News Reports - 1996
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Date: Wed, 3 Jan 1996
Florida's manatees dying in near-record number
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla, (Reuter) - Florida recorded its second-highest death toll of endangered manatees in 1995 as 201 of the gentle, slow-moving sea cows died in protected state waters, officials said on Wednesday. They were alarmed by the high number of deaths, surpassed only by the 206 recorded in 1990 when a fierce cold snap boosted the toll, but were encouraged by indications that deaths resulting from human activity were down.
Of the 201 deaths, fifty-five were related to human activity, compared to 70 in 1994, when the death toll was 193.
"What we did see in 1995 is a downturn in the number of manatee deaths caused by human activity," said Scott Wright, a scientist at the Florida Marine Research Institute. "That means public awareness is up, many boaters are slowing down and manatees are being better protected."
Manatees, which frequent warm, shallow water, are mammals that often drift just below the surface of the water, leaving them prey to speeding boats. Many bear deep scars from boat propellers.
The state's population of manatees -- lumbering vegetarians that can grow to 15 feet (4.5 metres) in length and a ton in weight -- has been decimated as the number of registered boats in Florida has doubled from about 400,000 to 800,000 since 1974, officials said.
There are believed to be only about 1,800 manatees, whose origins date back 45 million years, remaining in Florida waters, state biologists said. The entire state of Florida has been decreed a manatee sanctuary.
Date: Sat, 6 Jan 1996
Keiko (Free Willy) to Start Trek to Freedom
Mexico City, (Reuter) - Keiko, star of the blockbuster WHALE movie 'Free Willy', starts his own personal odyssey toward freedom on Sunday as he leaves capitivity in Mexico for a new life in Oregon. The 6m Killer Whale, who for 11 years has been star attraction in an amusement park in Mexico City, will be airlifted in a Hercules tranport plane early on Sunday to a specially built aquarium in Newport, Oregon. There, experts hope, they can coax him back to full health and weight in a large salt water tank, end his role as a stunt performer and eventually take the unprecedented step of returning him to the ocean to find his family and a mate.
Keiko leapt to stardom in his role as ``Willy'' in the 1993 Warner Brothers movie about a WHALE released from grim capitivity and released at sea with the help of a small boy.
In a case of life imitating art, a US group known as the Free Willy foundation, backed with $US2 million from Warner Brothers, pulled together funds to build him a better aquarium in Newport, and arranged his transfer.
"The movie ended beautifully but (Warner Brothers worried) that the star of the movie was in a facility that didn't meet his needs,"David Phillips, director of the foundation, told reporters here on Friday.
To offset criticism about a mammal that quickly became the most famous WHALE in the world, Phillips said the movie studio joined Mexico's Reino Aventura amusement park in planning his rehabilitation. Experts deny that Keiko is in bad health but he suffers a skin irritation, is about a ton underweight and has now reached sexual maturity at the age of 15. With cash-strapped Reino Aventura unable to afford him a female companion, Phillips said it became the first amusement park ever to give away a killer (ORCA) WHALE.
"It was almost impossible to find him a mate. We did it out of concern for Keiko, not because of pressure,", said the park's director general Antonio Quevedo.
Starting early on Sunday, Keiko will be lifted into a portable water tank, trucked to the airport and flown in a sling inside the tank aboard a C-130 Hercules for a nine-hour, $US500,000 flight to Oregon. His new home will be a two million gallon salt water pool, built with donations at a cost of around $US8 million. The pool is five times larger than his current one. Phillips said he would be taught to eat live fish and gradually trained to return to sea. Biologists would perform DNA tests to try to trace his family off the Iceland coast.
No captive Orca has ever been returned to the wild, and success is not guaranteed.
For Keiko, the gamble may be worth it. If he returns to sea his lifespan could increase to around 40 years because of the natural environment, Phillips said, and there was still a chance he could find a mate and start a family of his own.
Date: Sun, 07 Jan 1996
"Keiko Express" arrives safely with a whale of a cargo
From Correspondents Rusty Dornin and Lucia Newman
NEWPORT, Oregon (CNN) -- The seven-thousand pound star of the movie "Free Willy" has reached his new home.
A crowd of people stood outside the Oregon Coast Aquarium Sunday to welcome Keiko to his new home. Keiko arrived in Newport by airplane Sunday around 5:30 p.m. EST. He was expected to arrive at the aquarium Sunday evening. The chartered plane that carried the whale in a freight container dubbed the "Keiko Express" from Mexico City made a stop in Phoenix, Arizona, to pick up fresh water and ice for Keiko's tank. Operation Adios Keiko was a major logistical undertaking. The trip began in Mexico City where Keiko has lived in a relatively small tank for the last 12 years.
Link: Keiko's (Free Willy) Big Move
Date: Wed, 10 Jan 1996
Europe Being Asked for Cash to Develop Dolphin Alarm
By Chris Court, PA News
European funding is being sought for an underwater alarm aimed at reducing the horrific toll of dolphins which drown when they become caught in fishing nets. The bodies of 11 dolphins have been found washed up on Cornwall's beaches since January 4 - and the creatures almost certainly drowned after being enveloped in the massive nets of mid-Channel trawlers, according to experts.
Dolphins in pursuit of "easy pickings" were probably swept up and drowned when the nets were hauled in, said Cornwall Wildlife Trust chairman Dr Nick Tregenza. Now the trust is to apply for a European Commission grant to develop an underwater dolphin detector and alarm. Dr Tregenza said it would take around six months to develop the device. "If dolphins can be frightened away at just the right time it may be possible to reduce the mortality," he said. He envisaged the electronic device being towed behind fishing boats to detect the dolphins' distinctive high-frequency clicks, which would then trigger a "screamer" to frighten the mammals away.
There was a reasonable chance that the problem of dolphin deaths could be solved, he said. Cornish Biological Records Unit spokeswoman Stella Turk said post mortem examinations would be carried out on seven of the dolphins washed up in Cornwall this month.
In 1992, when the bodies of more than 100 dolphins were found on the region's shores, post mortem examinations of 30 of them showed that they had all suffocated.
Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996
AUSTRALIA: Whales Beach Themselves Again on NSW North Coast
SYDNEY, [AAP] - Six melon-headed whales who beached themselves for a second time on the New South Wales north coast last night have been given a temporary home in a hotel swimming pool. The 10 metre by 15 metre saltwater pool at the Mediterranean Hotel in Crescent Head, east of Kempsey, will be the whales' residence until they are ready for another release attempt -- probably not within the next 24 hours, a National Parks and Wildlife spokesman said today.
Seven of the whales, which are about two metres long, beached themselves at Point Plomer, between Kempsey and Port Macquarie, on Tuesday night (9th). They were released 12 km out to sea from a police launch and a Seaworld craft yesterday afternoon. But six of the whales beached themselves again two kilometres south of Crescent Head at 6pm yesterday, NPWS operations officer Eric Claussen said. He said they were the same whales that had beached earlier, but the seventh whale, a juvenile, had died from stress when it was released.
The whales had to be removed from the beach when NPWS was notified of their return last night.
"They were getting battered around in the surf and we had to get them off the beach before high tide," Mr Claussen said.
"The only appropriate still water was in the saltwater pool at the Mediterranean Hotel in Crescent Head."
They had been transported to the hotel, 5km away, on a NPWS whale trailer and on the trailers of some local professional fishermen, he said. The animals were safely in the pool by about 10pm.
"They're in a much better condition than they were when we rescued them," Mr Claussen said.
"They're fairly comfortable and stable, their breathing rates are stable and their pulse rates are fairly normal."
Volunteers were rostered around the clock to hold the whales buoyant in the 1.5 metre-deep pool, he said. They were using 28 volunteers an hour.
"They're mainly locals -- they've been fantastic," he said. Officers from the NPWS would leave this morning to find a suitable release point for the whales then they would be transported to the area.
"That will be a slow process. It (the release) won't be within the next 24 hours," Mr Claussen said. He said there was no problem with finding food for the animals because creatures of that size could go two to three weeks without food.
The Australian Encyclopaedia says the melon-headed whale, also known as the electra dolphin or small killer whale, had not been recorded in Australian waters until 1959 when a school of 200 was stranded at Crowdy Head, about 65km south of this week's stranding. Most of that group was promptly cut up for fish and lobster bait. They are a very social animal that usually gathers in very large pods, and are found mainly in the tropics and sub-tropics.
Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996
NSW: Whales Headed for Back Creek
SYDNEY, Jan 11 AAP - Six melon-headed whales which spent the morning in a motel swimming pool were tonight moved to a creek at South West Rocks on the state's north coast for rehabilitation, a National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) spokesman said.
The whales were being moved now and would remain in the creek for probably much or all of tomorrow in preparation for efforts to move them out to sea once again, NPWS officer Lawrence Orel said. He said they were all in good condition but would need the time to recuperate so they were strong enough to go back out to sea when the conditions improved.
Big seas today hindered efforts to release them. Although the saltwater pool at the Mediterranean Motel in Crescent Head had been suitable as a temporary sanctuary, it was necessary to return the whales to their natural environment as soon as possible. Mr Orel said earlier today one of the reasons behind the failure of last night's release of the whales could have been the high seas that prevented boats taking the whales as far out to sea as they would have liked.
The six whales beached themselves last night only hours after seven of them had been rescued when they were stranded near Point Plomer, in the same area, on Tuesday night. One of the whales, the youngest, died.
"We'd like the sea to abate a bit before ... we take them out to deep water again," Mr Orel said.
"The pool ... is not really suitable for any long-term sort of rehabilitation," he said.
Blood samples had been taken from the whales during the morning and did not show any variation on tests done before yesterday's release, he said.
"Given the animals have been through an awful lot, they are in reasonable condition," he said.
"But the longer they go (before returning to the sea), the more rehabilitation they're likely to need before they're ready to leave."
A NPWS representative said earlier today that once the whales were moved to a safe location in the sea they would be held there for a period of time to acclimatise before they were released. They would probably not be released back out to sea before tomorrow or the weekend.
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 1996
The animals were part of a pod of seven that beached themselves at Point Plomer, between Port Macquarie and Kempsey, on Tuesday night. One of them died during a release attempt on Wednesday. The six were then transported yesterday about 50 km north to Back Creek, north of Kempsey, after spending almost 24 hours in a salt water motel swimming pool at Crescent Head. Mr Orel said the release attempt was made today because all the animals seemed in good health and sea conditions were perfect.
The volunteers decided on a beach release rather than from a boat because there was less stress involved for the animals, he said.
"We have to remember the compounding stress of the whole ordeal on the animals. We can only hope that we are doing the right things," he said.
"No further release attempts will be made today or even tomorrow but we will continue to monitor the situation."
The volunteers were performing physiotherapy treatment on the animals at the rehabilitation site to get them strong enough to send back out to sea, Mr Orel said. The physio involved bending the whales' tails to loosen up the muscles, and rotating them onto their sides so they had to use their muscles to roll themselves back to an upright position, he said.
"Their condition has improved given there is a lot more flexibility in the animals today compared to the previous couple of days," Mr Orel said.
Date: Sat, 13 Jan 1996
Taiwan police find six tonnes of dolphin heads
TAIPEI, Jan 12 (Reuter) - Police in Taiwan have found six tonnes of dolphin heads in a freezer and suspect that a giant crime syndicate may have been responsible for killing the animals, state television reported on Friday.
Police said they arrested one man, Wu Wan-chiao, for operating the freezer in the eastern coastal county of Yunlin, but Wu so far has refused to say where the dolphins came from.
"We face this incident with a heavy heart and hope to intensify our efforts in this area in the future," an official from the cabinet's Council of Agriculture said on state television.
The police suspect that a large crime syndicate may have smuggled and killed the dolphins, state television reported. Taiwan has been criticised in the past for failing to enforce international conservation laws that ban the killing of endangered animals.
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 1996
From: Lien-Siang Chou
Regarding the news of illegal dolphin carcasses found by the Taiwan police, I was invited to help communicate correct information, including species identification. I offer the following corrections and amendments:
- 1. The total weight was 12 tonnes (not 6 tonnes) of dolphin body pieces (not head only), which including heads, body trunks, and meat in boxes.
- 2. This case was discovered in the western (not eastern) coastal county, Yunlin.
- 3. For 54 individuals, the species could be identified by 52 heads (include 7 whole bodies), and 3 pieces of Kogia (2 piece with left lipper, and one piece with doral fin). These consisted of:
- 15 Tursiops truncatus (gilli type)
- 19 Stenella attenuata
- 10 Stenella longirostris
- 7 Steno bredanensis
- 1 Delphinus delphis
- 2 Kogia sp. (at least one Kogia breviceps)
- 4. In addition, there were187 boxes, about one fourth to third of the whole content, containing only meat, and weighed about 12-15 kg each. All meat was dark red in color. Therefore, it seems unlikly that it came from great whales. Roughtly another one third of content was dolphin carcass piece with blubber, almost all of them belong to the species listed above.
- 5. I have muscle samples in DMSO from 23 randomly-selected boxes 4 unknown body trunk pieces and 54 identified individuals as well. My students are going to run the DNA analysis in the Molecular Lab. of the department Chairman, Dr. Yao-Sung Lin. It might be a good idea to invite one foreign DNA lab. to duplicate the analysis. Any one interests, please contact me and let me know the budget and process.
** Another illegal case:
Based on the statement from the accused in this case, Mr. WU, police uncovered another illegal dolphin meat seller in the eastern coastal county, Taidung. In this case, there were 18 pieces of carcass without heads and they weighted about 500 kg. The fishermen had cut each dolphin into 2-4 pieces. These pieces consist at least 6 dolphins (because 6 truncks with flipper joints). Two of these animals were Lagenodelphis hosei. Identification of the others must wait DNA analysis.
Lien-siang Chou
Professor
Department of Zoology
National Taiwan University
Taipei, Taiwan, R. O. C.
e-mail: chouls@ccms.ntu.edu.tw
Tel:886(Taiwan)-2-366-1331
Fax:886(Taiwan)-2-363-9902
Date: Thur, 18 Jan 1996
Whales among victims still suffering from spill
By Yereth Rosen
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Jan 18 (Reuter) - A pod of killer whales that swam through spilled oil from the Exxon Valdez in 1989 is still suffering from the pollution and likely will die eventually from the effect, said scientists attending a conference here this week.
The A-B whale pod -- the most visible and prominent group of orcas around Prince William Sound -- has shrunk by a third since the Exxon Valdez oil disaster, said Craig Matkin, a marine mammal specialist from Homer, Alaska.
"The decline is pretty directly attributable to the spill. It's probably a direct result of being in oil," said Matkin, who said the pod size is now 22 compared to its pre-spill level of 36. The whales are among the still-suffering victims of the nation's worst oil spill, which dumped 11 million gallons into the sound.
Matkin said he believes the orcas are doomed because their complex social structure was ripped apart by deaths of females and juveniles. Now some members of the pod spend their days swimming alone, and the normally gregarious animals are likely to die alone, he said.
"With the A-B pod, I'm doubtful that they would recover," he said.
Matkin released results of his study at a three-day scientific conference held by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, the federal and state panel administering money paid by Exxon to settle government lawsuits.
Another pod that uses the sound, the transient A-T pod, is also faltering in the spill's aftermath, Matkin said. One theory is that the whales are suffering because of a loss of harbour seals, a prey species for the transient pods.
The sound's population of harbour seals -- falling even before the 1989 spill -- is still declining at about 6 percent a year, scientists said. Seabirds, otters and other animals have also suffered declines since the spill, scientists said at the conference, which ended Thursday.
Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996
Honduras-Dolphins
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) -- Eight dolphins shipped here from a Florida marine park 16 months ago were being sought in the Caribbean after they escaped from their pool at a luxury hotel during a storm.
Julio Galindo, owner of Anthony's Key Resort in the Roatan Bay Islands off Honduras' northern coast, said Thursday the dolphins had been missing for 10 days and that resort workers were still searching for them.
"The strong winds destroyed the natural barriers that kept them in ... and the dolphins will die if we don't find them quickly." Galindo added. He said six of the dolphins were born in captivity, and did not know how to look for food.
The missing dolphins were among 12 that were shipped to the Central American resort in September 1994, one month after Ocean World in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was shut down. The Humane Society of the United States had fought to have the dolphins sent to a federally licensed facility in the Florida Keys. But a judge threw out the organization's request for a restraining order to prevent the animals from being shipped to Honduras.
The dolphins' fate drew attention after Ocean World received approval from the state in August 1994 to send them to Anthony's Key Resort. The Honduran facility has 11 show dolphins that also swim with tourists. Four of its original 15 have died since the resort opened in 1989.
Animal welfare activists have called for a moratorium on marine mammal exports until rules can be written on how to assess foreign parks.
Date: Sun, 21 Jan 1996
Helium Balloons
From: Frederick L. Bach Email:fbach@igc.apc.org
The Alliance for a Living Ocean (ALO), an ocean conservation group located at Beach Haven on Long Beach Island, NJ, is waging a vigorous campaign against the release of helium-filled ballons near shore areas.
When these balloons deflate and fall into the ocean, they are mistaken by sea creatures like turtles, dolphins, and whales for jellyfish. Balloons swallowed by these animals cause an intestinal blockage and result in certain death.
The next time you are celebrating with a helium-filled balloon, DON'T LET IT GO.
We are particularly interested in cautioning grade school teachers against encouraging their classes to release balloons with messages attached near shore areas.
Any help you can give ALO in waging this campaign will be appreciated. If you have any ideas for helping to stop the release of helium-filled balloons near sea shore areas, please send your ideas to : fbach@igc.apc.org
Date: Mon, Jan 22, 1996
From Robert B. Griffin Email: bgriffin@gsosun1.gso.uri.edu
As a doctoral student at the University of Rhode Island Grad. School of Oceanography, I have spent approx. 160 days at sea, censusing marine mammal populations. Now I know where the balloons go. I have seen balloons as far out to sea as 200 miles, generally singly but once in a large cluster. Once the balloons fall into the ocean, they are transported by coastal currents, warm core rings, and the Gulf Stream to points unknown.
Last July, sensing a period of celebration arriving (the 4th of July) I wrote an editorial to my small newspaper alerting them to the potential danger and asking them not to release balloons. I was surprised at the number of people I met on the street commenting on my article. It had never entered their minds that balloon release posed a potential problem.
I do not believe people intentionally want to trash the ocean endangering wildlife. I think a nation-wide letter to the editor campaign might significantly reduce the problem.
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 1996
From: Robert Kummerer Email: KUMMERER@EOS.HITC.COM
National Aquarium in Baltimore
For the past three years I have volunteered with the Marine Animal Rescue Program (MARP) sponsored by the National Aquarium in Baltimore. MARP's goal is to rescue, rehabilitate, and release sick and injured marine animals. We respond to roughly 25 strandings per year of ceteceans, pinnipeds, sea turtles,and even a wayward manatee. The human impact on the animals to which we respond is sometimes all too obvious.
On Thanksgiving Day in 1993 MARP received a pygmy sperm whale that stranded in New Jersey. This whale, named "Inky" by the Baltimore media, was severely emaciated. After two months of little success in getting Inky to regain her appetite and weight, an endoscopic procedure was performed so the medical staff could look at her GI tract. What was discovered was totally unexpected. Several pieces of plastic were discovered, among which was a complete Mylar party balloon, the cellophane off a box of cigarettes, and pieces of a garbage bag. After a total of five endoscopic procedures, all of the plastic was removed from Inky. Roughly six months after first arriving at the aquarium Inky was completely rehabilitated and released in the Gulf Stream off Florida.
This story fortunately had a happy ending, but we can't help but wonder how many ocean animals will suffer a different fate.
Date: Thu, 25 Jan, 1996
Baby Monk Seal Released
NOUAKCHOTT, Jan 25 (Reuter) - A baby monk seal, one of the world's most endangered species, has recovered from her injuries after treatment in Mauritania and been returned to the sea, the Mauritanian state news agency said on Thursday. Some 150 monk seals, about half the world's total, live off Mauritania, Western Sahara and Morocco.
The monk seal was rescued near the northern port of Nouadhibou last October. Named Aziza by a researcher, she had apparently lost her parents in a storm and was lightly injured and suffering from malnutrition and breathing problems. Aziza was cared for at Mauritania's national oceanographic and fisheries research centre in Nouadhibou with the help of the Dutch Pieterburen dolphin research institute. After nearly four months of treatment, her weight had risen to 50 kg (110 pounds) from 31 kg (68 pounds).
Monk seals, so called because folds of skin around their necks recall monastic dress, are among the last members of the seal family living in temperate waters in the northern hemisphere. They are under threat from viral infections, from pollution and fishing which deplete their feeding grounds, and fishermen who kill them because they damage nets and eat fish.
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 1996
Disease Risk from Stranded Whales
By Steve Smith, PA News
Six huge sperm whales which died after becoming stranded on a North Sea beach will spend a second night on a sandbank before the grim task of burying them begins, health officials confirmed today. The huge mammals - weighing around 20 tons each - were discovered on Cruden Bay beach, 25 miles north of Aberdeen, early on Sunday.
Environmental health experts had expected to begin disposing of the corpses today, but the operation has been delayed because of difficulties in moving heavy excavation equipment over the soft sand. An Aberdeen Coastguard spokesman confirmed that staff would guard the site for a second night before burial work begins early tomorrow (TUES). He said:
"There is now a greater risk of disease from the whales, so the public are being kept well back from the scene."
The whales are lying together on a two-mile stretch of sand on a popular beach beneath the ruined Slains Castle, said to have inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula. Police and coastguards have maintained a security vigil on the scene to prevent the public getting too close to the bodies, amid fears for public safety and of people trying to steal parts of the whales as souvenirs.
Hordes of visitors again visited the beach during the day to see the whales as they lay in shallow water. Ian Robertson, environmental health director at Banff and Buchan District Council, said there would be no health risk to the public if the 35ft-long whales were buried in huge graves on the beach. He added: "These burial sites would be very deep and above the high water mark. They will not affect anyone visiting the beach, although we may have to put fences around the graves.
"We had hoped to begin burial work today, but there have been delays in working out how we will get the correct equipment onto the beach. That has now been resolved and we hope to begin tomorrow when tide conditions are right."
Scottish groundings co-ordinator Bob Reid visited the scene this afternoon and removed the whales' lower jaws for research. He wants to discover if any had been sick and why they beached. Sperm whales are uncommon in North Sea waters and the reason why they grounded remains a mystery. According to one expert who visited the scene, it is thought five of the whales may have been escorting a sick member of the school and all six became stranded in shallow water.
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 1996
WWF warns Mauritania on dolphin deaths
GENEVA, (UPI) -- The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on Wednesday warned the Mauritanian government to stop destructive fishing practices, which recently caused the death of more than 130 dolphins. The three species of dolphins were choked to death by seine nets used by the African country's fishermen who were trying to collect eggs of yellow mullet, also called poutargue or mullet roe, for export to Italy and Israel.
WWF officials said an inquiry undertaken by the Mauritanian park authorities ruled out viral or bacterial infection, heavy metal intoxication or malnutrition as the cause of death for the 130 dolphins. It instead determined the use of seine nets had caused the deaths.
The dolphins were found washed ashore last month in the Banc d'Arguin National Park.
"The mass stranding of dolphins on such a scale is absolutely scandalous," said Cassandra Phillips, WWF's Cetaceans Officer.
"It is one consequence of the unsustainablefisheries that can spell disaster to an area unique in biodiversity and ecological processes."
Phillips said the unchecked fishing could threaten the country's economy. Two-thirds of Mauritania's annual revenue is derived from the fishing industry.
The Banc d'Arguin National Park covers an area of 1.2 million hectares along the Mauritanian coastline and is listed as a World Heritage site. It contains desert shore, mudflats, islands and shallow sea. The park serves as a spawning ground and nursery for one of the world's largest concentrations of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks, WWF said.
The Gland, Switzerland-based organization said the greatest threat to the park's wildlife is posed by large trawlers, which come nearer and nearer to the shore, destroying entire communities of sea-bed wildlife. Traditionally, indigenous people used dolphins to drive mullets into circular fishing nets, but growing competition and demanding export markets have resulted in more unscrupulous and illegal ways of catching fish, WWF said.
Date: Fri, 9 Feb, 1996
Japan Lets Hunters Kill 30% more Whales
WASHINGTON, (L.A. Times) Japan has increased by roughly 30 per cent the number of whales it is allowing its hunters to kill this swummer inside a conservation zone around Antarctica. Its whaling fleet has permission to kill between 360 and 440 Minke whales.
The US President, Mr Bill Clinton, is expected to issue what aides have described as a strong complaint today. But, to the anger of envoronmentalists, he had decided not to impose trade sanctions on Japan, or even threaten such a step, White House officials said. The issue links three sensitive concerns within the White House - the environment, trade and politics - to America's often-difficult relationship with Japan.
The Commerce Department put the issue on Mr Clinton's agenda by deciding two months ago that Japan's whaling in the Southern Ocean diminished "the effectiveness of the International Whaling Commission conservation programs".
The dispute has put Mr Clinton on the spot politically. By not taking a harsher stand, he opens himself to criticism from environmentalists - a key element in the traditional Democratic coalition - who want sanctions imposed, and political opponents who say he has not been effective in trade disputes with Japan.
The restrictions on whaling in the zone, covering about 13 million square kilometres around Antarctica, protect more than 90 per cent of the world's whales, which feed in large numbers there. The sanctuary was approved by the International Whaling Commission in May 1994, with only Japan voting against it. It was created to give depleted whale populations a free zone where they could recover.
A Japanese embasy official specialising in fisheries issues, Mr Joji Morishita, said the Japanese Government had given its whaling fleet permission to kill between 360 and 440 Minke whales in the region this southern summer. Last year, he said, the quota was between 270 and 330 whales.
Mr Morishita said the harvest was permitted under International Whaling Commission regulations governing what is known as "scientific" whaling, conducted to allow research, and that it was necessary to kill the whales to determine their age, health and diet. Once a whale is killed for such purposes, he said, international regulations required that the meat be sold at market - where, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature, it can fetch as much as $594 a kilogram.
A US government trade expert said the White House did not have enough evidence to challenge Japan's claim that it was killing the whales for scientific purposes, rather than for sale.
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 1996
Congress Tries to Weaken Dolphin Protection Laws
by Mark J. Palmer and Laura Seligsohn - Earth Island Institute
New Threats to Dolphins - A runaway Congress could reverse years of progress on protecting dolphins on the high seas, but Earth Island Institute, along with a coalition of over seventy environmental and animal welfare organizations, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Joseph Biden (D-DC), and Congressmember George Miller (D-CA), are fighting back. Senators Boxer and Biden, the original authors of the dolphin-safe tuna program, have introduced S. 1460, the Dolphin Protection Act (H.R. 2856 by Rep. Miller in the House of Representatives), to continue preventing dolphins from drowning in tuna nets.
Three legislative efforts to weaken U.S. policy on dolphin protection have been introduced. The first of these threats surfaced in September 1995, when U.S. Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA), joining hands with the so-called Wise Use Movement, took aim at dolphin protections by introducing H.R. 2179. If passed, the bill would repeal the federal definition of "Dolphin Safe" and allow dolphin-unsafe tuna to flood the U.S. market. H.R. 2179 would further allow U.S. tunaboats to once again kill dolphins, setting an international dolphin kill quota as high as 55,000 or more dolphins annually. David Phillips, Director of Earth Island Institute's International Marine Mammal Project, quickly labeled H.R. 2179 "the Dolphin Extermination and Consumer Fraud Act."
H.R. 2179 had barely been introduced when Mexico and several compromise-oriented environmental groups issued the "Panama Declaration" after a series of secret meetings in Washington, DC. The declaration represents an international effort to force Congress to lift the ban on the import and sale of dolphin-unsafe tuna and to change the federal definition of "dolphin safe" in a way that hides the truth from consumers. The current definition of dolphin safe, under the Boxer-Biden Dolphin Protection & Consumer Information Act of 1991, sponsored by Earth Island Institute, prohibits all chasing, capturing, and setting of nets on dolphins. The Panama Declaration, by contrast, redefines dolphin safe to mean no observed dolphin mortality, allows the U.S. tuna fishing fleet and the fleets of countries that want to export tuna to the U.S. to resume setting purse seine nets on dolphins to catch the tuna that swim beneath them, and would permit up to 5,000 dolphins to be killed each year. The actual number of dolphins observed killed by the fishery last year was 4,095, so the Panama quota would allow killing of almost 1,000 more dolphins every year. The Panama deal also calls for allowing dolphin-unsafe tuna imports into the U.S. in the name of free trade, a reversal of the four-year-old U.S. tuna embargo against countries whose fleets' dolphin safety practices are not comparable to our own.
Senators Ted Stevens (R-AK) and John Breaux (D-LA), who have long opposed the dolphin-safe program, introduced S. 1420 in the U.S. Senate in November 1995, to implement the Panama Declaration. In December, Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) introduced the same bill as H.R. 2823 in the House of Representatives.
Unfortunately, the pro-trade Clinton Administration is currently in support of the Dolphin Death Act, as are five environmental organizations. Greenpeace, National Wildlife Federation, World Wildlife Fund, Environmental Defense Fund, and Center for Marine Conservation are inexplicably supporting drastically weakening dolphin protection. However, U.S. tuna processors are standing firm in their commitment to buy only tuna caught without setting nets on dolphins.
The proposed changes in U.S. law could have grave consequences for the dolphins that swim with yellowfin tuna in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. For 30 years, dolphin populations have been horrendously depleted by disastrous fishing practices. Eastern spinner and northeastern spotted dolphin populations are currently estimated at only 44% and 23%, respectively, of original numbers. Even dolphins that are not killed in nets are subjected to chase by high-speed powerboats and to entrapment in nets, both of which are extremely stressful for dolphins. There is growing evidence that the physiological repercussions of this trauma may cause mortality never observed by Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) monitors and cumulative long-term effects that may reduce reproductive success for those dolphins repeatedly chased and encircled. Further, dolphins with injuries, such as torn fins or broken jaws, would not be counted as "observed" dolphin mortalities. Dr. Naomi Rose of the Humane Society of the United States explains, "It is not simply a matter of direct mortality. The concept of 'take' encompasses more than killing. This type of harassment may have serious physical consequences. Considering how severely depleted these populations are ... this is not good management." Proponents of H.R. 2179, S. 1420, and H.R. 2823 argue that there is nothing to worry about. Biologically, however, it is not known what numbers are needed for successful breeding and regeneration of depleted dolphin herds.
Thanks to the staff of Senators Boxer and Biden, and Representative Miller and Gerry Studds (D-MA), the bills on the Senate and House floors are being watched closely to block any back-door deals. Earth Island Institute is working to stop passage of S. 1420, H.R. 2179, and H.R. 2823. By contrast, S. 1460 (Boxer/Biden) and H.R. 2856 (Miller) would keep dolphin protections in place. S. 1460 and H.R. 2856 would also help to resolve trade issues by supporting research and observers, as well as giving further incentives to dolphin-safe fishermen by allowing their tuna to be imported from countries that are currently embargoed.
Earth Island Institute has been joined in support of dolphins by the Sierra Club, Humane Society of the United States, Defenders of Wildlife, Public Citizen, and dozens of other grassroots environmental groups in support of the Boxer/Biden/Miller Dolphin Protection Act (S. 1460/H.R. 2856).
We need your support in fighting the efforts to weaken U.S. dolphin protections. Free trade at the expense of dolphins is a bad deal.
For further information, contact Earth Island Institute, International Marine Mammal Project, 300 Broadway, Suite 28, San Francisco, CA 94133; (415) 788-3666.
or: Mark J. Palmer
Earth Island Institute
(415) 788-3666
(415) 788-7324 (fax)
email: marinemammal@earthisland.org
Home Page: http://www.earthisland.org/
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 1996
NZ rescue teams battle to save stranded whales
NELSON, New Zealand, (Reuter) - Rescue teams fought to save 27 pilot whales beached at the top of New Zealand's South Island on Wednesday. Five other whales from an original pod of 32 had died by midday and Department of Conservation (DOC) spokesman Geoff Rennison said rescuers were battling to save the remainder.
"We've got 27 live whales and we are busy working with them at the moment," he said in a telephone interview.
Rennison said it was unclear how long the whales had been stranded on Farewell Spit or whether they could be saved. The tide was out and they were not covered by water at all.
"They're not in the water at the moment, they're on the beach," he said.
"All I can say is we've been working with the whales to minimise their shock, cover them up with sheets, put water on them, get them stabilised and hopefully refloat them mid-afternoon."
A DOC rescue team and a group of volunteers was on its way to the site to help, and more volunteers had been called for. Shelley Pomeroy, of the Farewell Spit Visitors Centre, said the whales were stranded two km (1.25 miles) from the base of the spit and were discovered early on Wednesday.
"My guess is it happened last night and when the tide went out they got caught. The tide goes out very quickly here, and before they knew it they were on their bellies."
High tide was at six p.m. (0500 GMT).
"As soon as the water reaches the whales, we will move them into a very tight group, hold them until we think conditions are appropriate, and then we will release them to the sea and hope," Rennison said.
"We just give it our best shot."
About 30 pilot whales grounded themselves at Tapata Creek, near the base of Farewell Spit, in January last year but were successfully guided back to sea by DOC staff and volunteers.
UPDATE:
NELSON, New Zealand (Reuter) - Rescuers saved 27 whales which ran aground at the top ofNew Zealand's South Island Wednesday but said they feared a much larger group was at risk of becoming beached.
Thirteen conservation staff, helped by about 120 volunteers, spent several hours tending the stricken pilot whales and pouring water over them. By early evening the tide had come in and the rescuers successfully refloated the 27 mammals and steered them out to sea. Seven of the original group of 34 whales died earlier in the day. Kaye Stark of the Department of Conservation said there were fears the disoriented whales could run aground again.
Our concern is that they will swim in a semi-circle and strand further down the spit," she said.
Radio New Zealand said a much larger group of 150 whales had been spotted farther out to sea, and a plane would be sent up at first light on Thursday to check whether any more of the creatures were in danger.
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996
New Threats to Dolphins
From: fishermen@igc.apc.org
Organization: The Fishermen's Coalition
A bad B movie? Good guys versus bad guys theatre? If only it were so simple.
The Boxer/Miller legislation discussed continues the problems inherent in the present "dolphin safe" status quo. Legislation introduced by Senators Breaux and Congressman Young (S.1420 and HR2823) addresses these problems and is supported by Greenpeace, the Center for Marine Conservation, World Wildlife Fund , Environmental Defense Fund, National Wildlife Foundation, tuna fishermen, twelve countries, the Clinton administration, the State Department, Commerce Department, Timothy Wirth (undersecratary of state for global affairs) and dozens of groups all across America. Why? Because the marine mammal bycatch reduction program implemented in the eastern Pacific's yellowfin tuna fishery is an environmental success story worthy of support from the U.S. We need to support the efforts of responsible fishermen and programs that work.
Considering that marine mammals are present in all the world's oceans and therefore all the world's fisheries, why are we not supporting the only program that has ever succeeded at reducing fishermen's impact on these creatures to biologically insignificant numbers? Do we help dolphins or fishermen who are trying to address all sorts of bycatch issues worldwide if we do not support the most effective bycatch reduction program ever implemented on the high seas?
The eastern Pacific's yellowfin tuna fishery covers an area almost three times t he size of the U.S. and there are about 10 million dolphins present in this fishery. Around the U.S., the Marine Mammal Protection Act allows fishermen an allowance for interacations and some kills of marine mammals. If these allowances were moved to the international fishery of the eastern Pacific, the U.S. government would allow a take of about 55 to 60,000 dolphins annually. But the eastern Pacific high seas fleet committed to a higher standard and reached that standard, reducing marine mammal losses to less than 5,000 animals. We need to support this.
The Fishermen's Coalition,
826 Orange Avenu, #504,
Coronado, CA 92118
Tel: (619) 575-4664,
Fax: (619) 575-5578,
e-mail: fishermen@igc.apc.org
Date: Thu, 22 Feb, 1996
Right whale deaths on the rise
BRUNSWICK, Ga., (UPI) -- The death off the Georgia coast of a one-month-old right whale calf brings to four the number of the endangered species that have died in the Southeast this year, a wildlife biologist said Thursday. In just two months the 1996 right whale mortality rate for the region already matches the annual 1989 number, the highest rate on record.
Discovered Monday approximately 20 miles east of Cumberland Island off the Georgia coast near the Florida border, the 1 1/2 ton calf was recovered by a Georgia Department of Natural Resources research vessel. It was transported to the University of Florida veterinary school in Gainesville to attempt to determine the cause of death. A preliminary diagnosis done Wednesday suggested the calf was healthy and nursing up until and perhaps at the time of death.
"The body was so fresh that we had to circle several times before we determined it was dead," said wildlife biologist Barb Zoodsmaof the Georgia DNR's Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program.
The Monday sighting was made only minutes after Zoodsma and representatives from the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the New England Aquarium had logged-in for the first of several offshore surveys planned this month.
"The number of right whale sightings typically decreases in February, and we don't know why," said Zoodsma.
"These surveys are part of an effort to learn if the whales are moving farther off shore."
The current series of fatalities began Jan. 2 with the beaching of a female calf on Atlantic Beach near Jacksonville, Fla. The cause of death could not be determined. Three weeks later, a 47-foot-long adult male estimated to have been at least 20 years old was recovered 10 miles off Sapelo Island, south of Savannah, Ga. Its skull had been shattered after being hit by a ship. A 35-foot-long juvenile female discovered 30 miles east of Jacksonville Beach in Florida Feb. 7 was too decomposed for recovery or diagnosis.
The huge mammal earned its name during whaling days when it was considered the right whale to hunt because of the ease with which it could be harpooned, its ability to be floated back to shore, and its high blubber and oil content. Researchers estimate the world population of northern right whales to be approximately 3500. The adult male can grow to 55 feet long and weigh between 45 and 55 tons. Females do not reach sexual maturity until nearly 10 years of age, and a slow reproduction cycle means a low replacement rate.
"Any mortality is a blow to the population," said Zoodsma.
"Four deaths is critical."
Vessel collisions are the number one cause of documented right whale deaths, he said, although other documented causes include fishing gear entanglement and still births, but surprisingly few recorded deaths by natural causes.
"There are actually no documented cases of natural mortality for juveniles," said Zoodsma.
The offshore surveying, underwritten by the National Marine Fisheries Service, will continue daily throughout February as weather and funding permit.
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 1996
Sea Empress oil spill
You have probably heard of the disastrous oil spill off the coast of south-west Wales. According to current estimates, over 100,000 tons of North Sea crude oil has entered the marine environment in one of the most important areas for marine wildlife in the region. The area supports internationally important numbers of seabirds as well as grey seals, harbour porpoise, common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. Two of only three statutory Marine Nature Reserves in Britain have been contaminated. Along many miles of our rocky, cliff bound coastline - the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park - coves and beaches are coated in oil and substantial slicks remain in each of the many gullies sheltered from wind and tidal currents. Inter-tidal invertebrates have been seen hanging from their shells or burrows or climbing up the rocks away from the sea. Much of the oil remains offshore and cleaned beaches become re-oiled with each tide. The main vertebrate casualties have been common scoter and guillemots. Many other bird species have been badly affected, including gulls, oystercatchers and red-throated divers. Large quantities of dispersant have been sprayed on the oil from the air and much oil has been dispersed into the water column where it may enter the food chain with potential implications for all species, including marine mammals.
There are relatively few grey seals in the area at this time, about 60 are assembled at a moulting haul-out on Skomer Island, with a similar number on Lundy Island. A few are however dispersed around the coast, and we have observed individual seals surfacing in heavy oil slicks and other seals from which a sheen of oil spread when they surfaced, indicating their pelage was oiled. As the oil spread towards Skomer I sailed through affected areas on Earthkind s Ocean Defender: porpoise were observed in the tide-race off Skomer Head. Porpoise have subsequently been reported surfacing in sheen - thin surface layer of oil - in Ramsey Sound. Oil sheen has now spread to Strumble Head, another important area for porpoise. We anticipate any potential impacts on marine mammals will be subtle and less immediate.
The Dyfed Wildlife Trust recently completed a four year study of grey seals in the area under contract to the Countryside Council for Wales, including full counts of pup production at more than 200 breeding sites through three consecutive seasons, and photo-ID, cataloguing more than 25% of breeding females. Cetaceans were also recorded during the course of the seal census. Recent data is therefore available on which to base a marine mammal monitoring programme and preparations are under way to monitor impacts on seals and cetaceans, funding permitting. We are presenting posters on the West Wales Grey Seal Census and Cetaceans recorded by the WWGSC at the annual meeting of the European Cetacean Society in Lisbon (11-13 March) and will bring along photos and an update on the oil spill to the conference.
Mick Baines
Dyfed Wildlife Trust
7, Market Street
Haverfordwest Dyfed, SA61 1NF
UK
E-mail: 100255.3275@compuserve.com
Link: More Information on the Milford Haven oil spill
Date: Mon, 11 March 1996
Right Whale Washes up on Cape Cod Beach
Sixth Dead Right Whale This Year
By ROBIN ESTRIN - Associated Press Writer
BOSTON (AP) - The endangered right whale, a species that once numbered in the tens of thousands, is down to around 300. And since January, six have been found dead along Eastern shores. Saturday, a jogger found a partly decomposed 44-foot northern right whale on Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet, according to Kathy Shorr, a spokeswoman for the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown.
Five right whales - including three calves - washed up dead along the Georgia and Florida coasts earlier this year alone. In all of 1995, only two right whales were found dead, Shorr said Sunday.
The most endangered of all the great whales, the right whale has been protected from hunting since 1935 - the longest protection for any whale species. However despite its protected status, the number of right whales is continuing to decrease.The right whale in the eastern Atlantic - off the coast of Europe - is virtually extinct, she said. A separate, similar species exists only in the southern hemisphere.
Last year, only about seven new calves were seen. So far this year, about 14 calves have been identified, but three of them have washed up dead, she said. A necropsy - an autopsy for whales - is scheduled to be performed by the New England Aquarium on the latest casualty Monday. Shorr said biologists believe the animal may have been struck by a large ship. The whale's spine appeared to be broken. Although fishing line was wrapped around the whale, biologists don't believe entanglement was the cause of death, Shorr said. She said the whale may be a male that was first identified as a juvenile in 1992. Its age was unclear Sunday.
The right whale population recently reappeared in the waters of Cape Cod Bay, where they feed off plankton typically between February and May. The right whales typically spend the summer months in the chilly waters around Nova Scotia. They spend late fall and early winter off the waters of northern Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, where the mothers give birth. The animal got its name because it was considered the "right" whale to hunt. It was slow, stayed close to the surface and floated when killed, Shorr said. Right whales, along with sperm whales, formed the foundation of the American whaling industry. The whales were killed for their oil and their baleen, a bristle-like material in the mouth for straining food. The oil lit lamps, while baleen, or whalebone, was used primarily for fashion, including corsets and hoop skirts. The whales can grow to 56 feet, weigh 100 tons and live as long as humans. Marine biologists have been trying to figure out why, despite its federal protections, the species is not rebounding.
The grey whale, for example, which lives in the eastern north Pacific, was taken off the endangered list after its population swelled to more than 20,000.
Of the whales that have been found dead this year, one of them had been killed in a collision with a vessel; the causes were unknown in two others. One of the calves appears to have died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome; another died as a result of "barotrauma", which occurs when there is a huge shift in the barometric pressure, Shorr said. One-third of all right whale deaths in recent years can be attributed to vessel collisions and entanglements in fishing gear. The rest are unexplained. Because there are so few right whales, genetic inbreeding may be contributing to the population problem, Shorr said.
Date: Wed, 13 Mar, 1996
Groups allege Navy killed Right Whales
BOSTON, (UPI) -- Animal rights groups are asking the Navy to either move their war games away from a critical habitate for the endangered northern right whales off Florida and Georgia, or delay them until the whales leave the area in April.
The International Wildlife Coalition and the Humane Society of the United States said Wednesday the Navy may have killed as many as five of the world's 300 or so remaining right whales during recent exercises.
The Navy so far has refused responsibility for the deaths, said David Wiley, senior scientist for the Massachusetts-based coalition. Wiley said, however, that the five or six right whales killed in calving grounds were concurrent with gunnery practice and the use of bombs during Naval operations off Florida and Georgia. Wiley said tests indicate at least some of the deaths may be due to concussion from underwater explosions, while others were likely due to ship strikes.
"You would have to ignore an awful lot of information to absolve the Navy of any responsibility," Wiley said.
Navy spokesman Cmdr. Stephen Pietropaoli told The Boston Globe Wednesday it is "unfortunate and premature to be making allegations that the Navy is somehow responsible."
"The coincidence of death with Navy exercises is truly alarming," said Sharon Young of the Humane Society of the United States.
The two groups called on the Navy to immediately cease all activities until the right whales leave the area in early April. Pietropaoli said the Navy planned to go ahead with planned NATO exercises later this month.
The northern right whale is the most critically endangered species of large whale, and is protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Date: Fri, 15 Mar, 1996
Scientists mystified by Manatee deaths
FORT MYERS, Fla., (UPI) -- Marine biologists said Friday they are puzzled by an unknown infection that is killing manatees in the waters of southwest Florida. The state Department of Environmental Protection said at least 33 dead adult sea cows have been found in the past 10 days.
Scientists earlier this week set up a makeshift morgue at the Ding Darling National Wildlife Preserve on Sanibel Island, where biologists have been taking samples of each animal's organs, blood and tissue, sending them off to labs for further examination.
"We won't know very much about what's killing them until we hear what the labs have to say," said DEP spokeswoman Kathalyn Gaither.
The results were expected to be known by early next week.
"All we know now is that they all died of pneumonia," said Gaither, but it is not known what caused the manatees to become stricken. The epidemic so far has been confined to a 25-mile stretch near the city of Fort Myers, along Florida's Gulf coast.
Officials checked for water and air pollution in the area, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Not since scientists began keeping records 20 years ago have so many manatees died in such a short period. Mortality among Florida manatees is normally 150 to 200 annually.
Both males and females have died, and all were well-nourished with no other disease or injury.
"This is happening very rapidly," said Dr. Scott Wright, a marine mammal pathobiologist with DEP.
"The tissue samples that we've collected are telling us a story that we've never seen or heard before."
DEP Secretary Virginia Wetherell said her agency was pulling out all the stops in an effort to halt the rash of manatee deaths.
"We're working around the clock to determine the exact cause of death, and hope to learn how we can prevent this from happening in the future," said Wetherell.
Date: Sun, 17 Mar, 1996
Sperm Whales die in New Zealand Stranding
WELLINGTON, 17 (Reuter) - At least two sperm whales were pounded to death by surf on Sunday after running aground on a New Zealand beach, as hundreds of onlookers watched helplessly. Conservation staff said a third whale was showing no signs of life and was also believed to have died in the stranding on a beach near Wellington.
Rough conditions ruled out any chance of volunteers going to the rescue of the helpless 10-metre (30 foot) mammals, which died of internal injuries after being battered by the heavy seas.
"It's a navigational error...they get caught in the surf and they're unable to escape from it," said Bruce Dix of the Department of Conservation.
Whale strandings are relatively frequent in New Zealand but some have happier endings. Last month rescuers successfully refloated 27 smaller pilot whales which ran aground on a spit at the top of the South Island.
Date: Sun, 17 Mar, 1996
Bangladesh Villagers cut up Beached Blue Whale
COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, (Reuter) - Jubilant Bangladesh villagers struggled several hours to cut up a rare blue whale found dead on a beach near Teknaf, 80 km (50 miles) from Cox's Bazar resort, officials said on Sunday.
They said villagers, mostly fishermen, who use oil extracted from whales to treat many diseases, cut up the giant mammal and took the pieces home.
They quoted Teknaf residents as saying the 17-meter-long whale apparently washed up on the beach on Friday night and died the next day.
Three blue whales have been found on the same beach on the Bay of Bengal over the last 10 years, they said.
Date: Tue, 19 Mar, 1996
Grounded whale full of heavy metals
COPENHAGEN, (Reuter) - A sperm whale found dead off the Danish coast last January contained so much mercury and cadmium that its intestine had to be buried at a special dangerous waste site, local North Jutland Radio said on Tuesday.
"The amount of cadmium was 20 times higher and the quantity of mercury double that normally found in fish," waste company director Leo Theander told the radio.
Surprised investigators are now trying to ascertain the source of the high concentration of toxic metals and whether or not they killed the animal. The whale's intestines alone weighed 1.5 tonnes, but no details were given on its age, sex or total body weight.
"It is strange and alarming, for the whale must have eaten it shortly before dying," Theander added.
The mammal swam, or was washed, ashore at the northernmost tip of the Jutland peninsula, which juts into the Kattegat and Skagerrak sounds between Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
Date: Thu, 21 Mar, 1996
Dolphin slaughter in Peru
Nina Pardo: dolphins@amauta.rcp.net.pe
DOLPHINS ARE STILL BEING KILLED FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION
We are CRUZADA POR LA VIDA (Crusade for Life) a non-profit association which goal is to protect and defend species that are considered vulnerable. We have been working on a Campaign to Save the Dolphins, along the coast of Peru, from continuous butchery. High captures of dolphins have been registered over the last 20 years, specially in the last 8 years until 1994.
The scientific data from port surveys (*) done between the years 1991 and 1993 showed a total mortality of an estimated of 15,000 to 20,000 small cetaceans, this does not include, turtles, dolphins and purpoises killed = in drift nets. The slow reproduction cycle and high mortality rate puts this species in danger.
Our campaign has created pressure. Nowadays, the killing is done late at night, the organs are extracted from the animal inside the boat, the head and skeleton are thrown into the sea, and the meat, inside dark bags, is carried to the markets where it is sold immediately at sunrise.
This situation makes it impossible to carry on monitor activities. Thus, at this moments it is difficult to have an accurate number of deaths per day. A clandestine market has emerged; this situation can only be stopped by the authorities in charge.
CRUZADA POR LA VIDA is calling for stronger enforcement of the law and increase research.
The campaign focuses on two basic issues:
- (1) The ilegal commerce of dolphin meat, known under the names of "Muchame" and "Sea Pig"
- (2) The problem of Captivity.
(1) DO NOT EAT DOLPHINS !
The method used in the killing of these animals USED TO BE by net, harpoon and/or beating. When brought alive to port, paper and plastic bags were forced in their blowholes to asphyxiate them. The throat was cut and they bled to death.
The Peruvian government passed a law in November 1990 that prohibits the extraction, process and commercialization of cetaceans, but the fishermen continued to kill them. For this reason we planned and organized this campaign.Crusade for Life is working not only to establish stronger legislation but also to make it effective.
Peru is one of the few countries in the world where dolphins are killed for human consumption. We have other alternative food sources at the same price or cheaper with great nutritional value. As the problem is based on supply and demand, our objective is to educate the consumer. We feel the killing will stop when the people of Peru are educated on this issue.
(*) Explotacin Ilegal de Pequeos Cetceos en Peru - survey done for the United Nations Environment Program Unit between the years 1991 and 1993.
(2) THANKS BUT NO TANKS !
We are also working against the captivity of these marine mammals. There is a luxury hotel here in Lima, the "Dolphin Hotel" still under construction by an important economic group of Peru, GREMCO, as its main attraction, they are building a tank for two dolphins. Peruvian law prohibits the "commercialization of cetaceans", concequently they are not allow to capture dolphins from Peruvian water. So this group is going to bring dolphins from Cuba.
There are several reasons for avoiding this kind of abusive project:
- 1) More than 50 % of the dolphins die in the first 24 months of captivity.
- 2) The drastic diminishing of their life span. Captivity kills.
- 3) The quality of their life is diminished.
- 4) The nearly imposible reproduction, and low probability of surviving of the calf.
- 5) The negative repercusion of the exercise of its innated qualities. The use of their echolocation sonar system in a concrete and steel tank results in great confusion and stress.
- 6) The capture of more dolphins from the wild to meet the commercial needs from the captivite industry.
- 7) Captive dolphin shows are a form of bad education.
- 8) The captures conseriously disrupt the group structure and coherence.
- 9) Other kinds of cruelty free entertaintments should be explored for Peru.
There is great potential for the development of ecotourism activities, that will permit us to appreciate these animals in their natural habitat. Peru has never before had a captive marine mammal industry.
Moreover the precedence that this project could establish is very dangerous and must be stopped.
OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE PERU A DOLPHIN SAFE COUNTRY.
We sent letters to President Fujimori with more than 7,000 signatures of Peruvian citizens demanding him to interfere in the construction of this project and to stop the killing of dolphins. Unfortunatetly our country has a vast history of corruption and little or none interest in this kind of problems. Undoubtly letters from International Institutions will make greater pressure.
Richard O'Barry was in Peru and is serving as volunteer consultant to Cruzada por la Vida. He is requesting that all dolphin protectionist's fax letters of protest to President Alberto Fujimori.
President Alberto Fujimori
Care of Cruzada por la VidaFax: (511) 440- 23 99
Asociacion Cruzada por la Vida
Olga Rey de Michell - President/ Nina Pardo - Campaign Co-ordinator
Fax: (511) 440-2399 Phone: (511) 442-5741
E-mail: dolphins@amauta.rcp.net.pe
Mail address: Av.Pardo y Aliaga 689, Lima 27 - PERU
UPDATE:
Date: Mon, 25 Mar, 1996
LIMA, Peru (AP) -- Congress has passed a law making it a crime -- punishable by up to three years in jail -- to kill dolphins and porpoises swimming in Peruvian waters.
The law, pushed by environmental groups, covers the catching of dolphins or porpoises, as well as the processing or selling of their meat. The Peruvian organization Crusade for Life, a dolphin protection group, says that an average of 76 dolphins a day are killed off the Pacific coast of Peru.
Peruvian fishermen hunt them for their meat, which either is served like steak or dried and served as an appetizer. Although dolphin hunting was already prohibited by Fishing Ministry regulations, the new measure, if signed by President Alberto Fujimori, would strengthen enforcement.
The Peruvian Center for Cetacean Studies says that of 46 species of dolphins and porpoises in the world, 18 are found in Peruvian waters.
Date: Sun, 24 Mar, 1996
Dolphin Crusader Escapes Venezuela
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- A Venezuelan biologist whose video of mass dolphin killings bolstered support for an American ban on tuna but led to criminal charges against him has fled to Brazil.
Aiser Agudo had been in hiding for two years before slipping out of Venezuela last month on a Caribbean cruise ship, helped by an American couple he would not name. He landed on the island of Aruba on February 28. A few days later, his two daughters arrived, and he fled to Brazil with Saida Elina, 1, and Saida Esther, 6.
"I am not giving up," Agudo told reporters in Porto Alegre, 1,000 miles southwest of Rio, when he arrived March 15. "I am determined to continue this struggle against the Venezuelan massacre of dolphins."
News of his arrival was embargoed until Sunday, so Agudo's request for refugee status could be presented to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. It could take a month before the biologist wins the refugee status that would allow him to ask for political asylum in Brazil. Agudo said Venezuelan authorities wanted to "suffocate" protests against the killing of dolphins that takes place off Venezuela's eastern coast.
The biologist documented his charges of the slaughter in a six-minute video filmed on Venezuela's eastern Paria peninsula in 1993. He estimated at least 12 dolphins a month were killed by every fisherman on the country's eastern coast. The indiscriminate killing led the United States to impose an embargo on Venezuelan tuna.
Dolphins are found along with schools of tuna and are easily trapped and killed in nets. The meat is then used to lure sharks, which are widely eaten in Venezuela.
In 1994, Agudo and fellow biologist Aldemiro Romero were charged with "ecological crimes," and warrants were issued for their arrest. Romero fled to Miami but Agudo went into hiding. Agudo's wife, Saida Josefina Blonder, died of a heart attack last April while the family was in hiding at a rural site far from doctors, Jair Krischke of the Brazilian Movement For Justice and Human Rights said Sunday.
Date: Mon, 26 Mar, 1996
More dead Manatees found
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., March 26 (UPI) -- More dead manatees were found Tuesday in waters along Florida's southwest Gulf coast, the apparent victims of the same mysterious epidemic that killed scores of the endangered mammals earlier this month.
About 20 manatee carcasses have been found since Friday near the city of Ft. Myers, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The manatee death toll in the region since March 5 now stands near 80, marking the first time on record so many of the sea cows have died in such a short period.
Mortality among Florida mantees normally runns between 150 to 200 annually. Necropsies indicated the otherwise healthy mammals perished from a pneumonia-like illness that bloodied and scarred their lungs. Marine scientists have not been able to identify the source of the illness, but have said unusually cold weather and an outbreak of red tide in the Gulf of Mexico did not play a role in the deaths.
"We've narrowed the source down to a virus or bacteria, but we have not been able to determine the specific virus or bacteria involved, or its source," said Edie Ousley, spokeswoman for DEP.
As part of their effort to determine the cause of the epidemic, state biologists have sent tissue samples from the manatee carcasses to laboratories as far away as Holland for analysis. Authorities last week had thought the epidemic was coming to an end, when the number of dead manatees being found dropped from from about 10 a day to one or two daily.
But the number of fresh carcasses began rising again on Friday, according to the chief of the Florida Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg.
"We are concerned now that there's some continuing mortality from the epidemic," said Ken Haddad.
"We just don't have a feel for what this means," he added.
The epidemic has so far been confined to a 25 mile stretch near Ft. Myers, and scientists doubt the illness will spread to manatee populations elsewhere in the state.
Manatees are an endangered species whose population in Florida waters numbers about 2,600. In previous years, the leading killer of manatees has been motorboat propellers.
Date: Wed, 27 Mar, 1996
Whale flock dies off Denmark's coast
COPENHAGEN, (UPI) -- A flock of 16 sperm whales was found dead along the sandy beaches of Romo island off the west coast of Denmark early Wednesday, Danish public television reported.
It was the largest number of whales ever found beached on the Danish coastline, the report said.
The 10-meter long (33 feet) marine mammals presumably ran aground in the offshore shallows while searching for food, Thyge Jensen of the Fisheries and Maritime Museum in the west coast port of Esbjerg was quoted as saying.
Judging by the gas found in their carcasses, the whales had been dead for at least four days, he said. Adult sperm whales can measure up to 20 meters (66 feet) in length and weigh 50 tons.
Date: Fri, 29 Mar, 1996
Sixth Meeting of the Council of NAMMCO
The Sixth Meeting of the Council of NAMMCO was held in Tromso, Norway from 27 to 29 March 1996. The meeting was attended by delegations from the member countries - the Faroes, Greenland, Iceland and Norway, as well as observers from the Governments of Canada, Denmark, Japan, Namibia and the Russian Federation. The Ministers of Fisheries from all NAMMCO member countries also attended the meeting, as did the Chairman of the Fisheries Committee of the Russian Federation. A number of inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations were also represented by observers at the meeting.
In his opening address, the Norwegian Minister of Fisheries, Jan Henry T. Olsen, expressed his hope for Canada and the Russian Federation to help further strengthen regional cooperation on marine mammal conservation and management by joining NAMMCO. Dr. Jan Jurgens, Permanent Secretray of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources of Namibia, gave a presentation on the management of seals in Namibia and expressed his desire for close cooperation between all countries with interests in ensuring the sustainable utilisation of marine mammals.
Among major items dealt with by the Council was the report of the Scientific Committee. Based on recent work carried out by the Scientific Committee, the Council agreed to the following conclusions presented by the Management Committee:
- It was confirmed that present removals of ringed seals in West Greenland and Canada are sustainable.
- Current combined catches of harp and hooded seals in Greenland and Canada are below estimates of replacement yields.
The Council was informed that work had begun in the Scientific Committee on the revision of abundance estimates in the light of results from the comprehensive North Atlantic Sightings Survey for cetaceans (NASS 95) carried out last summer. NASS-95 was planned and organised by the Scientific Committee of NAMMCO.
The Council adopted the joint NAMMCO Control Scheme for the Hunting of Marine Mammals, which includes both common elements for national inspection of coastal whaling, as well as an international observation scheme for the hunting of all marine mammals. It is the intention of NAMMCO member countries to implement the Scheme or parts thereof by the 1997 hunting season.
The Council decided further to request the Scientific Committee to focus its attention on the food consumption of the minke whale, harp seal and hooded seal in the North Atlantic, with an emphasis on the study of the potential implications for commercially important fish stocks. As a follow-up to its recent assessment of the grey seal in the North Atlantic, the Scientific Committee was also requested to review the current state of knowledge of sealworm infestation, and to consider the need for comparative studies in the western, central and eastern North Atlantic coastal areas.
The Council identified the importance of accessible and reliable information on marine mammals. In this connection, it was agreed that in 1996 the NAMMCO Fund should be used for the development of a major information project on seals and sealing. It was also agreed that NAMMCO should publish the results of work generated through the Scientific Committee in the form of its own publication series.
The Council endorsed the Kyoto Declaration and Plan of Action on the Sustainable Contribution of Fisheries to Food Security.
The Council elected Arnor Halldorsson from Iceland as Vice Chairman. The Faroe Islands offered to host the next annual meeting of the Council in Torshavn in 1997.
For further information, contact the NAMMCO Secretariat
Tel. +47 776 45908 Fax. +47 776 45905
Email: nammco-sec@nammco.no
Postal address:
North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO), University of Tromso, 9037 Tromso, Norway
Secretary: Kate Sanderson - Email: Kate.Sanderson@nammco.no (direct)
Tel: +47 776 45908 (main) 776 45903 (direct) Fax: +47 45905
Date: Fri, 12 Apr, 1996
Orca Defenders criticize plans for Noise Tests off San Juans
by Danny Westneat (Seatttle Times staff reporter)
A team of scientists plans to broadcast loud, high-pitched sounds from underwater speakers this summer in the San Juan Islands, in part to test whether noise harms or disorients killer whales and other sea mammals. The scientists say the pulses of noise, the loudest of which would have the same sound intensity as a jet taking off, likely would not seriously hurt the roughly 100 killer whales, or orcas, that inhabit north Puget Sound waters in June or July.
But critics contend the scientists actually have no idea whether the noise will cause temporary or permanent hearing loss in whales, and that the scientists' own proposal concedes the monthlong study may alter behavior patterns of whales swimming up to 4 miles away.
The scientists proposing the study are from Woods Hole (Mass.) Oceanographic Institution and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They plan the sound pulses primarily to study the chemical and physical properties of a marine "front," where salt water and fresh water meet and first begin to mix. Patrick Miller, a researcher from Woods Hole, says that most of the noise won't be any louder than that emitted by a fish-finding sonar device. The sound probably can't damage a whale's hearing even temporarily unless the whale "nudges directly up against the sound source, which is virtually impossible," he said.
In total, the experiments should be less disruptive - and maybe even less noisy - than the 50 or more whale-watching boats that follow the whale pods every day, the researchers say. But broadcasting sounds into prime orca habitat to see if the whales are bothered is "a bit like pouring poison into a river to see if it's toxic to fish," said Paul Spong, a scientist at OrcaLab, a research group that studies killer whales at Vancouver Island.
The research, sponsored by the U.S. Navy, will also use two 6-foot-long underwater robots to analyze water characteristics. The testing area is in Haro Strait, a key waterway for orcas as well as for porpoises, seals and other mammals, which rely on hearing to feed and navigate. "This is like a main highway for the orcas," said Peter Hamilton of Lifeforce, a Vancouver, B.C., ecology group. "Nobody knows how harmful these sounds may be to them. They say the animals can just swim away, but this place is vital to where they travel and live."
Though it is extremely unlikely the noises will severely injure or kill a marine mammal, the research could force some mammals, particularly whales, temporarily away from their preferred habitat, according to a review by the National Marine Fisheries Service. The loudest underwater pulsed "ping" will be about 195 decibels, equivalent to about 135 decibels on land, or the approximate sound intensity of a nearby jet engine as heard by the human ear. An outboard motor issues a sound intensity of about 170 decibels underwater, Miller said. The sounds will be broadcast at high frequencies, in some cases out of the range of human hearing but certainly detectable by many marine mammals, the scientists say.
The fisheries agency has announced it intends to grant the researchers a permit to do the experiments because the area in question is only a small fraction of orca habitat in Puget Sound. Further, the researchers have agreed to let an independent panel of four Northwest scientists monitor the work and shut it down if it appears the noise is directly harming sea life. Sound to a marine mammal is like vision to humans, said Dan Costa, a professor of biology at the University of California-Santa Cruz, but the scientific community doesn't understand much more than that about it. "If somebody's shining a spotlight, is it going to be a problem for you to see? It depends on how bright it is and whether it's shining in your face, and the same is probably true for a whale confronted by a loud sound," he said.
A whale or porpoise traveling close enough to a loud, directed sound may experience sensations ranging from pain to annoyance to nothing at all, Costa said. If it hears the sound and doesn't like it, the mammal typically will respond by swimming somewhere else, said Costa, who has been studying the effect of low-frequency noise blasts on sea mammals in California. "But the answer is, we don't really know what it does to them," he said. "We do know there is so much more noise in the ocean from boats than there is from researchers that if these animals are really that sensitive, then we have an incredible problem on our hands."
A plan announced two years ago to study ocean temperatures by broadcasting sound pulses across the Pacific Ocean from California caused a storm of controversy. Since then, oceanographers who routinely use sound waves to measure things in the water have faced scrutiny over whether their work harassed marine mammals.
After delaying the project for more than a year and finally agreeing to move the sound emitter away from a marine sanctuary off San Francisco, scientists in the California study began in December to broadcast low-frequency sounds that can be detected as far away as Alaska. Mammals don't appear to be bothered and certainly have not fled the area, but it's too soon to tell whether the noise is having any subtle effects on swimming patterns or other behaviors, Costa said.
Miller, one of the scientists proposing the local study, said he grew up, in part, on San Juan Island and wants to do the noise experiments to help protect the region's marine life, not hurt it. Only by testing whether moderate-to-loud underwater sound harms marine mammals can society begin to discuss whether boats, ferries or other noise-makers should be restricted from crucial areas, he said.
Other scientists agree
"All those little boats tooling around with their outboard motors are far more disruptive to these animals than our sound emitters," said Bob Spindel, head of the University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory and part of the California project team. "And they don't even need a permit."
The National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed granting scientists a permit to broadcast underwater sounds that may affect orcas and other marine mammals in the San Juan Islands.
Chief, Marine Mammal Division,
Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service,
1315 East-West Highway,
Silver Spring, Md. 20910-3225.
Date: Sun, 21 Apr, 1996
Black Sea Dolphins Face Extinction
BUCHAREST, (IPS) - Scientists here have warned that dolphins will become extinct in the Black Sea if nothing is done to end the threat posed by pollution and the legacy of years of hunting. "Something must be done to stop the disappearance of the dolphins," says Alexandru Bologa, scientific researcher at the Romanian Institute for Marine Research (IRCM), based in the port city of Constanta, about 250 kilometers south-east of Bucharest.
According to Bologa, the dolphin population has dwindled to just one percent of the number recorded 46 years ago. In 1950, he said, one million dolphins belonging to three species lived in the Black Sea. However, their numbers started decreasing soon after. By 1970 there were just 70,000 of these highly intelligent aquatic mammals left, and by 1995 the school had been reduced to 10,000. If the present rate of destruction continues dolphins will cease to exist in the Black Sea by the turn of the century, he said. He blames the pollution of the Black Sea and the cruel massacre of the animals during the former communist regime, under its grimly-titled "program of economic capitalization of dolphins."
Romanian researchers have already taken some steps to save the dolphins. This campaign is being supported by a number of regional and international organizations including the Mediterranean Sea Scientific Exploration Group, the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
As many scientific reports show, the water in the Black Sea is strongly polluted by a variety of chemicals. One of the biggest sources of pollution is the Danube river. It flows through six countries over close to 3,000 kilometers between its origins in Germany and where it falls into the Black Sea in Romania. In its path it carries various kinds of chemicals that either are dumped by factories and other industrial installations or seep through the earth from large agricultural centers.
Shipping in the Black Sea also contributes to the pollution, causing considerable amounts of oil spillage. Ecologists estimate that approximately 30,000 tons of phosphorus and three quarter million tons of nitrates are poured into the Black Sea annually. "This is quite dangerous not only for dolphins, but also for the entire fauna of the sea,"said Bologa, who urges the government to endorse the "polluter pays" principle. "The people who ignore the most elementary rules for protection and contribute to the pollution of water, should be sued or fined."
According to Bologa, if effective steps are not taken to protect the dolphins, then in the future one will only be able to see live dolphins at the "dolphinarium" (a public amusement center) in Constanta.
Date: Thu, 25 Apr, 1996
Smuggled 6 tons of Whalemeat to Japan
OSLO, (Verdens Gang Newsagency - translated from Norwegian) - With the possibility of enormous income, a Norwegian group was planning to export more than 60 tonnes of whale meat to Japan. But the first shipment of 6.1 tonnes of whale meat and blubber was discovered by Japanese customs authorities.
The Japanese authorities confirmed to VG that they have confiscated a container with more than 6 tonnes of whalemeat. The container was sent from Oslo on 6th January this year and has been in the custody of the Japanese authorities since 6th April. The container was sent through customs labelled as mackerel of which Norway annually exports more than 130,000 tonnes to Japan. The attempt was discovered because the smugglers routed the contraband via Vietnam, a country which imports next to nothing of Norwegian fish.
Head of the Norwegian small whaler association, Steinar Bastesen says, "If this has happened it is tragic and devastating for Norwegian whaling. Such incidences destroy the possibilities for removing the silly Norwegian export ban."
The smugglers, associated with the lesund based company "World Food", are under investigation by Norwegian authorities. The event has been described as very harmful to the Norwegian fight to get international acceptance for Norwegian whaling.
New Criticism towards Norway
After years where it has become more quiet about this internationally difficult question, the smuggling will probably give the environmental and animal rights movement a reason to restart their criticism of Norway. Therefore, the smuggling will probably lead to huge interest at the Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Aberdeen at the end of June.
The Japanese call the whalemeat "red ruby" and illegal meat is sold for 2900 kroners (290 pounds, US$450) per Kilogram.
Norway has had a ban on the export of whale products since 1986 and the Japanese have banned imports since 1992. This has lead to 400 tons of whalemeat and blubber being stored in Norway since 1986, where it is worth nothing. In Japan it can, however, be sold for enormous amounts of money.
VG can reveal today how the Norwegian league was hoping to earn an enormous amount of money by selling whalemeat to eager Japanese customers. According to internal documents this confiscated shipment was the first of such deliveries to Japan.
Advanced Operation
The comperhensive documentation and information, VG has, reveals an advanced operation using false freight papers, other documents, bribes and Norwegian men overlooking it all.
The transport was organised through Vortex Shipping & Trading from Toensberg (south of Oslo). The company was registered in Broennoeysund (the official Norwegian company register) just last week, and they hired a Norwegian shipbroker living in Hamburg - Lars Andersen - to get the valuable shipment to its final destination using a double set of documentation. "I was contacted by Vortex to organise the operation when the shipment was stopped in Vietnam. I can not confirm that it is whale meat and blubber that has been confiscated in Japan, but I admit that we used false declarations on false premises", says Lars Andersen to VG.
VG has the information that the Norwegian exporters were promised a prize of 2000 kroners (200 pounds) per kilogram. Had they been able to pull off the operation, they would have earned between 120 and 150 million kroners (12 to 15 million pounds). "We are sure that the whale products are from Norway. We are now investigating this case and are looking very seriously at this", says a representative of the Japanese customs authorities to VG.
Norwegian authorities have, for a long time, heard rumours that Norwegian whale meat was on its way to Japan. The Norwegian Embassy in Tokyo was asked three weeks ago for an explanation by Japanese authorities.
Yesterday, the Japanese Department for Agriculture stated, "We were informed that there was a case under investigation". In Japan the higher authorities are not informed until the investigation has ended, and therefore they did not want to give out more information at the moment. "It is obvious that they have a case", says Norway's representative in Japan, Ambassador John Bjoernebye.
He informed the Foreign Department and Norway's Whaling Commissioner Kaare Bryn about the incident yesterday. After that the Fisheries Department was informed. "We have a very clear law on this. If your information is correct, we will act", says the Foreign Ministries spokesperson Ingvar Havnen.
Chairman of the Board of Vortex Shipping & Trading, Terje Torgersen who is the agent for the shipment, says he is surprised the shipment was stopped.
Not Informed
"We thought that the shipment contained ten tons of mackerel. When the Japanese authorities contacted us and stated that the shipment was stopped, we did not understand a thing", says Torgersen. He claims that he did not know that there was whale meat in the shipment.
The Norwegian firms involved in this case, have since the beginning of the year tried to find buyers in Japan. The potential buyers were told that the Norwegians could deliver as much as 200 tons of whale meat and blubber to the Japanese market. Among those who were contacted were big and serious operation Japanese importers that have good contact with Norwegian authorities. It was these importers who informed the Norwegian authorities about the possible shipments. But until now the Norwegian authorities believed the rumours were some sort of provocation that was aimed at harming the Norwegian whaling.
Went Under Cover
This old post-box, in a house in Aalesund, is the address of the firm that exported whale meat labelled mackerel to Japan. The firm, World Food, is not registered, it consists only of a typed note on a building full of flats. The firm is run by Tor Sindre Refsnes who, yesterday, went under cover to avoid VG. VG has documents that show Refsnes communication with the agent for the freight. They reveal that the presumably normal 'mackerel export' is described as a 'confidential type of business'. When the Japanese customs stopped the whalemeat Refsnes was, acting as a representative of the freight firm, sent to Japan to try to release the shipment.
Common Office
World Food has an office together with Norwegian Cod, that is run by Willy Nilsen and another member of the family. Willy Nilsen is the man that beat up Steinar Bastesen in Aalesund, in a fight apparently about smuggling whale meat. During a court appearance he claimed that he took part in an attempt to smuggle 2961 kilograms of whale meat that was seized at Fornebu airport, Oslo. In court Nilsen admitted that he was a whale smuggler and on several occasions stated that the plan was to smuggle several tons of whale meat and blubber. Now, however, he says something else! "I know nothing about this. I have no contact with Refsnes anymore, and Norwegian Cod is about to be closed down", says Willy Nilsen. He, however, presented himself as a representative of World Food to the firm that camouflaged the whale meat as mackerel from Midsundfisk.
Tor Sindre Refsnes travelled together with a Vietnamese to Midsundfisk to buy mackerel. They agreed to buy 10 tons of mackerel for a named customer in Vietnan. The fish were later picked up by a trailer with a cash payment of 60,000 kroners by World Food. World Food must have had other plans than to earn money on that transaction as they bought the fish at a very high price. A sale from which World Food could make no profit. The same mackerel showed up on the dock in Japan some time later. Apparently, as camouflage for the illegally exported whale meat. "This is totally unknown to us, and it sounds very regrettable. We sold an amount of mackerel to Vietnam, no-one ever talked about Japan or whale", says Odd Arild Beinset at Midsundfisk.
Buying the mackerel at Midsundfisk solved a problem for World Food; they got an approved export firm through whom they could export their whale meat.
The mackerel was cleared through customs by Midsundfisk, which has an export licence for fish products. Neither World Food nor Norwegian Cod have a licence necessary to get the needed customs clearance. The mackerel from Midsundfisk left Norway in a container wih aparently everything in order; cleared by an approved export firm with an authentic certificate.
Route of Transport
- January 4 Midsund to Oslo - A container of 'mackerel' destination Haiphong, Vietnam is transported by trailer from Midsundfisk via Aalesund to Oslo.
- January 6 Oslo to Hamburg - The container goes from Oslo with the freighter 'Euro Primo' (Maersk Line).
- January 8 Hamburg to Haiphong - Container put on board the freighter 'Northern Majesty' leaving for Haiphong, Vietnam.
- February 15 - New customs and health papers are produced to get the shipment into Japan.
- March 20 Vietnam to Taiwan to Japan - The container placed on board the MV 'Mekong Pearl' at Haiphong and sails for Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The container then put on 'Mette Maersk' for the final trip to Yokohama, Japan.
- April 6 Japan - The shipment arrives Yokohama. Representatives for the Norwegian firm arrive promptly to release the goods. The Japanese customs arrest them and confiscate the container. The Norwegian was interrogated for three days. Further investigations continue.
Date: Mon, 29 Apr, 1996
Dolphins in Hong Kong Waters Genetically Strong
HONG KONG (April 29) XINHUA - Chinese white dolphins in Hong Kong's polluted waters are genetically strong and show no sign of inbreeding despite the relatively small population, a research has found.
Today's Eastern Express reported that DNA analysis has revealed that the dolphins, believed to number between 80 and 200, are not a unique species, but a distinct genetic group. Researcher Lindsay Porter said different sousa dolphin populations in the world are all one species but they have been separated by geography, and through time for so long it is highly likely they are distinct genetic stock.
The genetic research will examine 50 tissue samples from sousa species in the region including those in Thailand, Vietnam and China, as well as in Australia and Africa. According to the report, genetic fingerprinting revealed variations among Hong Kong's dolphins, which is believed a good thing for a population because it makes them more adaptable to changes in the environment.
"It is healthy and well that breeding groups are mixing and there is no inbreeding,"
Porter said. Researchers have samples of sousa tissue from Xiamen in China and are seeking DNA from other populations. Porter plans to scour Chinese waters just outside Hong Kong this summer to assess dolphin distribution, the report said.
Date: Tue, 30 Apr, 1996
Proposed Salt Production Facility In San Ignacio Lagoon
from the Cetacean Society International
According to Grupo de los Cien, the Mexican environmental organization leading the effort to block the salt company's proposal, the issue has yet to be resolved - and it has taken some interesting twists. On February 29, 1996, the National
Ecological Institute convened a public hearing on the subject in La Paz, Baja California Sur. The meeting was announced at virtually the last minute, and with no consultation with environmental groups such as Group of 100.
In spite of this apparent attempt to keep the public at large from commenting on the $120 million salt work expansion, however, a former director of ESSA, Fernando Guzman Lazo, came forth publicly to declare that the project would be both unnecessary and in violation of current Mexican law. And as for the Environmental Impact Assessments that ESSA must submit on the proposed construction, Guzman Lazo said that they are "superfluous and costly technical exercises".
At last year's meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), it was agreed that the Chair of the Scientific Committee (Dr. Steve Reilly), would work with the Mexican government to organize a committee of scientific experts to address the issue of potential harm to the gray whales and their habitat. While the committee - among whose members are such cetacean experts as Steve Reilly, Bruce Mate, Victor Marin and Steve Swartz - has had its first meeting, the role of the independent peer review group has not been determined, nor has the Mexican environmental community been kept abreast of their activities.
Grupo de los Cien continues to press the Mexican government to keep the oversight of the ESSA project as transparent and open to public comment as possible. But new information coming to light has led to the questioning of government motives in the process. As we noted in our earlier article, the ESSA Baja salt works is a joint venture between the Mexican government and Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan. Guzman Lazo, in his attacks on the new construction proposed, raised the specter of a possible third party with interests in weakening the environmental protection of the lagoons. Homero Aridjis, president of Grupo de los Cien, has questioned the participation of Raul Salinas in the project. Raul Salinas is the brother of former Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, during whose tenure the ESSA expansion was first proposed.
LINK: Campaign to Save the Gray Whale Nursery
Date: Wed, 1 May, 1996
Diagnosis of Fatal Manatee Disorder Continues
ATLANTA, U.S. Newswire/ -- The cause of the killer disease that since March 1996 has claimed the lives of more than 150 of Florida's endangered manatees has so far eluded a special national team of experts of wildlife biologists and other marine mammal experts.
In search of a diagnosis, many collaborators from federal, state and private organizations have been assisting Florida Marine Research Institute scientists with the ongoing investigation by testing the hypotheses most likely to explain the record-breaking number of manatee deaths over the past 6 weeks.
Since January 1, 1996, more than 255 manatees have been found dead in Florida's waters. Some 155 of these deaths, however, have inexplicably occurred in Southwest Florida since March 5, 1996, and recent analyses of blood and tissues are providing clues, but have so far failed to determine conclusively the actual cause of death. The February 1996 U.S. manatee population count turned up at least 2,639. This shows that approximately 9.6 percent of U.S. manatees have perished in the first 4 months of this year, a significant loss.
Experts are testing three different hypotheses in their search for a cause of death:
- 1) death caused by a biological toxin, such as that produced by a red tide;
- 2) death resulting from a disease caused by a virus or bacterium; and
- 3) death caused by a contaminant, such as a pesticide. It is also possible that a combination of factors is involved. Tissue samples collected from dead manatees have been sent to laboratories across the country with expertise in identifying biotoxins, infectious agents, and contaminants. None of the results received so far have been conclusive.
The Florida manatee -- whose gentleness and approachability has endeared it to millions of Floridians and visitors to the State -- is a large herbivorous marine mammal that was listed as an endangered species in 1967. Its recent high death rate was the main topic of discussion at an April 19, 1996, meeting held at the Florida Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla. Biologists from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Biological Service, the University of Miami, Mote Marine Laboratory, and Sea World of Florida presented findings and discussed strategies to coordinate and enhance their fact-finding mission and to determine the cause of these fatalities.
The Florida Marine Research Institute has organized an effective team approach to document this highly unusual manatee loss of life. Information has been collected on dates and locations of dead manatees, and environmental data has been gathered, including water temperature, salinity, and counts of the phytoplankton (toxic microscopic marine organisms) that cause red tide blooms, patches of red discoloration in the water caused by trillions of these tiny organisms. This information has been entered into a geographic information database so that clues to the manatee deaths can be identified and analyzed. A preliminary review of existing data has shown that there is a striking correlation between the distribution of dead manatees and sites with high phytoplankton counts; however, a definitive causal relationship between the red tide and the manatee deaths has yet to be firmly established.
A review of the Florida Marine Research Institute's red tide data for the last 20 years indicates that in only two years, 1982 and 1996, have the phytoplankton levels been high and persisted into March and April. A favorite spot for Southwest Florida manatees to spend the cold winter months is in the vicinity of the Florida Power and Light plant on the Caloosahatchee River near Fort Myers. In February 1996, more than 400 manatees were sighted congregating at this location. Typically, as the weather begins to warm in late February and early March, these manatees start to make their way back towards the Gulf of Mexico. During the first weeks of the recent die-off, this river proved to be a key area for fatalities. In 1982, however, only 37 manatee deaths were attributed to ingestion of the red tide phytoplankton, which they encountered as they migrated downriver towards the ocean.
Some live manatees, exhibiting apparent neuromuscular problems have been rescued in Southwest Florida and taken to a rehabilitation facility at Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. The recovery of three females took several days, during which they required assistance to stay afloat to breathe. Caretakers used flotation vests to help keep the disabled manatees from drowning. A male manatee was recently rescued by state biologists and is expected to recover.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Biological Service will continue to assist Florida Marine Research Institute researchers in its efforts to document and understand this tragic manatee die-off, and will identify research and management needs to prevent or reduce such events in the future.
Date: Wed, 1 May, 1996
South Australia: New Part-Time Whale Park
ADELAIDE, AAP - The whale sanctuary in the Great Australian Bight will be significantly enlarged, but only for half the year, South Australian Premier Dean Brown announced today. He said the new proposal, which will extend the permanent sanctuary at the head of the Bight to Cape Adieu in the east and westward to the West Australian border, was a victory for the Southern Right Whales that congregate in the area in summer and autumn to breed and calve.
However the new conservation zone to operate on both sides of the permanent sanctuary will operate for only half the year and will be made available for mining and fishing for the remaining six months.
Mr Brown said the new plan updated last year's plan for just the permanent sanctuary at the head of the Bight and will also include new sanctuary zones for Australian sea-lions. The proposal will not be implemented for two months to allow public comment and to finalise the boundaries and management plans.
Support for New Part-Time Whale Park
ADELAIDE, May 2 AAP - Conservation and minor political groups today welcomed moves by the South Australian Government to enlarge a whale sanctuary in the Great Australian Bight as a good start, but still urged further steps.
The Australian Democrats called for the federal government to extend the protection zone into waters it controlled and the Conservation Council said the proposal was a compromise and more needed to be done. Council executive officer Michelle Grady said original advice from scientists and a 16-member panel including representatives from the local community, industry and Aboriginal groups, called for a total exclusion zone from the head of the bight to the Western Australian border. She was also critical of a government decision to extend the protective zone for only six months of the year, allowing access mining and fishing for the remaining six months.
Under the proposal, Premier Dean Brown said the permanent sanctuary in the head of the bight would be extended in summer and autumn to Cape Adieu in the east and westward to the WA border. Mr Brown said it was a victory for the Southern Right Whales and the sea lions that congregated in the area to breed and calve. He said the new conservation zone would cover approximately 300 kilometres, compared to the 35 kilometres of the permanent sanctuary.
But Ms Grady said a full-time conservation zone was required to protect what was recognised as a unique southern ocean ecosystem. "We don't allow grazing for six months in our national parks, neither could we envisage oil rigs and mineral extraction next to sensitive marine mammal breeding areas," she said. "There is no such thing as a part-time oil rig."
State Opposition leader Mike Rann also ridiculed the concept of a part-time park and said it would make South Australia "a laughing stock". "Now, under pressure from environmental groups, eco-tourism groups, miners and fishers, the Premier is set to offer another half-baked compromise which he believes will make everyone happy," Mr Rann said.
Democrat MP Mike Elliott said he welcomed the government's announcement but remained concerned that the new conservation zone extended out only to the three nautical mile state limit, with waters beyond that under federal jurisdiction. "Failure to extend these zones would severely limit their effectiveness in protecting our marine mammals," Mr Elliott said.
Date: Fri, 10 May, 1996
Japanese researchers fertilize whale ova in-vitro
SAPPORO, Kyodo, - Japanese researchers said Friday they conducted the world's first in-vitro fertilization of minke whale ova during a research expedition in the recent southern hemisphere summer. The researchers said the experiment was aimed at comparative research into the protection and cultivation of threatened whale species.
It was conducted during the annual scientific whaling expedition in the Antarctic Ocean by the government-affiliated Institute of Cetacean Research between November 1995 and April this year. The researchers said they first extracted the ova from a harvested whale and waited for them to mature before fertilizing them with frozen whale sperm. They said they carried out the operation several dozen times aboard ship during the expedition.
Yutaka Fukui, professor at the Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, who was a member of the research team, said photos taken under a microscope during the procedure are being analyzed to determine whether it was a success.
The procedure relied on methods used in the in-vitro fertilization of cattle, although the time needed for maturation of whale ova is three times that of cattle. Fukui said future experiments will focus on finding the optimum conditions for cultivating the ova. He said researchers wanting to artificially increase whale populations will have to overcome the difficult problem of inserting a fertilized ovum into a female whale.
Hidehiro Kato, who heads the Large Cetacean Program at the Fisheries Agency's National Research Institute for Far Seas Laboratory in Shimizu, Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan, said it is the first time the first stage of fertilized whale ova has been observed.
"It has tremendous significance for the understanding of the whale's breeding mechanism, which is said to be similar to that of cattle and horses," Kato said.
The Institute of Cetacean Research was established as a nonprofit organization by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in 1987 to undertake scientific research on whales following the introduction of a moratorium on commercial whaling. The Institute catches a quota of minke whales in the Antarctic Ocean for research purposes.
Date: Sun, 12 May, 1996
Mass Stranding of Ziphius cavirostris in Greece
On Sunday, specimens of Ziphius cavirostris (Cuvier's Beaked Whale) started to strand in the sandy beach of Kyparissiakos gulf (West Peloponnisos, South Ionio Sea, Mediterranean Sea). In the late afternoon, at least 12 individuals had stranded along the coast. Volunteers and local authorities succeded in driving two of them, back to sea. Next morning (13/5/96) two more individuals (probably the individuals assisted during the previous afternoon) came to strand close to the point of their release.
Informed by Greenpeace Hellas, a team of two marine biologists D. Cebrian, A. Na toli, the experienced volunteer L. Papageorgopoulos and Dr. Alexandros Frantzis, arrived in place on the early afternoon of Monday (13/5/96). Although apparently very healthy, During 24 hours they succeded in keeping alive the last individual, who seemed to be strong and healthy. Unfortunately, these efforts were condonned to failure due to the lack of the proper material support but also because of wrong handling by unskilled persons that appeared on Tuesday as "the only authorised persons" to take care of the animal. After destoying the skin of the animal and a new deterioration of the sea conditions, the animal was killed by euthanasia, late in the evening.
The Hellas team examinated 11 of the 12 individuals (8 males, 2 females and 1 uncertain female) and recorded the stranding position of the 12th. The 12 specimen were spread, quite homogeneously, in a total distance of 33 km of coast!!! Starting from the northern point (Zacharo village: 37 28' 60" N - 21 37' 00" E) the distances to the next individ ual were approximately: 4 km, 4.5 km, 7 km, 0.3 km, 1.2 km, 3 km, 5.5 km, 4.5 km, 1.8 km and 1.5 km (last position at Agrili village: 37 10' 50" N - 21 35' 40" E). The total lengths of the 8 male individuals were between 4.40 and 5.20 m and none of them had apparent teeth. However, most of them had typical tooth scars on their skin. The two females were 4.50 m and 4.70 m long and didn't present any tooth scar. Skin and blubber samples were taken from 10 individuals as well as 1 stomach content.
The Ionian Sea presents the greatest depths of the whole Mediterranean Sea (5090 m) as well as depths increasing very steeply close to the hellenic coasts. The above sea area seems to be a good habitat for Ziphius cavirostris, where is considered to be quite frequent, accordingly to stranding data and direct observations. Since 1992, at least 5 Z. cavirostris stranded in the area of Kyparissiakos gulf (3 of them stranded together at the same day). The long sandy beach of the open Kyparissiakos gulf presents the isobaths of 10 and 20 m at a distance of 0.5 and 1 mile from the coast, respectively.
Date: Fri, 17 May, 1996
Norway to Start Whale Hunt
By Doug Mellgren, Associated Press Writer
OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Norway's whalers are preparing to slip quietly out of their ports to avoid trouble on Monday, when the much-protested hunting season opens.
Since resuming commercial whale hunts three years ago despite a global ban, this northern country of 4.3 million people has seen demonstrations, boycott threats, confrontations on the high seas and sabotage. It also angered many by quietly lifting a six-year ban on hunting seal pups this year. The arctic hunt for more than 17,000 pups ended early this month.
The protests against whaling have intensified this year with Norway's near doubling of the minke whale quota to 425, up from 232 last year. The United States and several other nations have denounced the hunt, as have an ex-Beatle and his wife.
The first minke whales may already be facing harpoons, since fisheries officials said Wednesday that several of this year's 35-40 boats are allowed to start the hunt at will in the North Sea. Last year, 33 boats took part.
Norway rejects a nonbinding 1986 ban imposed by the International Whaling Commission. The small, oil-rich country claims the minke whales it hunts are plentiful, and that whaling is a responsible use of its natural resources. It agrees, however, that other, endangered whale species should be protected.
Despite defending the hunt, the usually open government appeared skittish about this year's sharply increased quotas, set May 4. It did not announce them, as it routinely did in the past, and only revealed the number after it was leaked to the news media.
"I think it shows how afraid they are," said Katarine Brubakk of Greenpeace Norway. "I think they hope that if they don't put it in writing in a news release, it wouldn't cause trouble."
Halvard Johansen, director of resource management at the Ministry of Fisheries, denied any concern.
"We just didn't see that it served any purpose to announce the whale quota this year. We announced it to those who are involved, the whalers," he said.
The result was what one Norwegian newspaper called "environmental hysteria."
The United States formally protested on Friday, saying commercial whaling already has brought some species near extinction. A bipartisan group of 23 congressmen asked for U.S. trade sanctions if next week's hunt goes off as planned. Germany's foreign minister demanded an end to whaling and the `gruesome killing of seal pups." New Zealand and England also objected.
Activists apparently tried to sink a Norwegian whaling boat at its wharf this month. Greenpeace is asking contestants in the Eurovision Song contest in Oslo today to protest the hunt. Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife Linda urged Norwegians in an open letter this week to "stop or be shamed."
The police, the coast guard, and whalers, who fish most of the year, are braced for trouble. Two years ago, Greenpeace ships pursued and tried to board the whaling boat "Senet" in the North Sea.
"We don't want any trouble," said whaler Olav Olavsen Jr., whose boat, the Nybraena, was one of several nearly sunk by saboteurs in recent years.
"But if we have to handle trouble, we are ready and able."
Opponents want the hunts stopped, saying Norway doesn't know how many minke, the smallest of the baleen whales at about 30 feet, are off its coast. A year ago, Norway admitted that a longstanding estimate of 86,700 whales was wrong. It cut it to 69,600, raised it 76,000 a month later and now estimates at least 110,000 minke off Norway, based on a comprehensive count last summer.
Whalers, who sell whale meat for human consumption, want a government ban on export lifted and quotas quadrupled to the levels of the early 1980s, before protests forced Norway to call off the hunt.
"We won't be satisfied until we reach a normal, usual hunt of 1,700-1,800 hundred whales a year," Olavsen said.
Date: Mon, 20 May, 1996
Norway Commences Slaughter Of 425 Whales In Northeast Atlantic
Norway Undermines International Convention, Clinton's Response Completely Inadequate
WASHINGTON, (GP) -- Starting today, and continuing for the next two months, a total of 425 minke whales will be hunted down to exhaustion, ripped apart with grenade tipped harpoons and then dragged aboard a Norwegian ship to be disemboweled and butchered. Greenpeace is calling on the Clinton Administration, which to date has paid mere lip service to the issue, to use all diplomatic means at its disposal to end the hunt.
In a blatant attempt to avoid international review of their planned whale kill, Norway is commencing its hunt today, one month before the meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) on June 24-28 in Aberdeen, Scotland. Norway's commercial whale hunt, with a quota twice that of last year's, has been condemned worldwide by such countries as England, Germany and New Zealand.
A congressional letter signed by 23 members of Congress, including Representatives Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) and George Miller (D-CA), calls on President Clinton to take immediate action to end the whale hunt. As of today, President Clinton has yet to respond. While claiming personal leadership on the issue, President Clinton has failed to act on his three year-old commitment to impose sanctions against Norway if they continued to kill whales in defiance of the international ban.
"Because Clinton is too scared to take a stand in an election year, over four hundred whales are going to be slaughtered," said Gerry Leape of Greenpeace.
"The time for words is over. The time for action is now."
Norway has not only undermined the effectiveness of the IWC's total moratorium on commercial whaling, it has also blatantly broken its domestic ban on whale meat exports. On April 6th of this year, Japanese officials foiled an attempt by Norway to smuggle six tons of whale meat in a container sent from Oslo to Yokohama, Japan. Whale meat is sold in Japan for $260 a kilogram.
While demand for whale meat is high in Asia, the Norwegian domestic market is in a slump. This morning Norwegian press reports that over 100 tons of whale meat from last year's hunt are still sitting in storehouses, forcing many Norwegian whale meat buyers to reconsider their plans to buy whale meat in 1996.
Norway has based this year's whaling quota on a minke whale population of 110,000. This figure has not been approved by the IWC, and therefore cannot be considered scientifically sound. In 1993 the United States and Norway pledged to work together in good faith to work within the IWC framework, and establish whale population data based on sound science. This agreement has been abrogated by Norway's recent actions.
CONTACT: Gerry Leape, 202-319-2401 or Jonathan Hall, 202-319-2542
Date: Mon, 20 May, 1996
South Africa to Review Backing for Whaling Ban
By Brendan Boyle
CAPE TOWN, (Reuter) - South Africa, a sanctuary for the Southern Right whale, wants to ease its ban on whaling off its shores by reviewing its membership of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) which administers a worldwide moratorium on whale hunting.
A confidential document sent to government departments and some conservationists ahead of the IWC's June meeting in Scotland proposes that South Africa should keep a low profile and should decide by the 1997 meeting whether to downgrade its membership to observer status. The document, of which Reuters has a copy, seems set to reopen the emotional debate about the bloody business of hunting the world's biggest mammals.
"It is proposed that South Africa should retain its independent spirit in order to protect South Africa's interests and should use its influence to combat extremism in favour of non-whaling," South African IWC commissioner and Department of Sea Fisheries director Guillaume de Villiers said in the paper.
De Villiers confirmed the authenticity of the document, but told Reuters it was a proposal and not yet official policy. He said there was no immediate threat to the estimated 2,000 Southern Right whales that visit the coast mainly between June and November to mate and calve. The whales, which frolic within metres of the shore, draw thousands of tourists every year, many from abroad.
"At the moment, in South African waters, all whales are protected. I would be extremely surprised if the government were to open up whaling on our coast," de Villiers said.
But veteran 'Save the Whales' campaigner Nan Rice, who condemned the document outright, said South Africa had been a premier whaling nation for 184 years till the late 1970s and owed it to the world to fight for the survival of the whales.
"Taking into consideration South Africa's role in bringing some of the great whale species to thebrink of extinction...it should be the moral duty of our country to remain an active member of the IWC. I'm very, very disturbed about this," she said.
Deputy Minister of Environment Affairs Bantu Holomisa said he had not been informed officially about the proposal and that it had not been discussed by the government.
"At this time you can take it as a non-starter," he said.
But Peter Mokaba, chairman of the parliamentary committee on environment affairs, told Reuters South Africa should leave the door open for a return to commercial whaling.
"We should not allow a situation where anything is not possible. We must stay with the IWC to see what other countries are thinking, but keep our own options open," he said.
The document drafted by de Villiers points to anomalies in policies on mammal conservation and proposes that a clear position should be adopted before the IWC's 1997 meeting.
"The approach and policy towards whales should be compatible with general policies towards the utilization of...other mammals such as seals and elephants," he said.
Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) director Ian Macdonald welcomed de Villiers' call for a clear division between scientific and emotional arguments about the sustainable utilisation of vulnerable species.
"There is a lot of confusion in the minds of government and the public about why we adopt certain policies and we should be clear about these things," he said.
South Africa supported the creation of a southern ocean whale sanctuary below the 55th parallel in 1994 and bans all whaling off its own shores, but also supports the harvesting of white rhinos, seals and elephants to finance conservation.
Date: Wed, 22 May, 1996
Haro Strait Underwater Sound Tests
By PEGGY ANDERSEN - Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE (AP) -- Environmentalists and operators of whale-watching boats say they are concerned that a proposed underwater sound experiment off the coast of Washington state could harm local marine mammals.
Scientists want to send bursts of sound through Haro Strait to learn more about the "front" where salt and fresh waters meet in the channel between the San Juan Islands and Canada's Vancouver Island.
"The only way you can communicate underwater is using sound. That's what whales have known for millions and millions of years," said Henrik Schmidt, an engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who requested a marine mammal harassment permit for the Navy-funded study.
The National Marine Fisheries Service has solicited public comments about the 26-day experiment, which is scheduled to begin June 10. The marine mammals that would be affected include killer whales, also called orcas, harbor seals, and harbor and Dall's porpoises.
"Probably the orcas won't even notice we are there," Schmidt said. Others aren't so sure.
The strait "is not a vast ocean ... it's a narrow highway that the orcas travel through," said Peter Hamilton of the Lifeforce Foundation, an environmental group in Vancouver, British Columbia.
While the researchers' permit application suggests animals that are bothered can just swim away, Hamilton says it will take time for area marine life to learn that the noise is harmful. His group wants the researchers to shut off their equipment when they know whales and other marine mammals are nearby.
The Northwest Whale-Watcher Operators Association, whose 18 member companies take people out to observe the whales and other marine life, voted 17-1 to oppose the project -- despite a bylaw that calls for them to support and encourage research.
The scientists "just don't know what it's going to do. The industry just doesn't want to take the chance," said group president Roy Sayvetz from the Vashon Island offices of his Island Institute. Also, Sayvetz said, the experiment is planned for the height of the tourist season "when there are more whales around than any other time of year."
Patrick Miller, a graduate student in biology both at MIT and at the Woods Hole (Mass.) Oceanographic Institution, has a separate grant from the Office of Naval Research to monitor the experiment's impact on wildlife. He maintains that more noise is made for longer periods by boats -- including whale-watching boats -- and by fish finders, bottom sonars and deterrent devices at hatcheries.
"It (the noise) might not bother them (the killer whales and other marine mammals) at all," he said. "They seem to be awfully resilient" about noise from area boat traffic.
The fisheries service has noted that most of the sounds planned for the study are at levels so low they do not require authorization. The researchers "are correctly taking a cautious approach" because of recent controversy surrounding acoustic research off the California coast by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the federal agency said.
The researchers plan to transmit sound -- in short-term clicks -- from several points for about four hours a day. Two underwater robots will be used to collect data. The frequencies involved in the Haro Strait study will be much lower than those used by Scripps, Schmidt said. The researchers are consulting with whale study groups and trying to keep the process as open as possible, he noted -- to the extent of creating a web page on the Internet (http://sardine.whoi.edu/pub/html/haro.html) for those with an interest in submarine acoustics.
The researchers are making every effort to reduce the impact of their experiment, said Miller, who was invited to participate when he raised concerns about the project. In addition, an independent panel of four area scientists will follow the effort and can call for suspending the experiment if there is evidence of harm, Miller said.
The permit application suggests that the study's effects on marine mammals could include harassment, temporary or permanent hearing loss, habitat displacement or even death, though it says any harmful effects will be addressed with an effective monitoring plan.
Miller said even temporary hearing loss was unlikely. The loudest sounds will register about 195 decibels. That's about the equivalent on land of a 135-decibel jet takeoff, Miller said, though he noted that is an ongoing sound, not short-term clicks like the sounds that will be used for the experiment.
"Animals have been shown to respond very differently to clicks ... they have a very different impact than a long-duration sound," he added.
An outboard motor registers about 170 decibels -- 110 decibels underwater, he said, contending that only by monitoring the effects of such sounds can society knowledgeably deal with the impact of boat and ferry traffic on marine mammals.
Miller said he hopes his research "will give us some idea what levels of sound actually matter to the animals" and help protect them. Schmidt said the research is an environmental study "with no direct military application whatsoever."
The salt and fresh water fronts the researchers want to study are similar to those in the atmosphere, but little is known about how they behave and develop, he said. Killer whales pass down the front to feed on salmon drawn by food that is stirred up there, he said. "The behavior of this front plays a very important role for that ecosystem."
In the event of a major oil spill, the front would have a role "in determining how oil is mixed with water mass," Schmidt said, noting that 30 tankers a day pass through the strait.
"That's a very attractive goal," said Howard Garrett at the Center for Whale Research, which has its headquarters at Friday Harbor in the San Juans.
However, he said, he was not sure how the research would help increase such understanding. He noted that the Coast Guard is already quite familiar with area tides and currents.
Porpoises likely will be driven from the area by the noise, Garrett said, though killer whales who avoid the area during the study would have no difficulty finding food nearby. The center, which monitors area killer-whale "pods" or family groups, is "taking a sort of noninvolvement stance," but will alert the study participants to any behavioral changes attributed to their activities, Garrett said.
"They'll get to play with some very expensive toys and be on a nice island," he said.
Date: Wed, 22 May, 1996
Pink Dolphin's Death Arouses Experts' Attention
HONG KONG, XINHUA - Dolphin researchers in Hong Kong are worried about the decreasing number of pink dolphins in the territory's waters. According to Local media, a pink dolphin was found dead on a Lantau beach this week, the second death case found this year.
Dolphin researcher Chris Parsons warned that Hong Kong's small population of dolphins could be extinct within the next 10 years. He said there were about 100 pink dolphins left in Hong Kong's waters, but heavy shipping, pollution, over-fishing, building work and reclamation were taking their toll.
Twenty-one dead pink dolphins have been found in the past two years, but the total number of deaths is probably at least twice that, he said.
"Some are hit by boats, get caught in the propellers or drowned in fishing nets. They also pick up diseases as basically they are swimming around in sewage solution," he said.
Experts called on the government and communities to take protective measures for the dolphins. It is learned that plans for a 1,200-hectare marine park for the dolphins near Sha Chau are under public consultation.
Date: Thu, 23 May, 1996
Norway shoots first whale of hunting season
OSLO, May 23 (Reuter) - Norwegian whalehunters have harpooned the first whale of the country's much-criticised commercial whaling season, the national news agency NTB reported on Thursday. It said the 5,000-kilo minke whale was landed in the southern part of Kristiansand by the whale boat Senet. NTB quoted Senet skipper Arvid Enghaugen, whose ship has a quota of nine whales this year, as saying it was shot in the North Sea on Wednesday. The whaling season began on Monday, 20th.
The United States protested last week against Norway's whale hunting plans, saying it deeply opposed commercial whaling because it had driven some stocks to near extinction. James Baker, U.S. representative to the International Whaling Commission (IWC), noted that world nations imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982 under IWC auspices. He said the United States recognised that Norway lodged a formal objection to the moratorium and therefore was not technically bound by it, but he called on Oslo "to join the nations of the world in refraining from whaling."
The United States believes the process by which Norway calculated its quota of 425 minke whales lacks adequate international oversight since it has not been considered by the IWC's scientific committee or by the commission itself.
Date: Thu, 30 May 1996
Iceland, Whaling and Watching
From: Ina Karl - Oceantouren.Ina.Karl@T-online.de
Hi my name is Ina and I am located in Germany. Our company is doing whale watching tours all over the world. I contact you today because there is a familiy of whales we know in danger very much in the near future.
We are building up a little whale watching business in Iceland. A group of about 15 Minke Whales return each Summer into our bay. They are very known to our boat and come very close. Sometimes they even make body contact when swimmers are in the water. Since 2 weeks a great promotion of the whalers started in iceland to begin with whaling again.
On the 6th June I will take a German TV team to film the whales and the discussion going on still. We will try to get a worldwide promtion on that problem and save our whale family. That is a nice story for all the other whales up there. We will have material available for all TV stations that are interested and photo material as well.
Also we have printed a post card in Iceland Language addressed to the Government. People can order it in Germany.
The Iceland public has to be aware that there are thousands of tourists in the world, prepared to visit Icelands whales.
Can you help us ???
We need lots of people telling Iceland: we will visit you and give them a feeling: There is more money in whale tourism than in Whale Killing !!!!
If you have any contacts to TV/radios and organisations, please pass them to us.
We offer tours with very specialised biologists to unusual places. For example we have 3 tours each 10 days with the right whales of the South in Argentina each year. Very succesful for us and the whales. Even underwater photographers are welcome with this whales. Same on the Azores with groups of Sperm whales and Risso's dolphins. We could offer slide material and sighting reports.
Thanks a lot in advance and best whales
Ina Karl
The Whale House
Stock Libary on marine mammals
Ceantours & Expeditions
Westfalenstr. 92
58636 ISERLOHN
Germany
Tel ++49 2371 689333 Fax ++49 2371 689335
Also in the evening Hot Line Tel: ++49 2371 461063 MET
Date: Thu, 30 May, 1996
Two dolphins came to vote in Haifa Harbor, Israel
Wednesday morning 5/29/96 at 5:15 a.m. two dolphins, an adult and a juvenile (Tursiops truncatus), entered Haifa port, the second largest and busiest port in Israel. They were observed by the tower guards. They came all the way into the harbor, to its end, in front of the marine police buildings. These guards notified Nimrod Otets, a naval ranger for the Ministry of Environment about their presence. By 7 a.m., IMMRAC (Israel Marine Mammal Research & Assistance Center) volunteers were notified and on the site: Dr. Dan Kerem, Mira Roditi, Aharon Koltuv, and Oz Goffman. We identified the species of the two dolphins and observed their swimming formation (always as a pair). Most of the time, they were submerged. The visibility in the water is less than 50 cm and the depth in this region is 7-8 meters.
Because of a national holiday due to Israel's elections, boat traffic in the port was light. At 7:40 a.m. we started taking observations on the behavior of the dolphins, their submerged time, location, etc. The dolphins seemed to be in healthy condition. Perhaps they were a mother and an older calf, but we were unable to determine the genders of the dolphins. We studied the harbor area and decided not try to capture them or stress them in any way. We recalled how Dr. David Ben had herded killer whales out of an estuary (IMMATA conference, 1994), by using an acoustic wall to push the dolphins forward.
We made the first attempt to do this at 9:02 a.m. with two Boston whaler like fiberglass boats, one zodiac, and one windsurf board (no sail), using metal clankers (made by the marine police on the spot for us). We only were able to drive them up halfway in the harbor, before it expanded. The dolphins dove under us and returned to the inner harbor at 9:49 a.m.
At 10 a.m. we decided to stop the herding attempts but Orit Barnare and Hadass Rapport, Kari Lavalli, Moti Mendelson continued observations on the dolphin's behavior. At 11:57 the dolphins attempted to leave the inner harbor but turned back. We followed them in a boat at some distance. At 12:40 p.m. we decided to add more windsurf boards to our acoustic line, and by 1:45 p.m. 2 additional volunteers joined us to man the surf boards (Amir Yurman, Amir from Sofay Yam, in additional to Mira and Aharon). We devised a plan of action, keeping in mind the importance of maintaining a straight line to herd the dolphins and making continuous noise.
At 2 p.m. we made a second attempt at the acoustical herding line again with the two Boston whaler like boats and the 4 surf boards. We started making noise from the very beginning. It took 1.5 hours to herd the dolphins out of the harbor.
Years ago there was a similar incident. Some of the dolphins left the harbor on their own after three to five days, while others were entangled and injured. We may have been successful because of our use of small boats, surf boards, and noise makers.
IMMRAC would like to thank the following authorities for their help and cooperation:
Ministry of the Environment
Tel Aviv University Dept. of Zoology
Port Authority
Haifa Harbor Tug Boat Operaters
Israel's Navy
Safay Yamv
the volunteers of IMMRAC
If anyone else has had similar experiences with dolphins trapped in busy harbors (where they are not commonly found), please let us know and send us your case reports to:
Oz Goffman, IMMRAC
University of Haifa
Recanati Center for Maritime Studies
Mt. Carmel, Haifa, 31905 Israel
Oz Goffman - Email: RHSS101@UVM.HAIFA.AC.IL
Date: Tue, 4 Jun, 1996
Amazon Manatees
By PETER MUELLO - Associated Press Writer
MANAUS, Brazil (AP) -- Overhunting and destruction of habitat are threatening to wipe out the world's only fresh-water manatee. Some scientists fear it could go the way of the Steller sea cow, which was hunted to extinction just 30 years after its discovery in 1741.
"This species doesn't exist outside the Amazon," said Dr. Vera da Silva, head of the Aquatic Mammals Laboratory at the National Institute of Amazon Research.
"If it becomes extinct here, it will be gone for good."
The institute in this Amazon jungle city, 1,800 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro, hopes its research will improve chances for recovery of Brazil's fresh-water manatee. Begun in 1975, the institute's Manatee Project has provided scientists with new information about the habits and makeup of the creature that Brazilians call "peixe-boi" -- Portuguese for "ox-fish."
"Back then we knew absolutely nothing about its biology or physiology," da Silva said.
"Even now, we don't know how many there are."
What they discovered was an unusual and primitive mammal that can't even maintain a constant body temperature. Like a reptile, its temperature varies with the environment. Yet the manatee is uniquely adapted to the warm waters and flood-and-drought cycles of the Amazon. When the water is high and food abundant, an adult eats up to 110 pounds of water plants a day. In the dry season, it can go for six months without food.
Scientists also found that the manatee plays a crucial role in the intricate Amazon food chain.
"It transforms up to 40 percent of its food into smaller particles and nutrients that feed many fish, micro-organisms and phytoplankton," da Silva said.
Like its larger sea-going cousins in the coastal waters of Florida and Africa, the Amazon manatee belongs to a branch of mammals that includes the elephant, the aardvark and the hyrax. Its cigar-shaped body and whiskered face give it a walrus-like appearance. The manatee has been protected in Brazil since 1967, but poaching is a problem.
Manatee oil is used for cooking and in home remedies for everything from rheumatism to bronchitis. The meat, fried and stored in its own fat, is a dish much appreciated in the Amazon interior because it keeps for months without refrigeration. Francisco Cavalcanti, a retired but unrepentant poacher, says manatee hides also are sold to tanneries, which use them to make glue, shoe soles, loom parts and gaskets, belts and hoses for locomotives and heavy machinery.
"It's better than cowhide, stronger and thicker," he said.
Big -- up to 1,100 pounds -- slow and docile, the manatee has no natural enemies except man. When European colonizers came three centuries ago, the Amazon teemed with them.
In a 1658 journal, Jesuit priest Antonio Vieira wrote how Indians in the eastern Amazon loaded more than 20 ships a year with manatee meat and oil for Dutch traders. From 1776 to 1778, the Portuguese Royal Fishery near the Amazon River port of Santarem registered the entry of 58 tons of manatee meat and 1,613 barrels of oil.
Females with young are the easiest prey. Hunters set wooden stakes in the water to locate the animal, then harpoon it to bring it to the surface.
"When it comes up, the hunter shoves two sticks up its nostrils," da Silva said.
"The manatee can't breath through its mouth and suffocates."
The orphans often are kept as pets in tanks or on a tether through a hole bored in the fan-shaped tail. But few hunters realize how much milk the calves need, and they usually sicken from malnourishment.
"They get weaker and weaker, and when they're almost dead someone remembers that INPA exists and donates them to us," da Silva said.
The institute keeps up to 20 manatees in concrete-and-glass tanks. Each day, the calves are fed five quarts of formula with milk, butter, egg yolk, melon and vitamins. They may live 45 years, but they never can return to the wild.
"They've lost their fear of man, and that is their only chance for survival," da Silva said. INPA hopes to place them in fish farms or in special conservation units. Another idea is to use them to control the spread of water plants.
In the late 1970s, the government electric company in the Amazon, Eletronorte, asked for help to clear the reservoir of the Curua-una hydroelectric dam, glutted with weeds that blocked sunlight and reduced oxygen in the water. The institute put 42 manatees in the reservoir, and the plant cover receded. But the followup studies weren't completed, and INPA couldn't prove conclusively that the manatees were responsible for the result.
Date: Thu, 6 Jun, 1996
Climate Change Biggest Risk to Whales, says IWC
By Michael Perry
SYDNEY, Australia (Reuter) - Global climate change, pollution and the hole in the ozone layer are greater risks to the world's whale populations than whaling, International Whaling Commission (IWC) Chairman Peter Bridgewater said Wednesday. (Pieter Folkens comments)
Though resumption of commercial whaling would devastate whale numbers, he said, there were no moves to do so, neither by Japan which conducted "scientific" whaling nor Norway which resumed whaling in May.
"I think the threat from all sorts of extrinsic sources to whale populations pose a significantly greater threat than the whaling activities that exist," Bridgewater told Reuters.
"We may well see potential for (population) crashes for other reasons (than whaling)," he said ahead of this month's IWC meeting in Aberdeen, Scotland.
The IWC must now focus on these new threats, he said.
"There is enough circumstantial evidence to suggest there are effects from pollution on whale populations, even though they are highly migratory animals which spend a lot of their time in what we would call remote oceans," Bridgewater said.
The Environmental Investigation Agency, a research group based in London and Washington, detailed in May recent cetacean deaths as a result of pollution. More than 1,500 striped dolphins died in the Mediterranean from a virus linked to high levels of pollutants; 750 bottlenose dolphins were killed in the Gulf of Mexico from a combination of pollution, viral infection and toxic algal; while toxic algal killed 14 humpback whales off the U.S. east coast. Bridgewater said whale fat readily absorbed pollutants.
"We really need to have a more strategi eglobal program looking at the effects of pollutants on whales," he added.
Climate change also posed a risk to whales, particularly in Antarctica, a major whale sanctuary. Ozone depletion over the Antarctic could expose whales to damaging solar radiation, which could impact on future whale stocks.
Antarctica's eco-system has been damaged in the past century through whaling, sealing and krill fishing, he said. Shrimp-like krill are a major food source for whales. Antarctica's altered environment may also be adversely affecting whales. It's eco-system has been damaged in the past century through whaling, sealing and krill fishing, he said. Shrimp-like krill are a major food source for whales. Antarctica's altered environment may also be adversely affecting whales, he said.
"My guess it will take a few years for these effects to come through," Bridgewater said.
A report on the effect of climate change on whales is to be presented to the IWC meeting starting June 24. To date, whale preservation has focused on a 1982 IWC moratorium on commercial whaling. Currently 12 of about 80 species of whales are protected and populations are recovering.
Bridgewater said he believed support for a global ban on whaling remained strong, despite Japanese and Norwegian whaling, moves to allow whaling for some indigenous peoples and reports that South Africa may review IWC membership. Japan kills 400 minke whales each year in the Southern Ocean for "research," while Norway resumed whaling last month for cultural and commercial reasons, intending to kill 425 minkes.
Both countries will face strong criticism in Scotland, Bridgewater said.
"Australia will be pushing very hard for both the Norwegians and the Japanese to reconsider their decisions."
He said he did not believe the world would again see large-scale factory-ship whaling, but Japan was intent on creating a minke whaling industry.
"Japan has made no secret that that is what its long-term objective is," Bridgewater said.
Date: Thu, 6 Jun, 1996
South African whales said safe from policy review
By Brendan Boyle
CAPE TOWN, (Reuter) - South African Environment Minister Dawie de Villiers affirmed on Thursday that whales would be safe along the country's coast, even though a government review of its opposition to whaling was under way.
De Villiers told the Senate in Cape Town that South African support for the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) comprehensive ban on whaling would be reexamined as part of an overall review of fisheries policy. But he said South Africa was aware of the benefits to tourism of the southern right whales that visit the coast from June to November each year, and "will take no action that will threaten the wellbeing of this precious inheritance."
South Africa has not hunted whales for over 30 years.
"Given the long history of international exploitation... it would not only be inconsistent, but also foolish to reverse the current situation whereby all whales are afforded full protection in South African waters," said de Villiers.
The first word of the South African review came in a policy document sent to a limited number of environmentalists and officials proposing a low profile at the next IWC meeting pending a review of its support of an international whaling ban.
"It is proposed that South Africa should retain its independent spirit in order to protect South Africa's interests and should use its influence to combat extremism in favour of non-whaling," South African IWC commissioner and Department of Sea Fisheries director Guillaume de Villiers said in the paper. He told Reuters, however, that while South Africa might reexamine its policy on the sustainable use of prolific whale species elsewhere, it would not consider whaling off its own shores or in the southern ocean whale sanctuary.
The environment minister, who is no relation, said on Thursday that South Africa was reviewing many of the policies inherited from the white minority government in 1994.
"It is only fair and natural that government should be afforded an opportunity to review past policies also in regard (to whaling) and in the light of the proposed new national fisheries policy," he added.
De Villiers is one of six National Party ministers who will relinquish their portfolios at the end of the month, when their white-led party quits President Nelson Mandela's transitional government of national unity.
Pallo Jordan, a member of Mandela's African National Congress, will take over the environment and tourism portfolio.
Date: Mon, 17 Jun, 1996
U.S. whaling dispute brews ahead of world meeting
by Sonali Paul
WASHINGTON, (Reuter) - A bid by the United States to let a Native American tribe hunt gray whales to revive their cultural traditions could spark an international dispute next week, environmentalists said on Monday.
Anticipating less than unanimous support for the request at the International Whaling Commission meeting in Aberdeen, Scotland, beginning on June 24, U.S. Commerce Undersecretary James Baker said he planned to focus attention on the issue. While whale protection treaties ban commercial whaling, they allow aboriginal groups like the Makah tribe of Washington state to kill limited numbers of whales if the people need the meat to eat or to sustain their culture.
The Makahs want to take five gray whales a year for cultural reasons, not for food, U.S. officials and environmentalists said.
"The precedent this could set is extremely worrying," said Ginette Hemley, the World Wildlife Fund's director of international wildlife policy.
"We should be reviewing what other approaches might satisfy that cultural gap they're facing."
Although the United States has targeted Japan and Norway for defying commercial whaling bans, it stands fully behind the Makah tribal council's request.
"There is no commercial aspect to it," said Baker, who is the U.S. commissioner to the IWC.
"It's done under a numerical quota, and permits the stock to still continue to grow."
The IWC allows Russian natives to kill up to 140 gray whales a year and lets Eskimos kill a small number of endangered bowhead whales.
Baker told reporters that the Makah, who had hunted whales for hundreds of years, stopped killing them in the mid-1920s when the mammals came close to extinction. The gray whale came off the endangered list in 1994, and there are now about 21,000 gray whales.
Environmentalists are split on the issue, with some saying the Makah plan should be allowed to go ahead."We think there are other big fights to occupy us next week," said Gerry Leape, a campaigner for Greenpeace, the environmental group which is battling Norwegian whalers.
The U.S. government could be sued by the tribe if the IWC does not approve the plan, because under a 19th century treaty with the U.S. government, the Makah have a right to whale. Animal welfare activists say the Makah tribal elders and the tribal council are split on the issue.
In an advertisement in a local newspaper, sponsored by animal rights groups, the tribal elders questioned the legality of the council's decision to propose a whale hunt, which was never put to a vote before the tribe. Makah representatives were not available for comment, and planned to issue a statement only after the IWC meeting.
Environmentalists plan to work with the Australian and New Zealand delegations as well as some European governments, which oppose whaling and have raised concerns about the Makah proposal, to try to stall or reject it.
Date: Tue, 18 Jun, 1996
Makah Elders Speak Out Against Whale Hunt
Contact: Will Anderson, (206)787-2500, extension 841
Alberta Thompson, Makah Elder, (360) 645-2544
In the June 16, Sunday edition of the Peninsula Daily News, several Makah elders, including the eldest living Makah, spoke out in a one-half page ad against the Makah Tribal Council's plan to kill five gray whales per year. The Makah Tribal Council (MTC), the corporate representatives of the Makah Nation, is petitioning the International Whaling Commission (IWC) for an annual quota when it meets in Aberdeen, Scotland on June 24. The MTC has stated that it retains an option to enter into commercial whaling, and may whale regardless of the IWC decision.
Will Anderson, working in the Advocacy Department of the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), travelled to the Makah village of Neah Bay after requests by PAWS and several other organizations to meet with MTC officials and representatives were met with silence for over a year.
"After spending time in Neah Bay, I discovered that the whaling proposal is very controversial among the Makah. When it became obvious that elders were among the opposition, PAWS offered to coordinate the funding for a newspaper ad that the elders could use to say whatever they wished. The words are theirs," stated Anderson.
The nine organizations sponsoring the ad are: Animal Protection Institute, Animal Welfare Institute, Cetacean Society International, Chicago Animal Rights Coalition, Friends of Animals, The Humane Society of the United States, International Wildlife Coalition, Progressive Animal Welfare Society, and Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.
A previous ad, Open Letter To The Makah Nation, requested the Makah to not fulfill the 1855 Treaty that explains Makah whaling rights. It was signed by 240 organizations from around the world. That signature list has grown to be in excess of 300 environmental and animal welfare groups.
Bob Chorush
Progressive Animal Welfare Society PAWS
Box 1037, Lynnwood, WA 98046
(206) 787-2500 ext 862
fax (206) 742-5711
bchorush@paws.org
Date: Wed, 19 Jun, 1996
Whaling commission faces new moratorium battle
by Helen Smith
LONDON, (Reuter) - Fourteen years after agreeing a global moratorium on commercial whaling, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) will come under pressure to ease the ban when it meets next week. The gathering, which starts in the Scottish city of Aberdeen on Monday, could be acrimonious. The ban's staunchest supporter, the United States, will put itself in a tricky position by asking for special exemption allowing a North American Indian tribe to revive a ceremonial whale hunt.
Norway and Japan, where whalemeat is eaten, are pushing for a relaxation of the moratorium, arguing that whale populations would not be damaged by limited hunting. Norway was the only country to opt out of the moratorium. Japan has openly flouted it under the guise of whaling for permitted "research."
The North American Makah tribe wants to hunt five grey whales a year to revive a ceremonial tradition it dropped in the 1920s after the whales had been hunted almost to extinction. The Makah, who used to hunt the 50-foot (15-metre) whales in eight-man canoes using hand-held harpoons, say they are entitled to catch the whales under an 1855 treaty and are only asking to save the government embarrassment.
The U.S government is torn between its commitment to upholding tribal rights and its forceful anti-whaling stance. The Makah argue that stocks of grey whales have recovered and, at 23,000, are no longer on the endangered list. This is also the argument used by Japan and Norway for their hunting of minke whales, the population of which numbers several hundred thousand.
The IWC moratorium allows exemptions for aboriginal groups which rely on whaling for subsistence. Environmentalists argue the Makah have managed without whalemeat for 70 years.
"The precedent this could set is extremely worrying," said Ginette Hemley, director of international wildlife policy at the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF).
"We should be reviewing what other approaches might satisfy that cultural gap they're facing."
Australia, New Zealand and some European governments are expected to oppose the U.S. request. But Japan has already cited it as justification for its own plans to ask the IWC meeting for an annual catch quota of 50 minke whales. Norway has set its own quota of 425 minke whales for this year's catch. In its campaign to win support for its whaling industry, it flew a group of journalists to the Lofoten Islands above the Arctic Circle and showed them a mountain of whale blubber.
Though Norwegians love whalemeat, they do not touch the blubber that makes up 50 percent of the creature. For the Japanese on the other hand, blubber is a delicacy, fried and served as sashimi.
Oslo, afraid of further vilification, will not allow the blubber to be destroyed, nor will it permit its export. Instead, tonnes and tonnes of whalemeat are being frozen in readiness for the moment when the moratorium is lifted and it can be shipped to Japan. That is unlikely to be this year. No government has actually submitted a proposal for lifting the ban. But Japan and Norway are convinced things are moving their way.
"International public opinion is much less of a problem than just a few years ago," said Norway's whaling commissioner Kaare Bryn.
The whaling countries tookheart when a leaked document showed that South Africa favoured a relaxation of the moratorium, though the government later backtracked. South African commissioner Guillaume de Villiers has urged his government to take a "clear position" on the hunting of minke whales. He linked conservation of whales to elephants, an endangered species which is nevertheless culled in some areas.
Denmark, whose Faroe Islanders annually catch hundreds of pilot whales, which are not protected by the IWC, by chasing them on to the beach, also says it is sympathetic to traditional whaling.
Apart from such controversies, the IWC meeting will look at a number of issues linked to whale conservation, including the rapidly growing whale-watching tourist industry. The WWF estimated that more than four million people went on whale watching trips somewhere in the world in 1992.
Harmless though it may seem, the IWC fears the industry could be posing a new threat to endangered whale populations. The increase in boat traffic can affect the behaviour of whales and could disturb their breeding patterns, said Martin Harvey of the IWC. The boats bring pollution and noise -- distressing to whales who are believed to have highly tuned hearing enabling them to communicate using eerie, underwater cries.
Date: Fri, 21 Jun, 1996
U.S. Wise Use Groups Support Norway's Outlawed Whaling Program
WASHINGTON, June 21 (GP) -- On the eve of the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), a new report from Greenpeace International unveils disturbing links between leading U.S. Wise Use groups and Norway's commercial whaling industry. Norway's whale hunt is in blatant violation of the IWC's 1986 international moratorium on commercial whaling.
The report, entitled "Driven to Extremes," details extensive involvement of Wise Use and Scandinavian pro-whaling groups in an international campaign to legitimize Norway's return to commercial whaling. Since the late 1980's, American anti-environmental groups such as the Alliance for America and the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise (groups funded by oil, mining, and chemical interests), along with such individuals as ultra-right wing libertarian Lyndon LaRouche and Wise Use leader Ron Arnold, have forged strategic alliances with Norwegian whalers and pro-whaling activists.
Campaigning in Norway and the United States, these activists have attempted to convince policy makers that despite Norway's blatant violation of the IWC moratorium on commercial whaling, the whale hunt has been "humane and sustainable," and inflicted "no harm on the stocks." Lobbying foreign governments, the groups have claimed that "millions of Americans" are in support of renewed whaling.
In February of this year, the Alliance for America, along with the Wise Use "Fishermen's Coalition," wrote to President Bill Clinton arguing that the "the IWC should finally allow, recognize and support the humane and sustainable use of abundant cetaceans as practiced for thousands of years by citizens of Norway, Iceland, Canada, the Faeroe Islands, Japan, the Caribbean Nations, South America, the United States and many other countries."
Three individuals instrumental in having forged cooperation between Wise Use groups and pro-whalers: George Blichfeldt, leader of the whaling lobby group High North Alliance; Steinar Bastesen, President of the Norwegian Small Type Whaling Association; and, Magnus Gudmundsson, Icelandic whaling advocate and film-maker. On June 16-19 of this year, both Mr. Blichfeldt and Mr. Gudmundsson attended the Wise Use "Fly in for Freedom" conference in Washington, D.C. The theme this year was "The World Is Run By Those Who Show Up."
The intense lobbying effort by Wise Use groups may help explain the Clinton Administration's current weak stance on Norway's illegal whale hunt at the IWC this year. The Administration is supporting Norway's minke whale population estimate of 112,000 whales, a figure which has yet to be reviewed by the IWC, and which in previous years has found to be incorrect. The U.S. contingent is also expected to offer no substantial challenge to Norway's illegal hunt, despite Clinton's 3-year-old pledge to impose economic sanctions against Norway unless it canceled the hunt.
Contact: Jonathan Hall 202-319-2542 Email: jhall@igc.apc.org
Date: Mon, 24 Jun, 1996
Return of the Whales - Brazil
(APN) - At the whaling industry's peak in the mid-18th century, whaling stations known as "armacaoes" -- traps -- appeared every 125 miles along Brazil's seaboard. In those days, when 400 to 600 whales were killed each year off the coast of Santa Catarina alone, overhunting was already evident.
Right whales gradually vanished off Bahia, Espirito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Parana states. By the 1890s, fisherman reported just six kills a year off Santa Catarina. That number dwindled to three by 1950. A decade later, only one whaling station remained in operation -- the armacao at Imbituba, 60 miles south of the state capital of Florianopolis.
In 1973, marine biologists pronounced the right whales extinct in Brazil and the Imbituba station -- where 350 whales were slaughtered a year at the turn of the century -- finally closed its kilns.
Eight years passed, and scientists wrote off any possibility the creatures might return. But navy Admiral Ibsen Camara, the vice commander of Brazil's armed forces and the only outspoken critic of whaling during the 1964-1985 military regime, thought otherwise.
With a $1,000 grant from the University of Miami, he called Palazzo -- then a first-year biology major at college -- and asked him to look for the whales off the shores of Santa Catarina.
For more than a year, the portly, spectacled 18-year-old cut classes and exams and spent weekends camping on beaches up and down the state searching for the whales, to no avail. With his grant money running out, Palazzo tried the island of Sao Francisco do Sul in September 1982. Fishermen had told of seeing a great black fish swimming close to shore.
It was 8 a.m. and he was walking along the beach when a spout offshore caught his eye.
"This big, black thing was rising and falling in the water," recalls Palazzo. "It was a whale, and she had a nylon gill net caught in her fin. I fell down on my knees and started to cry."
In 1986, Palazzo received an $8,000 grant from the World Wildlife Fund to study the whales and to teach conservation to fishermen, using books and slide shows.
"There was a radical change in the fishermen's behavior," he says. "They understood how important it was to save the whales and they began to volunteer to protect them."
A year later, the government imposed a whaling ban. Offenders were punished with five-year prison terms and the seizure of their boats and equipment. Last year, Santa Catarina Gov. Paulo Afonso declared state waters a whale refuge and ordered state police to patrol for clandestine whalers.
Today, scientists say the right whale population is growing by 8 percent a year. But its future is hardly guaranteed. Environmental groups facing shrinking donations are cutting outlays. In May, the International Wildlife Coalition -- Palazzo's main sponsor -- halved its $30,000-a-year funding. Meanwhile, the equipment needed to monitor the whales grows costlier and results, not surprisingly, are slow.
To track the whales, Palazzo wants to tag them with high frequency transmitters that can be monitored by satellite. But each tag costs $3,000, and the satellite hookup $1,000.
"It's futile to protect them here and leave them exposed in other areas," he says. "We need to discover their migration paths to keep whalers away from them on the high seas."
One big enemy is the Japanese whaler. Every year, Japanese ships go to Antarctica and hunt countless endangered species. Meanwhile, lobbyists from Tokyo exert pressure on the International Whaling Commission to end the 1986 worldwide ban.
A more subtle threat to the whales is the contamination of their marine environment with organochlorine compounds, such as DDTs and PCBs. Studies show that arctic waters act as a sink for organochlorines. The contaminants tend to accumulate in the whale's blubber, and mothers pass their toxic load on to their babies through their milk. Each generation of whales starts out with more toxins than the previous one, a process known as bio-magnification, says Allison Smith of the British Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society in Bath, England. Whales with high concentrations of organochlorines are susceptible to diseases that normally wouldn't affect them, she says, posing a risk of major die-offs.
"What will ultimately decide the fate of the whales will be what the average person throws away in his kitchen sink or trash can," she says.
But Palazzo remains enthusiastic. Recently, he has been working to start a tourism agency that he hopes will attract whale watchers from around the world. The revenue, he says, will be put back into the project. He works around the clock, spends weekends away from his wife and two children and has spent all of his inheritance to keep the whale project going. Will he ever give up?
"No way," Palazzo says. "To meet a right whale is to face 60 million years of evolution. They've managed to survive all this time. We can't just let them die off now."
Date: Wed, 26 Jun, 1996
IWC Receives Requests for Whaling Permits
By Audrey Woods - Associated Press Writer
ABERDEEN, Scotland (AP) -- The United States and Russia appealed to international whaling regulators Tuesday to permit small whale hunts by an American Indian tribe and the Chukotka people of Russia's polar regions. Japan also is seeking permission to kill 50 minke whales in the North Pacific this year to alleviate the hardship of some whaling communities.
Although the 39-member International Whaling Commission called a worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986, some indigenous groups are allowed to kill a few whales for subsistence and cultural reasons.
"Whales are the central focus of our culture today, as they have been since the beginning of time," said Marcy Parker, a council member of the Makah tribe of the northwest Olympic Peninsula.
"Even though we haven't hunted the whale on the ocean in 70 years, we have hunted the whale in our hearts and in our minds."
The United States is proposing a five-whale annual quota for the Makahs. They want to hunt gray whale, which once were nearly extinct but have recovered. Initial responses from countries including Japan, Norway and France, indicated strong support for the U.S. proposal.
But there was considerable doubt among some nations, including Mexico and Australia. They question the Makahs' need for whale as food -- especially given the tribe's broken history of whale hunting.
Mexico was concerned about what it called a "proliferation" of requests for aboriginal quotas, and said countries might use them to get around the moratorium, designed to protect dwindling species.
Nations will debate the U.S. proposal further, as well as a separate request from Russia, before voting later in the conference, which ends Friday. Russia asked for a five-whale catch for the indigenous Chukotka people in northeastern Siberia, whose traditional religion reveres whales. They want to kill bowheads, which are an endangered species. Some commission members expressed reservations about the need, although the United States and Japan have declared their support.
The Chukotkas already have a quota of 140 gray whales. The Chukotkas experienced food shortages because of a decline in reindeer. Whale meat has become important for nutrition, the Chukotka representative, identified only as V. Etylin, told the commission.
Japan wants an "interim relief allocation" of 50 minke whales in the North Pacific, which is in a separate category from aboriginal whaling. But U.S. officials oppose the Japanese request, saying it has a commercial aspect.
Japan was able to take more than 400 whales this year due to a provision in the 10-year-old non-binding moratorium that allows killing a limited number of the huge sea mammals for scientific research.
Date: Thu, 27 Jun, 1996
Rare Albino Humpback Whale off Australian East Coast
SYDNEY, AAP - An elusive albino humpback whale not seen for almost two years is believed to be migrating north along the New South Wales coast. The whale, thought to be the only of its kind, could be near Byron Bay on the state's north coast this weekend, NSW Environment Minister Pam Allen said today.
Ms Allen urged whale watchers to maintain a lookout for the whale, which was last seen in October 1994 after being initially spotted in Queensland waters in October 1992.
"In effect it is like having a tagged whale which can be easily monitored," she said in a statement.
"It has caused intense interest in the scientific community... it is unlikely there are two albino whales."
The whale is believed to be a 13-metre long male, approaching 10 years old and weighing 40 tonnes.
Ms Allen said "any day now" southern right whales would appear of the NSW coast and warned anyone breaking laws on whale watching faced possible jail terms or fines. The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is currently studying the migration patterns of whales and anyone sighting them is asked to contact the service.
Date: Thu, 27 Jun, 1996
House committee protests U.S. gray whale hunt plan
WASHINGTON (Reuter) - The House Resources Committee Wednesday unanimously adopted a resolution opposing a U.S. plan to allow the Makah Indians to hunt five gray whales a year. The plan would allow the north Washington state Makah to hunt under an international whaling ban waiver that permits hunts by aboriginal groups who have traditionally killed whales.
The Clinton administration is seeking approval of its proposal this week in Scotland at an International Whaling Commission meeting, which is sharply divided on the issue. Environmentalists say the proposal should be rejected because the Makahs have not hunted whales for 70 years and do not need the meat for food, but instead to revive an old cultural practice.
"The Makah assertion of purely cultural needs is not adequate to justify acceptance of the proposal and raises questions that merit considerable review," World Wildlife Fund said in a statement Wednesday.
While Congress would be hard-pressed to overturn the Makah plan if the IWC approved it, the Resources Committee wanted to "send a message to the commission and to our own delegation," said Democratic staff director, John Lawrence.
"We felt it was highly inappropriate for the administration to go off to an internationl conference to propose this kind of policy without consulting us," he said.
"This was an endangered species just two years ago," said Rep. George Miller, the top Democrat on the committee, warning that the proposal could undermine international efforts to protect whales, especially in Japan.
Date: Fri, 28 Jun, 1996
IWC Conference Update
By AUDREY WOODS - Associated Press Writer
ABERDEEN, Scotland (AP) -- The United States today withdrew a proposal for limited whaling rights for an American Indian tribe, but said it would try again next year. The Makah tribe of Washington state, supported by the United States, asked the International Whaling Commission meeting this week to approve an annual five-whale quota to renew their ancient whaling culture.
The Makah request for an exemption from a worldwide moratorium was in a special category that allows small kills by aboriginal peoples for cultural and subsistence reasons. They were opposed by countries and animal rights observer groups who questioned the tribe's need for whale as food and believed its broken culture of whale hunting disqualifies it from the special category.
The dispute became a major issue at the conference.
"We remain convinced that the Makahs' demonstrated need for this quota fits within the IWC definition of aboriginal subsistence whaling," said U.S. delegation chief D. James Baker. But he said a few commissioners had reservations, so the delegation and Makah representatives jointly decided to defer the request until next year.
Earlier today, Japan lost its ninth consecutive attempt to win approval for traditional whaling communities to kill 50 whales in spite of a worldwide ban. The whaling commission rejected Japan's perennial request by a vote of 16 to 8. Japan objects to the 1986 ban on commercial whaling and campaigns for a return to hunting at a level that does not drive whale populations dangerously low. It kills several hundred whales each year under a provision that allows limited kills for scientific research.
Since the ban was imposed, Japan has sought the commission's approval to allow the killing of 50 minke whales annually to alleviate hardships of some north coastal communities. Some opponents, including the United States and New Zealand, say the plan is commercial and is not acceptable.
Some supporters, including such Caribbean nations as St. Lucia and Antigua and Barbuda, say food from the sea is critically important to the economic security of coastal communities, and if safeguards against exploitation exist, Japan's needs should be considered.
New Zealand, one of the strongest opponents of whaling, said it would never accept breaches of the moratorium and that the commission should stop holding out false hopes to Japan. New Zealand negotiator J.K. McKlay, said he had visited one of the Japanese communities in March and found it to be prosperous, with a tourism industry. The source of the community's distress, he said, "was the inability to continue a centuries old whaling tradition and pass that tradition on to future generations."
"Right around the world there are communities that have ceased traditional practices for all sorts of conservation, cultural, and other reasons," he said. Although there are 39 nations in the commission, they do not always attend or vote. There were five abstentions on the Japanese request.
Date: Fri, 28 Jun, 1996
Norway storms out of IWC meeting
By Helen Smith
LONDON, (Reuter) - Norway stormed out of the International Whaling Commission and a disgruntled Russia dropped a request for an exemption from the whaling ban on Friday, the last day of a divisive annual meeting.
The Norwegian delegation at the meeting in Aberdeen, Scotland, was infuriated by a resolution passed by the IWC censuring it for continuing to hunt whales, and by what it sees as the dominance of anti-whalers in the Commission. The IWC voted in a resolution ordering Norway to honour the organisation's 1982 moratorium on global whaling, to clampdown on smuggling of whalemeat and to provide information about its stockpiles of meat and blubber, delegates said.
Norway, which opted out the 1982 moratorium and has set a catch quota of 425 minke whales for this year, was also told it could not lift a ban on exporting whale products. In a long and angry speech, Norway's IWC commissioner, Kare Bryn, accused the IWC of overstretching its powers and acting like a dictatorship. His delegation returned to the conference after a couple of hours.
"We just wanted to make a protest. We want to continue to work with the IWC and change things from within," Norway's IWC commissioner Kare Bryn told Reuters by telephone.
The resolution censuring Norway is passed by the IWC every year and has become almost a ritual.
"It was a signal that this process has to stop. It's too late for this year, it's much more directed at next year and the year after," said Bryn.
The IWC moratorium set zero catch limits for all whaling nations with the intention of resuming hunts once whales were no longer under threat of extinction. But as whale populations have recovered, anti-whaling nations have shifted their stance in favour of outlawing whale hunting altogether.
Norway and Japan, which catches some 300 minke whales a year under the guise of "research," accuse the IWC of breaking its treaty and they claim to have growing support. But anti-whalers still hold a strong majority in the IWC.
Russia on Friday dropped a request that Siberian whalers from the Chukotska peninsula be allowed to catch five bowhead whales after it became clear that it would not get the required three-quarters majority in a vote for approval. Russia said it would not repeat its request.
The United States on Thursday withdrew a similar request for the North American Indian Makah tribe to catch five grey whales, saying it would reintroduce it next year when it had come up with some answers to concerns raised by IWC delegates.
The IWC permits "aboriginal whaling" by cultures with a long history of whaling who rely on the meat for sustenance, but delegates were not convinced the Makah tribe really needed the whales since they stopped their hunt in 1926.
The Chukotska whalers already have a quota allowing them to catch 140 grey whales, but last year they caught only 85. Delegates were concerned that the whalers would sell meat from the endangered bowhead whales in defiance of the IWC moratorium, or that, like the grey whale meat it would be used to feed foxes on Siberian fur farms.
The IWC also agreed on a resolution committing it to investigate environmental threats to whales, which scientists say are now more of a danger than hunting. But even this was not an easy ride, because Japan and Norway objected to elements that would restrict the killing of whales for research.
Date: Mon, 1 Jul, 1996
Hong Kong Symposium on Protecting White Dolphins
HONG KONG, XINHUA - A three-day symposium on protecting Chinese white dolphins opened here today. Eight overseas dolphin and cetacean specialists, together with local experts from companies, institutions and government departments, are to present their theses on the subject.
In his welcoming address, Lawrence Lee, director of Agriculture and Fisheries, said that the symposium will focus on issues that threatened the continued survival of the Chinese white dolphins in Hong Kong waters. To give the dolphins a fighting chance of surviving in the 21st century all major threats must be identified, he said.
He noted that the issue came up following the decision to build the new airport at Chek Lap Kok. Large scale reclamation and associated development works had potential impact on these dolphins whose population was so far little known. A number of research studies and conservation work have been or being carried out by the government to help protect these endangered mammals, he said.
According to Lee, the first two day's talk sessions of the symposium are to focus on the status of cetacean knowledge, Hong Kong marine environment, human influences and management aspects. He said that the group discussion on the third day will center on topics about fishery interactions with human dimensions, water quality and population issues, dolphin watching, marine traffic and noise, and habitat loss.
Date: Tue, 2 Jul, 1996
IWC Whaling Conference
By AUDREY WOODS - Associated Press Writer
ABERDEEN, Scotland (AP) -- World whaling authorities have denied a Siberian indigenous group the right to hunt a rare species, prompting Russia to accuse its opponents of hostility. The International Whaling Commission also called on Norway to end its commercial whale hunting.
Russia asked the whaling group to permit its Chukotka people to kill five bowhead whales annually under a special category permitting aboriginal people to hunt a few whales. Russia argued that the Chukotka needed the whales for food and to help rebuild traditions undermined by the Soviet government. They already have the right to hunt 140 gray whales a year, which are no longer listed as endangered. The bowhead is classified as endangered.
At the end of the International Whaling Commission's five-day annual conference Friday, the regulatory body almost succeeded in reaching a consensus in favor of Russia's request, but delegations from Mexico and Australia held out. Russia accused Mexico and Australia of bias, saying they were both determined to inflict damage on the Russian economy and harm its native peoples. The other delegates assured Russia that their decisions were based on the issue at hand and not meant to be hostile. Russia dropped the request.
The commission passed a resolution demanding that Norway to end its commercial whale hunting and report on the size of its whale-meat stockpiles and its efforts to clamp down on illegal exports. Norway objects to the commission's non-binding worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling. It resumed hunting in 1993, despite protests by many other nations and anti-whaling groups.
"We are not going to comply," Norwegian commissioner Kare Bryn said. "It is a matter of extreme irritation ... to be faced with this sort of resolution year after year."
Bryn and most of his delegation walked out, leaving a delegate to vote against the resolution, which passed 18 votesto nine. Norway does not kill whales at its 1970s level of about 1,800 a year, but takes several hundred minke whales annually.
Japan, too, objects to the moratorium and kills several hundred whales each year under a provision that allows a limited kill for scientific research. The commission called on Japan to stop hunting in an Antarctic whale sanctuary. Japan persists, despite repeated international protests.
The commission also passed a resolution against a Canadian plan to permit the indigenous Nunavut people in the Northwest Territories kill one bowhead whale. Canada, which withdrew from the commission in 1982, had an observer at the conference who objected to the resolution, saying the aboriginal peoples of Canada have a right to harvest marine mammals.
Date: Mon, 22 Jul, 1996
Blue Whale Gathering
OFF THE CHANNEL ISLANDS, Calif. (AP) -- Large numbers of giant endangered blue whales have gathered offshore, drawing dozens of marine biologists who want to know why. Aboard six ships, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other experts are working on a three-week project this summer to tag and track the whales electronically.
Three blue whales were tagged and followed last week, but scientists have seen many more.
"This is cetacean soup out here," said Fred Benko, owner of a private charter boat that shuttles scientists to and from their research area. The mammals, some up to 100 feet long, have congregated about 20 miles west of the Channel Islands, which are about 25 miles southwest of Santa Barbara and 75 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
Scientists first noticed the increase in blue whales in local waters in 1991, and a 1993 study indicated about 2,000 blue whales along the California coast. Preliminary research suggests that the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary contains the most concentrated blue whale population in the world.
The animals have been listed as endangered since 1966, victims of the overzealous whaling industry in the first half of the century. Scientists believe there once were 400,000 blue whales roaming the world's oceans, but now only about 12,000.
The blue whales feed on krill, a small, bright-red crustacean similar to shrimp. But since the Channel Islands are hardly the only place where krill thrive, researchers wonder what else might be drawing the whales to the area.
To tag the whales, scientists use a crossbow to fire a dart into blubber on the creature's back. A computer records the depth and length of every dive the whale takes.
"It's important for me that people know that they have a treasure out here," said sanctuary manager Ed Cassano.
"This is something everybody should be proud of. It's the jewel in the crown."
Date: Tue, 23 Jul, 1996
Red Sea dolphins save swimmer
From Oz Goffman
On Tuesday, July 23 at 6 p.m. in the evening, the diving boat Jadran, which operates in the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez, was sailing north from Ras Muhammed to Sharm el-Sheikh bay. At Marsa Bereka, the crew observed a pod of 5 dolphins and stopped the boat to swim with them. Three people entered the water to swim with the dolphins: the owner, Dani Hermon, the English dive instructor Harry Hayward, and an American-British guest, Martin Christopher Richardson. Dani and Harry only remained a short time in the water, but Martin stayed longer.
After returning to the boat, the people onboard the Jadran heard a scream and rushed to the side of the boat to see Martin being thrown out of the water 1-1.5 m. They realized he was being attacked by a shark or sharks and launched a zodiac to rescue him. As Harry approached Martin in the zodiac, he saw 3 dolphins swimming around Martin, as if protectively surrounding him. They were also slapping their fins and flukes on the water's surface, creating a lot of splashing and noise. This seemed to scare off the shark from a further attack and has been reported as a behavior that dolphins engage in when protecting themselves against attack from killer whales.
Martin was badly wounded with deep bites on his back, shoulder, and chest. He was taken to the Jadran where his massive bleeding was controlled and then was delivered into the care of a local Sharm el-Sheikh diving doctor (Dr. Magdi) and rushed to the Egyptian army hospital in El Tur. As of Friday, he was reported in good condition with one broken rib, pneumothorax, and deeps cuts.
The dolphins clearly saved this man, of their own free will, from a further attack. Only two other reports of shark attacks have come from this region.
Oz Goffman
IMMRAC, Israel
email: rhss101@uvm.haifa.ac.il
Here is an update on the information:
- It was definitely a shark attack. Martin was bitten not less than four times. He is in better shape now and is awaiting a skin transplant on his back and chest area. He was able to smoke a cigarette 24 hours after the attack and hasn't stopped smoking since then!
- The attack took place at a depth of 400 m, quite a ways away from shore ("in the blue") -- not at a shallow depth, like one would have when swimming with a solitary dolphin or with captive dolphins.
- The dolphins were bottlenose dolphins -- there were 5 in the pod, one of which was a calf. So it could be a female pod.
- When the three people went into the water, they swam with the dolphins without fins or masks -- so they were not as agile underwater as they could have been, nor as equipped as many people are when they are swimming with captive or solitary dolphins.
- Martin was left alone in the water (his choice). The dolphins initially disappeared on him.
- Martin saw the shark attack him from the depths. He said he was bitten four times. In one of the attacks, Martin said that he punched the shark on the snout.
- We do not yet know the species of the shark. The doctors in the Egyptian hospital in El Tur said that it was only one shark and by the size of the bite marks, they believe it was between 4-5 meters (we are looking for someone who is a professional to help identify the species from the bite wounds).
- It was the dolphins' choice to return and to help Martin. They were not close to him at the time of the attack. They probably took some risk to do this, as there was a calf in their pod. They were not fed by the boat.
- From my experience, I know that solitary dolphins can become aggressive after a period of time. I was swimming with a solitary dolphin 4 years ago in Eilat and he routinely bit and pinned people down. The solitary dolphin we are currently investigating in Nuweiba is now starting to also show aggressive behaviour -- including biting, tail slapping, and ramming. This could be due to the increase in the number of swimmers that she encounters on a day to day basis.
- Two and half years ago, there was a case of a group of divers that finished their dive, returned to their boat and then saw dolphins. They jumped back into the water to swim with these dolphins (without their gear) and the dolphins moved on about their business, leaving the site. A mako shark appeared and began to circle the swimmers. One of the swimmers freaked out and the other swimmers encircled her and swam slowly to the boat. The dolphins were within sight, but they did nothing, despite the fact that this female swimmer was very disturbed. They were not attacked by the shark.
It is very hard to observe dolphins in the wild, but the information we get from such encounters in very important. There should be some formal rules, across country lines, such as not swimming in the open ocean (in the blue), not chasing the dolphins by boat or by snorkeling gear, not bothering these animals when they are resting, etc. It seems that most of the incidents where dolphins act aggressively towards humans occur when humans disturb or put too much pressure on solitary dolphins.
Many of these swimmers are also not aware of or pay attention to the body language of the dolphin, which frequently will indicate that the dolphin is becoming annoyed. We see with our solitary dolphin, subtle and not so subtle changes in swimming behavior, mouth snapping, etc. that indicate she has had enough.
One other thing about this attack: someone asked if the dolphins were fed by the people on the boat. As far as we know, nobody feeds marinee animals/mammals in the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez as the rules and regulations of the Egyptians/Israelis are very stringent on such things. So there is not lure/enticement for these animals to approach humans other than curiosity.
Oz Goffman, Director, IMMRAC
email: rhss101@uvm.haifa.ac.il
Date: Mon, 22 Jul, 1996
Engineers develop sensors to protect manatees
LONDON (Reuter) - American engineers have developed manatee detectors to save the endangered aquatic mammals from being killed in the locks and gates of Florida's canals and waterways.
New Scientist magazine said Thursday that engineers from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce, Fla. designed two types of detectors which will halt the moving gates and allow the animals to pass unharmed.
"The animals are more at risk than you would think," Andy Clark, head of the project told the magazine. "When manatees hear the rumble of the gate opening, they think the salad bar is about to open."
Sixteen manatees were killed by closing gates in Florida in 1994. The state at the southeastern tip of America is their main habitat, but fewer than 3,000 of the endangered species live in Florida waterways.
Clark explained that the two types of sensors, for both vertical and swinging lock gates, are attached to the gates and send signals that differentiate between sharp shocks caused by debris in the water and softer moving objects such as the manatees.
Date: Mon, 22 Jul, 1996
Japanese Catch Killer Whales
Friends in Japan have shared with me the following report of the capture of 5 killer whales from a pod of ten on 9/10 February 1997.
Concerned people have visited Taiji to investigate what happened. There is no information about the pod affiliations, i.e, one pod or more.
In total 10 orcas were surrounded by a net (80 m x 150 m) and caught in the sea Taiji, Wakayama prefecture.
On 10 February at 6:30 AM the following orcas were delivered to sea worlds:
- Taiji whale museum: female 4.5 M (delivered by a truck)
- Nanki Shirahama Adventure World: female 4.0 M (delivered by a truck): male 4.0 M / female 4.5 M (delivered by a boat)
- Izu Mito Sea paradise: female 5.4 M (delivered to Taiji whale museum and will be delivered to Izu after the training)
On 10 February at 11:20 am, 5 other orcas were released. (males: 10M, 5M and 4.5M, and females: 7M, 5M)
Some of the orcas panicked and made sounds constantly.
People have started to send a letter to the government, the above museum and the sea worlds, in protest.
Pieter Folkens - email: animalbytes@earthlink.net
Date: Thu, 25 Jul, 1996
Rare China Dolphin dies in Net
BEIJING, (UPI) -- Examination of a nearly extinct Yangtze River dolphin showed the animal died from suffocation after being hopelessly entangled in nets surrounding a reserve along the Yangtze River, China's Fisheries Bureau said Thursday. The 10-year-old dolphin -- found dead last month -- was the only one living in the Tian-e-zhou National Baiji Reserve after its capture last December, said Li Qianyun, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture.
"The death of the dolphin from such an unforeseen tragedy just illustrates how hard it is to protect it, even when all intentions are good and research on protection is solid," Li told the official China Daily.
Although Li estimated there are only 100 of the animals left alive in the Yangtse, reserve workers said they will try to capture two to three groups of dolphins within the next two years and relocate them in the 13-mile reserve section of the river.
It took three years of searching before researchers found the female dolphin near the central industrial city of Wuhan and placed it under observation. They contend the dolphin is one of the world's 12 most endangered animals. Without special protection and at the present rate of decline, the 25-million-year-old species will completely vanish in 25 years, they said.
The 7.5-foot Baiji (white fin) dolphin normally swam with a pod of black finless porpoises in the reserve, until this April when it began to leave the pod more often and swim at the course entrance. The dolphin may have been in estrous during the spring, Li said, and was probably weakened by the serious flooding conditions in the reserve.
"Before its death, the dolphin was frail and ailing, and experts experienced great difficulty treating it in the water," Li added.
The Baiji dolphins live only in the heavily polluted middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze. They are not only threatened by fertilizers and pesticides running into the river, but a decline in fish stocks and the construction of giant dams such as the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric project.
Date: Web, 31 Jul, 1996
House Approves Dismantling of Dolphin-Safe Tuna Legislation
WASHINGTON, U.S. Newswire -- Most conservation groups warn that House passage today of legislation weakening standards for labeling tuna cans will prevent consumers from knowing whether tuna is "dolphin-safe" and lead to dolphin deaths.
Defenders of Wildlife and a coalition of eighty other groups adamantly opposed the bill, H.R. 2823 sponsored by Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.), because it would weaken the definition of "dolphin-safe" tuna, relax tough U.S. enforcement measures, and directly threaten the highly imperilled spotted and spinner dolphin populations. A companion bill (S. 1420) is expected on the Senate floor after the August congressional recess.
"Today, Congress took a huge step backwards and allowed special interests and trade politics to dictate environmental legislation in this country. This bill would dismantle one of the most popular consumer programs ever, and would completely ignore the concerns of thousands of school children and others across America whose demands for an end to dolphin killing led to the current law," said Defenders' President Rodger Schlickeisen. "Children can tell that harvesting tuna by chasing, harassing, encircling, and injuring dolphins and separating nursing calves from their mothers is not safe for dolphins. They seem to understand truth-in-labeling better than most members of Congress."
Defenders of Wildlife, Earth Island Institute, Sierra Club and many other groups supported an amendment to H.R. 2823 offered by Representatives George Miller (D-Calif.) and Rep. Gerry Studds (D-Mass.) that would have retained the integrity of the "dolphin-safe" label by providing consumers with a notice on tuna cans about whether the tuna has been caught without intentionally setting nets upon them. Harassment and injury of dolphins is illegal under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. However, the Gilchrest bill changes the definition of the "dolphin-safe" label to allow intothe U.S. market tuna that was caught by methods that encircle, harass, and chase dolphins in order to catch accompanying tuna, as long as no "observed" dolphin deaths occur. Studds and Miller offered an amendment on the House floor to retain the present definition, but it failed by a vote of 161-260.
The Gilchrest bill was written in response to Mexican demands that the United States change its tuna-dolphin policy after an international tribunal ruled that current U.S. law is inconsistent with General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) standards. It would implement an international agreement, known as the Declaration of Panama, which was signed last October by the United States, Mexico, and nine other countries. The Declaration of Panama mandates weakened U.S. dolphin protection laws including the 1990 Dolphin Consumer Protection Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
"The Gilchrest-sponsored, White House- supported bill is simply bad legislation that authorizes deliberate killing of depleted species of dolphins. The dolphins and American consumers lose, while foreign lobbyists and special interests win," claimed Defenders' legal director William Snape.
Conservationists say the Gilchrest bill's definition of "dolphin-safe" does not take into account the various harmful effects of chasing and encircling dolphins with nets or the fact that many dolphins will die in the nets, though "unobserved."
Under current U.S. law, tuna fishermen in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) can set nets on schools of tuna not accompanied by dolphins and on floating objects such as logs to avoid setting nets on dolphins. The Gilchrest bill advocates setting nets on dolphins again, arguing that alternative methods result in high mortality levels of other species like sea turtles and juvenile tuna. However, the federal government's own scientists have admitted that sea turtle bycatch levels are a result of fishermen killing for food, and that the tuna population has not been significantly depleted as a result of juvenile tuna being caught.
Defenders and its coalition support bipartisan legislation sponsored by Studds and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) which would retain the present dolphin-safe standard but would change the current law's trade provisions to create an incentive for responsible Mexican tuna fishers to practice dolphin-safe methods. The Miller/Studds bill is consistent with both NAFTA and the GATT/WTO requirements. On the Senate side, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has introduced the conservation legislation.
Date: Mon, 5 Aug, 1996
Study of whale dandruff shows kinship
By SUSAN MILIUS - UPI Science Writer
WASHINGTON, August 5 (UPI) -- Studying whales' equivalencientists said Monday they have at last figured out some of the kinship patterns in the groups of sperm whales once called harems.
"The beautiful thing about whales is that they are constantly sloughing skin," said Jonathan Wright from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
When a whale dives, it leaves behind its version of dandruff, flecks of dark old skin, some pieces no bigger than a human fingernail, some more the size of the palm of a hand. Collecting bits of shed skin gives scientists tissue samples for genetic analysis without invasive sampling like shooting darts into the animals.
Wright, Hal Whitehead and other colleagues used sloughed skin for the most ambitious genetic analysis yet of kinship in the clusters of older female and young sperm whales that swim together in the warmer latitudes. The study, published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, focused on so-called pods of 10 to 30 sperm whales, which scientists "used to think of harems," Wright said. However, he dismissed the term as an imprecise leftover from an era when almost all biologists were male.
The modern view of the sperm whale lifestyle recognizes that females spend their lives swimming in tropical or near tropical waters in pods with young of both sexes. Males eventually peel away from the pod, sometimes joining bachelor groups for a while. They mature into solitary adults, cruising farther and farther north toward the Arctic and Antarctic. A male journeys back to the tropics to mate every five or six years, according to the current estimate.
Researchers now have evidence about what happens next, thanks to the new genetic analysis. A visiting male seems to mate with several of the females in a particular pod before moving on to another pod. The new analysis also confirmed that the youngsters in a pod are related to the adult females, as if several moms and their kids started swimming together for a while. And for the first time, researchers have genetic evidence about when the males leave, which seems to be at age five or six.
This information of kinship may help the biologists who study so-called altruism in animals, Wright said. Whales indeed do things that would be called altruistic in a human, including suckling the baby of another female as well as babysitting and defending other female whales' offspring. These acts of "kindness" might make sense if the helpful whale had some genetic connection with the animals that benefit, Wright said.
The new evidence for tight kinship in a pod of sperm whales fits well with what scientists know about family values in other whale species, said Cathy Schaeff, whale biologist and professor at American University in Washington. "Whales are very social," she said.
In orcas, for example, "the moms are responsible for the mates of their sons," she said. Young whales trail along with their mothers, finding mates when the mothers visit another group of orcas. Recognizing just how sperm whales find their mates and how families stick together will help conservationists figure out how to preserve genetic diversity in the population, Schaeff said.
Date: Mon, 05 Aug, 1996
Whale Traps
By MICHAEL TIGHE - Associated Press Writer
BOSTON (AP) -- In a threat to the palates of gourmets everywhere, Northeast lobstermen may have to pull up their gear because endangered whales are dying entangled in trap lines.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is deciding whether to close areas such as Cape Cod Bay and the Gulf of Maine to lobster catching for several months a year while the endangered humpback and North Atlantic right whales feed and mate there. More than 30 whales have become stuck in lobster lines in East Coast waters over a five-year period. Twelve of the most endangered whales have died.
The proposed restrictions threaten to limit not only the livelihood of the 12,000 to 14,000 lobstermen from Maine to New Jersey, but also some of the best seafood in the country, pitting lobster-lovers against whale-huggers.
"If they try to restrict these guys from fishing when they normally fish, or in areas they normally fish, that hurts," said Bill Adler, executive director of the 1,100-member Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association.
What Alaska is to salmon, New England is to lobsters -- home of the best. Lobstermen landed 34,931 tons of the large-clawed Atlantic variety in 1994, the last year for which figures are available. The restriction would likely hike lobster prices that are already rising because of lower ocean temperatures. Lobster prices have risen by nearly $2 pound this year to $4.75.
The tougher restrictions are contained in the agency's proposed 1997 List of Fisheries, classifying each fishing site by its effect on marine mammals. Lobster waters would move from a category 3 to the highest category of 1, meaning that lobster catching poses a high risk of death or injury to endangered species.
Lobstermen and others can submit comments on the proposal before Oct. 15. The fisheries service will make its decision by Jan. 1.
Whale activists say the federal restrictions would be long overdue.
The fisheries service "has historically refused to deal with this situation," said Max Strahan of Boston-based GreenWorld, which has sued federal and state agencies to enforce laws protecting endangered species.
More than 30 whales entangled themselves in lobster gear from 1990 to 1994, the fisheries service said. Of that total, 11 humpbacks died or suffered serious injuries and one right whale died.
"No more right whales can be allowed to be killed if their species can be expected to survive," Strahan said.
Date: Tue, 6 Aug, 1996
Rare whale in trouble off Mass. coast
BOSTON, (UPI) -- Fog hampered efforts Tuesday by marine scientists to find a rare right whale caught in some life-threatening nets off the coast of Massachusetts. The distressed 30-ton leviathan was spotted Monday by the captain of a whale-watching expedition on a trip to Stellwagen Bank, a marine wildlife sanctuary 20 miles offshore where the mammals feed.
Kathy Shorr of the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, Mass., said visibility was only about 50 feet in fog Tuesday, making it "exremely difficult" to spot any whales in the area.
The Center's Dr. Charles "Stormy" Mayo said right whales are the rarest in the world, with fewer than 300 left.
"The most dangerous entanglement is a net around the mouth because the animals stop feeding and can't free themselves," Mayo said. He said the whale would eventually starve to death.
A Coast Guard helicopter searched for the animal later Monday but was unable to spot it. The Coast Guard was standing by Tuesday to help bring rescuers to the whale if it was located.
Mayo said if it can be found, the center would send its rapid response team and surface boats to the scene. He explained the team would attach floats to the gear in which the whale was entangled and let the animal swim until it becomes exhausted and stops. Rescuers would then try to remove the nets.
Date: Thu, 22 Aug, 1996
Right whales swim in dire straits
By Michael Ellis
BOSTON (Reuter) - Like an airborne traffic cop, Jim Hain flies above the Great South Channel shipping lane near Cape Cod, watching for near-collisions.
He patrols from a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter to make sure ships in the area avoid colliding with 60-ton North Atlantic right whales, once hunted to near-extinction and now the most endangered of the great whales. Only about 300 remain, and scientists said their numbers have been declining in the last three years. Collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear are believed to be the leading causes of death for the slow-moving black-and-gray mammals.
"Rights are infrequently hit by ships. However, because of the low population and the low calving rate, it's an issue," said Hain, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. "We're trying to prevent an event that doesn't occur very often."
The project is one of many cooperative ventures along the Atlantic coast to try to save the threatened species. Vessels searched fruitlessly off the coast of Massachusetts this month for a 50-ton right whale that was seen entangled in fishing gear by a Gloucester, Massachusetts, whale-watching vessel.
"Basically, we'll go anywhere in the North Atlantic to rescue a right whale. We believe each one is important for the species survival," said Peter Borrelli, executive director of the non-profit Center for Coastal Studies based in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Six right whales have been found dead since the first of the year, at least two a result of ship collisions. This is an alarming number considering the small size of the whale population, said Charles Mayo, a senior scientist at the Center for Coastal Studies whose father and grandfather once harpooned whales. "We have to assume for every one known to have died there have to be a number that are not known. This whale is right on the brink, probably because of a lot of early whaling."
A thousand years ago, Basques began hunting the right whales -- so-called because their slow speed and high oil content made them the "right" whale to capture. By the time of the great whaling era in the first half of the 18th century, when the Massachusetts towns of Nantucket, New Bedford and Salem were the whaling capitals of the world, the right whale was already commercially extinct.
Sixty years after hunting for whales was outlawed in U.S. waters in 1935, the protected continental shelf off Massachusetts has turned into fertile feeding grounds for many species of whales, spawning an estimated $20 million whale watching industry, said Brian MacDonald, co-founder of the Northeast Whale Watching Association.
"(Massachusetts) has changed from a whaling state to a whale watching state," he said. At least 25 whale watching outfits in the U.S. Northeast take approximately 1.5 million people a year on cruises to see humpbacks, finbacks and minkes, but MacDonald said they steer clear of right whales.
"The whale watching industry often works very closely with us to report whale entanglement," Mayo said. "I think they can be congratulated on being a central part of a story in the rescue of dozens of different types of whales."
Scientists also suspect inbreeding along with pollutants and subtle climatic changes may be curtailing right whale reproduction rates, Scott Kraus, head of right whale research at the New England Aquarium in Boston, said. There is very little scientists can do about inbreeding or climatic changes, Hain said, but one difference they can make is warning vessels to steer clear of right whales.
The Great South Channel, sandwiched between Nantucket Island and Georges Bank, is dense with plankton, the main food source for right whales. It is also the main waterway between Boston and Portland, Maine and the lower U.S. East Coast.
Since the pilot project began in May, Hain said he has spotted right whales on many of his bi-weekly flights and radioed warnings to ships spotted in the area. He said navigational charts will soon be marked with the breeding and feeding grounds of right whales.
"The monitoring flights alone won't solve the problem, but they're part of a multi-pronged approach," he said. "The other approach is the education of mariners."
Date: Mon, 9 Sep, 1996
US Senate Vote Possible on Tuna/dolphin Bill
Legislation, recently adopted by the House to again allow dolphin deadly tuna to be imported into the US, is now before the U.S. Senate. The Sierra Club strongly opposes this legislation to appease foreign fishermen and undermine US policy that has reduced dolphin deaths by 95 percent. The Sierra Club supports a compromise amendment to the Stevens/Breaux bill (S. 1420) to be offered by Senator's Robert Smith (R-NH) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) which would protect the "dolphin safe" label.
The Smith/Boxer compromise amendment would protect the integrity of the "dolphin safe" label by not allowing tuna caught through the encirclement of dolphins to carry the label.
Because the Senate Commerce Committee has two other bills of higher priority awaiting Senate approval -- Magnuson Act and Coast Guard reauthorization bills -- and because Barbara Boxer is expected to filibuster the Tuna/Dolphin bill, Senate floor action is very uncertain. The Sierra Club is hopeful that the supporters of H.R. 1420 will be willing to accept the Smith/Boxer compromise amendment in exchange for getting the legislation to the floor. Please urge your senators to support the Smith/Boxer amendment to S.1420.
A factsheet on the Smith/Boxer amendment and a letter from the former leader of the Dolphin Stress Physiology Task, Dolphin Safe Program, National Marine Fisheries Service is available on the Sierra Club's Web Homepage (
http://www.sierraclub.org) under "News Stand, International Trade," or they can be sent via e-mail: larry.williams@sierraclub.org
- Oct96 - NO NEWS COLLECTED
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1996
Vietnamese villagers Mourn Giant Whale
HANOI, (Reuter) - Vietnamese villagers have buried a 6.5 tonne whale found wounded and drifting off the country's central coast.
Local official Nguyen Van Muoi said on Wednesday the 13.5 metre (45 ft) animal was spotted in coastal waters last week about 100 km (60 miles) south of Danang with gunshot wounds. The giant mammal died two hours after it was found and the local villagers buried it with traditional funeral rites.
"It was a very big ceremony, organised by the village elders. After three years, they'll recover the whale's bones for a shrine. That's the local tradition," he said by telephone.
Whales are revered in coastal Vietnam and are not hunted locally.
For further information on the Whale Temples of Vietnam, as well as references to the occurrence of the phenomenon elsewhere in Southeast and east Asia, contact Brian Smith, Fax: 1-707-445-3645. Brian is lead author on a paper published in Vietnam and another in press in a special UNEP issue.
- Dec96 - NO NEWS COLLECTED
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