whaling

Lack of Demand for Dead Whales Will End Whaling

- Adam Clare

ocean shore

Undoubtedly, whaling is bad for whales, nature, and even geopolitical reactions. Demand for whale meat and byproducts has been decreasing due to ongoing pressure from consumers and activists. Countries that permit whaling are frowned upon by other nations for conitrnuig the practice. The good news for whales is that due to COVID-19 the demand for whale meat has decreased to the point that Iceland may finally shutdown their whaling operations.

Another issue for Loftsson is that public opinion on whaling has changed, says Árni Finnsson, chairman of the Iceland Nature Conservation Association. “What has changed is that the fishing industry is not willing to support him anymore. They feel that Iceland needs to be able to export fish to the U.S. market, and they don’t want to continue defending whaling. I think he’s done.”

Read more.

Japan Ordered to Stop Whaling and Complies

- Adam Clare

Japan has long been criticized for its “scientific” whaling and now the UN has asked them to stop. Japan defended itself by saying that their ships who were slaughtering whales were doing so in the name of science – a defence nobody believed.

In a lengthy ruling, the presiding judge in the Hague, Peter Tomka, said Japan had failed to prove that its pursuit of hundreds of mainly minke whales in Antarctic waters every winter – under a programme known as Jarpa II – was for scientific purposes.

“The evidence does not establish that the programme’s design and implementation are reasonable in relation to achieving its stated objectives,” Tomka said.

“The court concludes that the special permits granted by Japan for the killing, taking and treating of whales in connection with Jarpa II are not for purposes of scientific research,” he added, before ordering Japan to cease its whaling programme “with immediate effect”.

Read more about the ruling here.

The really great part of this is that Japan will actually stop whaling!!!

“However Japan will abide by the judgement of the court that places a great importance on the international legal order and the rule of law.

“We will abide by the decision of the courts and although we will consider a concrete future course of action very carefully, upon studying what is stated in the judgement, we will cease the current research whaling program in the Antarctic pursuant to the judgement.

Japan Stops Antarctic Whaling this Winter

- Adam Clare

Sea Shepherd has succeed in its goal to stop Japan from whaling. The stoppage is a result of Sea Shepherd actively hindering the ability of whalers to kill whales, nobody has been harmed by the organization but Japan is calling for the group to be banned by other nations.

Japanese whalers seem intent on whaling again this year but for now let’s take a moment to rejoice that the needless slaughter of whales is not happening for the rest of the winter.

Japan has suspended whaling in the Antarctic after repeated harassment by conservationists, says a government official.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ships have been chasing the whaling fleet for weeks in the icy seas, trying to block Japan’s annual whale hunt, planned for up to 945 whales.
…
The Australian Greens said late last night that the Japanese decision was “truly a cause for celebration”.

Read the full article.
Check out Sea Shepherd.

Sea Shepherd Helps Whales Survive

- Adam Clare

Japan’s notorious killing spree of whales has been challenged by Sea Shepherd for years and this past year Sea Shepherd literally saved whales.

Japan’s whaling ships have returned from the Southern Ocean with their smallest catch in years, prompting the fleet’s leader to blame harassment by the Sea Shepherd marine conservation group for the shortfall.

The Nisshin Maru, the fleet’s mother ship, returned to Tokyo harbour yesterday with just 507 whales, a little over half the target catch of 935, according to the fisheries agency. The haul of minke whales and a single finback was well down on last year’s catch of 680.

The fleet said Sea Shepherd’s attempts to sabotage the hunt had deprived it of 31 days’ whaling.

The annual confrontation between the two groups reached its height in January with the sinking of Sea Shepherd’s high-tech powerboat, the Ady Gil, after a collision with the Shonan Maru 2 harpoon boat.

Read more at The Guardian.

Iceland and Norway also participate in annual whale killing.

Let us not forget that Bluefin Tuna is endangered and we need to protect them too.

Mr. Pants: A Whale of a Tale

- Adam Clare

Here’s a real story about a real whale and a real thing that happened on the internet as told by the founder of Reddit. A great four minute story about how the internet got Greenpeace to have a good time and in turn save a whole lot of whales from a Japanese assault.

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