up to 200 tons–as much as 33 elephants. Like all mammals, whales breathe air into their lungs, are warm blooded, feed their young milk, and actually do have some hair. Beneath their skin lies a layer of fat called blubber. This serves as a reservoir for energy and also works as insulation to keep them warm in the cold ocean water. All whales have a blowhole in which they breathe air. It is located on the tops of their heads so that the animal can remain submerged in the water while breathing. Baleen whales actually have two blowholes, while toothed whales have just one.
4
Diet
A whales diet depends on the species. It can range from microscopic plankton to large marine mammals. They tend to migrate long distances from their cold-water feeding grounds to warm-water breeding grounds each year. Toothed whales often hunt in groups, migrate together, and share care-taking duties for their young.
Behavior
In general, they are very active animals. They often breach (jump high into the air). They also thrust their tails out of the water and slap the water’s surface which is a warning to other whales that there is danger nearby.
Communication
Whales communicate through lyrical sounds. These sounds under water are extremely loud and can be heard from many miles away.
Reproduction
Like humans, whales are very slow to reproduce. They have a gestation period of 9-15 months and they have one offspring at a time. Their nursing time for each baby whale is long, often over a years length. A mother and her young have an unbreakable bond. Though each whale has few offspring, they provide each with a high probability of survival in the wild. www.defenders.org www.worldwildlife.org
Whaling
Zoological Parks
Endangerment Facts
Rebounding
Most species of baleen whales (suborder Mysticeti) have been severely depleted. Their current status is due largely to commercial whaling, which took place during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Of the 11 species, nine currently have population estimates far below pre-whaling numbers. Recent population estimates for the blue and right whales total a small fraction of their numbers just over 100 years ago.
Though there is valid concern for several whale species, not all whale populations are endangered or threatened. Killer whales are not endangered. Though hundreds of dolphins and porpoises still drown in fishing nets, the impact on most populations appears to be minimal. However, if recent trends in human impact continue, even these relatively stable populations may begin to lose ground.
Scientists are working diligently to develop breeding techniques in zoological parks. Their objective is to preserve small whale species that face extinction. Toward that end, the study of whales and dolphins in zoological parks is a valuable research tool. Physiological, reproductive, and growth rate data may eventually prove to be significant in preserving endangered species.
Future survival looks uncertain for some whale species, but we have seen glimmers of hope. One such success story features the California gray whale, twice hunted to the brink of extinction during peak whaling years. Legally protected since 1946, gray whales have made an astonishing comeback. Gray whales currently number about 21,000, an estimate scientists believe matches the pre-whaling population. California gray whales were removed from the Endangered Species List in 1993.
Most Endangered Whales
Whaling fleets killed an estimated 1 million sperm whales between the 18th and 20th centuries, and hundreds of thousands of almost every type of baleen whale. After exhausting popular oil-producing baleen species such as bowhead, gray, humpback and right whales, whalers turned to leaner, less valuable alternatives such as sei and minke whales. Although commercial whaling was banned in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission, sei and minke are still heavily targeted by Japan, Norway and Iceland, which dodge or defy the IWC https://seaworld.org http://www.mnn.com
5
Sperm Whale
6
Sei Whale
7
North Atlantic RIght Whale 8
Finback Whale
9
Blue Whale
10
Gray Whale
11
The Initial Decline
The initial decline of whale populations was brought about by commercial whaling–hunting whales to make a profit from selling whale parts. Whale hunting, which started in the 1700s, was a very big business until about 60 years ago. Whales were hunted so that people could use the blubber (whale fat) for oil in lamps and to make candles and soap. The plates from baleen whales were used for making women’s clothing, umbrellas, fishing rods, etc. Sperm whales were hunted because of the large quantity of sperm oil in their heads, which was sold for making candles, make-up and other things.
Unregulated
Unregualted whaling continued for centuries and over the years the industry was strengthened with new technologies. Technology allowed whalers to hunt faster whales and to conduct their hunts throughout the world’s oceans. New technologies and the high demand for whale products decreased many whale
12
populations. Some populations became so small that whalers realized some sort of resource management was needed. In 1982 the International Whaling Commission decided that there should be a pause in commercial whaling on all stocks from the 1985/1986 season onwards. This pause is often referred to as the commercial whaling moratorium, and it is still in place today. Even with this global ban however, whales continue to be killed cruelly and unnecessarily. Norway, Iceland, Japan, Siberia, and Northern Canada still continue annual whale hunts. These countries are hunting purely for profit– not for science (as some claim). Despite an international moratorium on commercial whaling, Iceland’s whaling has dramatically increased in recent years. In 2010 alone, Icelandic whalers killed hundreds of whales, including endangered fin whales; and shipped more than 750 tons of whale meat and products to Japan, whose market is already glutted with whale meat from its own “scientific research whaling” program.
Collisions
Many species of whales and dolphins are vulnerable to collisions with vessels. Most reports of collisions involve large whales but collisions with smaller species also occur. Collisions with large vessels often either go unnoticed or unreported, particularly for the smaller species. Animals can be injured or killed; and vessels can sustain damage. Serious or even fatal injuries to passengers have occurred involving hydrofoil ferries, whale watching vessels and recreational craft.
Whale Entaglement
Whale entanglement is a growing problem. It’s hard to assess the full extent, but a recent report estimated that 308,000 whales and dolphins die annually due to entanglement in fishing gear, and more still in marine debris. Entanglement can lead to drowning, laceration, infection, and starvation. It also presents serious safety issues for those involved in disentangling the whales. The IWC is working with a group of international experts to build a global net-
work of professionally trained and equipped entanglement responders. Disentangling wild, often injured animals at sea can be difficult and dangerous. Some countries have already developed national disentanglement programs. Accurate assessment of the problem is hard. Some whales free themselves, many are never seen; and even in regions with well-established networks, only one in ten entanglements are reported. The growing global network of trained responders will be able to collect more consistent data which can be used to build a clearer understanding of what and where are the biggest causes of entanglement. This information is important to achieving the ultimate goal of finding ways to prevent entanglement happening in the first place.
iwc.int/rmp www.greenpeace.orgfg
13
The Provision
The provision in the 1946 whaling convention allows whales to be killed for scientific purposes. This provision is unfortunately often used by Japan, Norway, and Iceland as a way of getting around the rules. However little, if any useful information comes from ‘scientific whaling’ and it is quite simply commercial whaling conducted under the guise of science. Another con to the scientific whaling law is that Whaling countries issue their own catch limits, not the International Whaling Commission. In other words, the approval of a scientific whaling permit is granted by the nation that applied for it. For example, Japan approves its own permits for scientific whaling without any external scrutiny or need for explanation. Next, a scientific whaling permit requires whale meat to be used, ie, to be sold or given away. This means a scientific permit is little more than a licence to sell whale meat. It is no coincidence that the only nations that kill whales for science are those most interested in trying to create markets for whale meat.
14
Japan’s Whaling Industry
Japan’s whaling industry has killed more than 8,000 Antarctic minke whales and other protected whale species in the sanctuary under the guise of scientific research since the establishment of the sanctuary. Despite Japan’s claims, its whaling in the Southern Ocean has produced less science than sushi, feeding Japan’s dwindling appetite for whale meat. Almost five months ago, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Japan to lay down its harpoons, concluding that its scientific output appeared “limited”. This important decision validated the role of international regulations to protect iconic and threatened species. Japan initially signaled it would abide by the ruling. But shortly thereafter it said that, rather than cease whaling, it would modify the programme to address the court’s concerns and continue whaling in the sanctuary surrounding Antarctica.
Governments And Scientists
Governments and scientists could fully recommit themselves to modern, non-lethal approaches to study whales that benefit communities and society through whale-watching and address the serious environmental threats that remain in our oceans. In an era of DNA sampling and remote monitoring, scientists do not need to kill whales to learn about them. Samples can be collected from skin that whales shed, blubber and fecal matter. Scientists can even collect samples when whales exhale through their blowholes, allowing for detection of pathogens. Determining vital whale population estimates and trends can only be achieved through sighting surveys and other benign research techniques such as the photo-identification of individual animals and acoustic surveys. Scientists from IFAW’s Song of the Whale research vessel have pioneered technologies and techniques to study whales without harming them. www.ifaw.org/ www.theguardian.com/
15
Even if Japan were to end its whaling program, today’s world is one with many new human-caused threats to whales and other marine mammals: entanglement in fishing gear; ship strikes; noise from shipping, military and oil and gas industrial activities; and oil spills and other ocean pollutants. Threats also loom from climate change – from potentially changing the abundance and distribution of krill and other essential prey species to the melting of previously ice-locked polar waters that will expose whales to even more human activity.
Polychlorinated Biphenyls
(PCBs) were first introduced into the environment in the early 1900s where they were used in a variety of adhesives, sealants, paints, hydraulic fluids, coolants and electric transformer insulating fluids. PCBs were banned in Canada and the US in the 1970s but persist in the environment. They are still produced and used in some parts of the world.According to Dr Peter Ross at the Institute of Ocean Sciences, PCBs are
16
considered of highest concern to marine life. PCB’s have been associated with toxic effects in marine mammals such as endocrine disruption, which can cause impairment of reproduction, development, and other hormonally mediated processes, and immunotoxicity, giving rise to an increased susceptibility to infectious diseases and cancers.
Persistant Organic Polluntants
Persistant Organic Pollutants are stored in the fat of animals that consume them, which makes marine mammals particularly vulnerable as contaminants will accumulate in their thick layer of blubber. Endocrine system disruption and immunotoxicity are the two serious issues that arise from POP exposure, and these toxins are difficult to metabolize and
eliminate in long-lived species such as killer whales. In fact, recent studies have shown that killer whales of the Pacific Northwest are some of the most contaminated marine mammals in the world. Killer whales are top predators in the oceans’ food chain and therefore receive high contaminant loads from their prey. Research by Dr. Peter Ross has shown that Bigg’s killer whales (transients), being mammal predators, feed highest up the food chain and therefore have the highest level of POPs.
Female To Calf
POPs are not only acquired by consuming contaminant-laden prey, but are also passed from female to calf during gestation and nursing. They are mainly transferred via the rich, fatty milk produced by the mother. A female’s first calf receives the largest contaminant load compared to the load received by subsequent calves. While this transfer of contaminants from female to calf may be very harmful for the calf,
it does mean that females reduce their contaminant load significantly every time they rear young. This release of toxins through lactation means that the POP load of adult females is roughly 30% less than that of adult males.
Oil Spills
Oil Spills are also a major threat to marine life and cetaceans do not appear to avoid areas affected by oil. They have little if any sense of smell and are unable to detect oil vapour in the air. While they do have excellent eye sight, they don’t appear to recognize surface oil as a hazard. Oil vapour is very toxic and causes respiratory distress when inhaled. Whales are also in danger if they eat oiled prey. Bigg’s killer whales (transients) can consume oil adhering to the bodies and fur of their mammalian meals, and ingestion of oil can cause serious long-term damage to internal organs. Baleen whales are also particularly vulnerable to oil while feeding, as oil may stick to their baleen while they “filter feed” near oil slicks.
www.theguardian.com wildwhales.org
17
Save The Whales is an organization founded in 1977. It focuses on educating the public, especially children, about marine mammals and the fragile ocean environment. It has made countless efforts to end whaling and other major issues soncerning marine wild life.
Prevented Navy “Ship Shock” Tests
In an unprecedented victory, Save the Whales attorneys and scientific experts stopped the U.S. Navy from detonating 269 “Ship Shock” explosives in waters off of Southern California. Countless marine mammals were saved from death and injury including endangered whales, dolphins, and seals.
18
Stopped Salt Mining Operation
In conjunction with Mexican and U.S. environmental groups, Save the Whales worked relentlessly to halt Mitsubishi’s plan to expand salt mining operations into the fragile San Ignacio Lagoon, Baja California - the last undeveloped gray whale birthing lagoon in the world.
Support Rescue Efforts
Fishing nets entangle and drown marine mammals everyday. Their support of a rescueboat operation off of Southern California, saves whales, dolphins, seals, and birds that would otherwise die a slow and painful death.
Campaigns Against Whaling
Despite the 1986 moratorium on whaling, the slaughter continues. Save the Whales is constantly encouraging people to join their letter-writing campaign to government officials and request that sanctions be placed against offending nations.
Reduce Urban Runoff
Sea otters in Monterey, California are dying from diseases believed to be caused by urban runoff. Storm water pollution (urban runoff) is one of the largest sources of water pollution nationwide. Pollutants, including used motor oil, antifreeze, detergents, litter, paint, pesticides, pet waste, and copper, are flushed off streets and into storm drains which lead straight into rivers, creeks, and the oceans. Toxic chemicals (DDT and PCB’s) in the ocean continue to affect marine mammals. Educating the public about this serious water quality issue is a priority for Save the Whales.
The Next Generation
No one action will ensure the safety of whales for all time. This is why Save the Whales devotes so much time reaching out to children about marine life. So far, over 275,000 children have learned about whales and how to save sea life through Whales on Wheels (WOW™). This innovative hands-on program, taught by marine biologists, brings whale bones, marine mammals artifacts, and conservation messages to the classroom.
Save The Whales BWET Program
Since 2003, the Save the Whales BWET Program has been taking students out in the natural environment to observe their local watershed, take water quality data, and use scientific intstruments. This nine month hands-on opportunity allows students to see how human activities on land caused by pollution can enter creeks and streams and flow to the ocean.
www.savethewhales.org
19
America
The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) requires that all imported fish or fish products be accompanied by proof that the technology used to land the catch does not kill or seriously injure whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals in excess of U.S. standards. The U.S. has tried for years to end its commercial whaling, which includes hunting of the endangered fin whale, as it undermines the effectiveness of IWC’s commercial whaling ban. In 2011, after pressure from WWF and others, the U.S. government officially declared Iceland in defiance of the IWC ban. Although no sanctions were implemented, the President urged Iceland to cease its commercial whaling activities. In 2013, Iceland resumed its fin whale hunt.
20
Russia
IFAW Russia has been running a campaign to save the Western Gray Whales since 2002. Gray Whales travel to the Northern tip of Sakhalin every winter to feed. However, there are huge oil deposits from major oil companies in that same area. All of their platforms are nearby the shore, a.k.a. Gray Whale feeding grounds. It is very important to IFAW Russia to protect the whales form the damage that could come from the world development in this area. In 2012, an oil campany off the coast of Sakhalin built another platform, in which IFAW was there monitoring and making sure to reduce as much sound coming from the construction as possible.
Canada
The Canadian Whale Instutue, founded in 1997, works to facilitate and support research, conservation and stewardship of whales; with a focus on the North Atlantic Right Whale. The area located south of Nova Scotia has a substantial level of domestic and international shipping traffic through the areas where right whales aggregate annually to feed and socialize. The CWI would like to work toward an area to be avoided by large vessels to reduce the potential for ship collisions. They are bringing awareness to the general Canadian population of the serious impact man is having on the living conditions of the whale. On top of that, the CWI is committed to bringing the North Atlantic right whale into the classroom through developing an Education Concept for schools, providing teachers with a resource educational kit, and providing in-class presentations.
Australia
For decades, Japan has been conducting “scientific� whaling operations in the Southern Ocean, a critical feeding area for whales where commercial whaling is forbidden. In May 2010, the Australian government requested the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order Japan to cease its whaling practices in the Southern Ocean. In March 2014, the ICJ finally ruled that Japan must stop such activities (and Japan announced they will abide), a true conservation win for whales.
Iceland
Iceland is one of, if not the biggest commercial whaling nation in the world. However, many changes, though minor, are currently taking place. Iceland announced that it would suspend its hunting of fin whales for the 2012 season. This was a huge victory for fin whales, which are already listed as an endangered species and could very well be hunted to extinction if this senseless slaughter were to continue. Since 2006, Iceland has killed 280 fin whales in violation of the international moratorium on commercial whaling. However, Fin Whales have more commonly been able to avoid slaughter in Icelandic waters. www.nrdc.org www.worldwildlife.org www.ifaw.org www.canadianwhales.org www.savebiogems.org
21
Significance
Whaling, along with hazards such as ocean noise, ship strikes, pollution, unsustainable fishing practices, oil and gas development and climate change, continues to be a threat to these intelligent creatures who play a significant role in ocean ecosystems. Whales play a very important role in the health of our environment and our understanding of marine mammals as well as in helping growing economies that rely on whale watching and other spectator activities bring in capital through tourism. Biological and research studies in whale behavior, echolocation, language, intelligence, environmental impact and various other topics have helped scientists learn so much about the whale species and their impact on this world. By observing how they thrive and survive in the ocean we have learned a great deal about their social structure and how they communicate with one another. For these marine mammals the development of a healthy society is crucial to their survival.
22
The Environment
When it comes to the environment and the oceans ecosystem whales help regulate the flow of food by helping to maintain a stable food chain and ensuring that certain animal species do not overpopulate the ocean. A blue whale for example can consume as much as 40 million krill per day, so you can imagine the impact this would have on stabilizing the aquatic ecosystem if the blue whale species were to become extinct. When one species of animal that is important to the food chain dies it allows other species to thrive. Even whale poop plays a large role in the environment by helping to offset carbon in the atmosphere.Studies have shown that the nutrients in sperm whale poop helps stimulate the growth of phytoplankton which pull carbon from the atmosphere to provide a cleaner and healthier breathing environment for all animals. Estimates state that as much as 400,000 tonnes of carbon are extracted from the air due to these whales each year!
Tourism And Growing Economies
Whale watching has become a huge international spectator activity and tourism booster over the last several decades. Billions of dollars have been spent by people hoping to get a glance of these majestic creatures in their natural habitat. This spending has led to increases in economic growth and stimulation for both wealthy and developing economies world-wide and has become a major source of income for some countries as a part of their tourist attraction. The growing interest in whale watching has become an increasingly important component for economies that are looking to increase their global presence and attract the interests of other countries. www.whalefacts.org www.nrdc.org
1
Send an SOS: Ask the world’s leaders to support ocean sanctuaries at the United Nations. Share the importance of the petition with your friends via facebook, twitter, and snail-mail.
4
Write the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinz Abe., and tell him you will not purchase any Japanese products or visit Japan until they stop killing and capturing whales. whaleman.org
act.greenpeace.org
2
Make a donation to Save The Whales through Monterey County Gives. Make sure to sign their Petition to Prevent the Extinction of the Vaquita Porpoise.
5
Adopt a whale for $50 a year. When you adopt a whale you will help to protect them from the dangers they face like whaling, vessel strikes, pollution, and fishing gear entanglements.
6
Compose and send a message directly to The President.
www.savethewhales.org
3
Write, e-mail, or call the President and let them know that you want the US to use its sanctioning powers available under the Pelly Amendment against Japan, Norway, and Iceland until they stop whaling.
The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20500
White House Comment Line: (202) 456-1111 White House Fax Line: (202) 456-2461
How to Get Involved
23
1986
One whale = 1,000 dead whales
2013
The International Whaling Commission decided that there should be a pause in commercial whaling on all stocks from the 1985/1986 season onwards. That year, 6,176 whales were killed. Last year, only 763 whales were killed, but the ultimate goal is to get it down to zero. http://iwc.int/status
24
Each year, thousands of whales, dolphins and porpoises become stranded on shorelines around the world. Left unaided, many die within a day or two. In the Philippines, about a dozen stranding events occur a year. Over the years, commercial whaling has depleted a number of whale populations, some near extinction. With the adoption of rules to protect them, many whales have made a comeback, but their survival remains fragile. NRDC and over a dozen other conservation groups recently petitioned the Obama administration to take strong action against Iceland under the Pelly Amendment and the Fisherman’s Protective Act. The United States has a unique opportunity to engage in efforts outside of the IWC that will encourage Iceland to end the killing of whales for commercial purposes. Taking these actions against Iceland and other whaling nations is consistent
with the United States’ historic role as a global leader in whale conservation. As you can see, whales play an extremely important role in our ecosystem by maintaining a stable food chain and feeding other marine animals that help provide a cleaner atmosphere as well as helping growing economies increase their awareness and profitability through tourism. Without the existence of the whale species the entire worlds economy would see a huge negative shift and everyone and everything would be affected from this change. Get Involved!
25