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Two recent developments offer encouraging news for whales. Though not yet fully realized in terms of their ramifications, they are certainly steps in the right direction towards ensuring the long-term future of whales worldwide.
US Proposes Sanctions Against Iceland
Iceland is one of two nations that openly defy the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling - the other nation being Norway. Japan hides its whaling operations behind the commission's loophole regarding taking whales for scientific research.
In response to considerable pressure from environmental groups, US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, on Wednesday, put Iceland on notice that they may be subject to economic sanctions if they do not curtail all commercial whaling activities. Using the Pelly Amendment, which provides for sanctions against nations that violate global fisheries conservation agreements, the Commerce Department is taking the first step in a process that ultimately must be approved by President Obama."Iceland's harvest of whales and export of fin whale meat threaten an endangered species and undermine worldwide efforts to protect whales," said Locke, who oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "It's critical that the government of Iceland take immediate action to comply with the moratorium."
Iceland's actual involvement is whaling is not as aggressive as Norway or Japan. Complying with the whaling moratorium for many years, Iceland resumed whaling in 2006 and most of its catch was exported to Japan - a market that has declined recently. Last year, Iceland took about 225 whales, compared to Japan's annual catch which often exceeds 1,000.
But with Japan heading towards an international legal struggle with Australia and continued harassment from pro-whale organizations like the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, taking political aim at one of the two Northern European whaling prohibition violators is an appropriate move. Now it remains to be seen as to whether President Obama will concur and impose sanctions.
Oman Studies Cetacea in the Northern Indian Ocean
Recognizing the importance of cetacea that ply the waters off this Arabian peninsula nation, Oman continues to embark on research to study the several different species of whales and dolphins that call the Northern Indian Ocean home.
Oman is the only Arabian peninsula nation that is a member of the IWC and, through its Environment Society of Oman (ESO), has been studying the Arabian Sea Humpback Whale in addition to Bryde's, Sperm and Blue whales. The study has generated great interest in the scientific community as the whales inhabit a region that is not directly linked to cold, polar feeding regions that generate considerable amounts of krill - a key food source for most whales. This makes for a somewhat unique habitat for the whales living there.
Recognizing the importance of conservation measures to monitor the interactions and threats to large whales from shipping traffic and bycatch, the director of the ESO Lamees Daar said, “The successful development of a regional CMP [Conservation Management Plan] will depend on the cooperation and understanding of all range states [Oman, Yemen, the UAE, Iran, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka], which is an ambitious undertaking but is a challenge that ESO feels is necessary.”
Read about possible US sanctions against Iceland in the Associated Foreign Press.
Read about Oman's pro-whale commitment in the Times of Oman.
Without too much fanfare and media scrutiny, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has been holding their annual meeting in Morocco for the past several weeks. The meeting began on May 27 with "pre-meetings" and scientific committee meetings while the formal 
commission meeting began today and will run through June 25th.
There are both whale conservation organizations and commercial whaling groups in attendance - each making their case for either the greater protection of whales or the maintaining (or increase) of current catch quotas. Several nations including Japan and Norway have expressed a desire to resume full-scale whaling operations. Having been shown on the worldwide stage of public opinion that their "whaling for scientific research" to be largely a farce, Japan has, in particular, been rumored to favor major expansion of its whaling activities.
We'll have to wait and see what the final outcome of the IWC meeting will produce. The petitions have all been signed, the key players are there, and the backroom political leveraging, I am sure, is in full swing - so all we can do is hold our breath and hope that reason prevails in determining the future of what is, by today's standards, an archaic activity and an ironic reminder of the consequences of dependence on a limited resource - once it was whale oil, now it's crude oil.
My brother Chris alerted me to a clever and interesting interactive article in the BBC News that lists a variety of whale species and then provides key information as to their size, range, and current population and threatened status (Click on the image of a particular whale species and up pops a photo and key data). I don't know how long the article will be available in the BBC archive, so take a look now to get a handle on some of the key cetacean species that are of concern with many conservation groups.
And let's cross our fingers and flippers and hope for the best for earth's dwindling cetaceans.
Read more about the IWC's meeting agenda.
Read the BBC interactive article.
Three news items about whales caught my attention:
Off the northwest coast of Maui, a juvenile humpback whale (30-35 feet) was reported entangled in polypropylene rope. Officials from the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary were successful in removing hundreds of feet of rope but more still needs to be extracted from the whale's mouth. We have seen whales with fish nets or rope wrapped around the tail; entangled around the head and mouth would possibly explain this whale's reported weakened condition, being unable to feed properly. The whale is being tracked and officials hope to remove the remaining rope soon. Let's wish them luck and hope for the whale's speedy recovery. Derelict "ghost" nets and loose line pose a hazard to whales and the growth of industrial fishing - more boats, more nets - only increases the chances for an accidental encounter. Read The Maui News article.
Off the west coast of New Zealand, a sperm whale washed ashore, apparently the victim of a ship's propeller. The sharp cut across the whale's dorsal fin area exposed muscles and intestines and probably was an unfortunate slow death. Staff from New Zealand's Department of Conservation examined the whale and took biological samples, then allowed representatives of indigenous tribesmen bless and bury the whale in accordance to local custom. There have been issues in the past with sorting out safe shipping lanes that don't interfere with known whale migratory routes. A reduction in ship speed has proven somewhat effective in some areas, but the occasional accidental encounter seems inevitable. Read stuff.co.nz article.
As I mentioned on Tuesday, NOAA proposed a 3,000 square mile critical habitat for beluga whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet. There is a required public response period before the proposal is enacted, and already the habitat opponents have got the PR wheels in motion. Meant to stir the blood of Alaskan citizens, here is a choice exaggeration from Alaskan Senator Don Young, declaring the proposal was "yet another attempt to halt resource production and development in Alaska and a step toward making the whole state a national park for the enjoyment of outsiders." What's clever here is that any input from national conservation groups or comments/petitions from non-Alaskans will appear like more interference from the "outsiders." Outside support for the proposal will be inevitable but there will need to be strong support from Alaskans too to combat this kind of clever PR positioning. Read UPI.com article.
Seems like whaling is not the only thing that puts these majestic creatures at risk. . .
Back in March of this year, I reported on efforts being undertaken to protect a dwindling population of Beluga Whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet - a slender offshoot in the Gulf of Alaska that leads to north to Anchorage. Impacted by pollution and development, partly related to oil drilling activities, the number of whales have declined from over 1000 in the 1980's to a little over 300 today.
On Tuesday, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) proposed a 3,000 square mile area as critical habitat for these whales. This is a positive first step, in response to legal action from the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), and repudiates the position taken at the time by now former Alaska governor, Sarah Palin.
Next will be the required public comment period. You can expect that there will be rebuttals from the oil industry and other less conservation-minded groups. Pro-whale advocates and groups will need to make their voices heard during this crucial next step.
Check in with CBD or stay tuned to this blog to hear about what you can do to contribute.
While Alaska governor Sarah Palin generated a lot of interest during the presidential campaign, she also came under fire from conservationists due to her anti-conservation views regarding polar bears (opposed to a possible endangered species status) and timber wolves (approves aerial hunting by helicopter).
Seems she has not re-thought any of her views as she has taken a position against the pending endangered species listing of the Beluga Whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet. Feeling that enough is already being done, she has, on behalf of the state, filed an intent to sue in 60-days. But not every conservative supports her position. "Sarah Palin is a very gifted politician, she obviously has a future and she's going places," says Jim DiPeso, spokesman for Republicans for Environmental Protection. "And she is certainly within her rights to file litigation. But in this case she's on the wrong side of history and the American conservation movement, and of what's prudent and right."
The Cook Inlet is home to an isolated population of beluga whales that are exposed to pollutants from the oil industry - a leftover effect from a grandfather clause when the 1972 Clean Water Act was enacted, allowing the pollution to continue. That population has declined dramatically since the 1980s, from over 1,000 to about 375 now. More than 300 whales perished in one four-year stretch (1994 to 1998) alone, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.Salon.com wrote an interesting and detailed piece on the entire flap and the Center of Biological Diversity plans to take decisive counter-action. Oddly, the belugas were listed as endangered candidates during the Bush administration. "It's hard to imagine that anyone could be more anti-environmental than Bush, but Palin is Exhibit A," says Brendan Cummings, oceans program director for the Center for Biological Diversity. "Here we had the most anti-environmental administration in U.S. history, and Palin still feels compelled to sue over one of the few environmentally positive things to come out of that administration."
Not hard to see where her intentions and allegiance lies - from the woman who echoed "drill, baby, drill."
Much of the challenge in addressing shark conservation issues with Asian countries centers on the strength of the cultural history behind the use of shark products. This is also true with the efforts to curtail whaling in Japan. A recent article in the Los Angeles Times addresses these challenges that range from a society that has long valued seafood and whale products to cherished beliefs in trust in government and commercial enterprises.
Many of you are probably aware of the number of whales taken by Japan in the Antarctic region under the auspices of "lethal research." Many conservation organizations consider this a fraudulent loophole in international whaling regulations, allowing Japan to continue to take whales to meet the demands of a few coastal villages and upscale restaurants.
Generally, those opposing Japanese whaling have been from the United States, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand and much of their efforts are met with resistance because they are viewed as outsiders in what is perceived as an internal policy decision. Additionally, the actions of more extreme radical groups like Sea Shepherd and the less radical Greenpeace seem to exacerbate the problem and, in a culture that prizes polite discourse, complicates diplomatic efforts.
Enter into the picture,Toru Suzuki and Junichi Sato, two Japanese activist members of Greenpeace who have been trying to bring the issue to the attention of their fellow countrymen in Japan. Last spring, the two uncovered a shipment of whale meat bound for the black market and sourced from a ship sanctioned under the government's whale research/non-profit policy. With a subsequent news conference, the two activists hoped for media support to bring the issue into the open but, instead, found themselves arrested for theft and, according to their lawyers, have experienced prolonged confinement and harassment.
Japan is an interesting culture. With a centuries-old dependence on seafood, combined with an ingrained trust in the integrity and support of government and commercial institutions, getting the general populace to question or level any degree of scepticism regarding official policy can be daunting and met with considerable resistance not only from the government but also from the media.
"We expected the media to support us," said Toru Suzuki. "But they turned against us." "They [Suzuki and Sato] took a stand against national policy," defense attorney Yuichi Kaido said. "So they are being harshly punished."
Many of the advances in Asian shark conservation have come about from a more "top down" approach, where political and media-focused efforts have induced government officials or the commercial users of shark products to adopt more conservation-minded policies and prohibitions. It can be a diplomatically delicate and slow process. But, can what has succeeded in some Asian countries succeed in a country like Japan - a country with an ancient history in isolationism and devout trust in authority which still shadows their thinking in today's world? Two Japanese countrymen are finding that it may not be so easy to prove that the emperor has no clothes.
Read the Los Angeles Times article.
Two recent developments offer encouraging news for whales. Though not yet fully realized in terms of their ramifications, they are certainly steps in the right direction towards ensuring the long-term future of whales worldwide.
