News Reports - 1997
January
February
March
- Mar97 - NO NEWS COLLECTED
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
- Dec97 - NO NEWS COLLECTED
|
Date: Tue, 21 Jan, 1997
The Condition of St Lawrence Belugas is Improving
A Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans release
QUIBEC - The condition of the St Lawrence beluga population is improving, according to the latest data published by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The results of an aerial survey carried out in 1995 show that the population index estimate for belugas of the St Lawrence and the Saguenay is 705, compared with 525 in 1992, which confirms that the population is not decreasing.
Moreover, Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists are now considering the possibility that the St Lawrence beluga population could be increasing: other information on the dynamics of the population, such as the high age at death of adults, the apparently normal birth rate, and the rarity of juvenile mortalities, are encouraging.
The 1995 survey, carried out under the programme -St Lawrence Vision 2000-, is the latest in a 15-year series of aerial surveys by which Fisheries and Oceans Canada has monitored the numbers and trend of the St Lawrence population of belugas. The next survey will be carried out in the summer of 1997.
For the 1995 survey, two aircraft equipped with mapping cameras flew at 4000 feet over the estuary between Nle aux Coudres and Nle du Bic, taking continuous bands of photography which covered 50% of the area. While these aircraft were shooting their 1092 frames, a visual observer surveyed the length of the Saguenay Fjord aboard another aircraft.
The report -Population Index Estimate for the Belugas of the St Lawrence in 1995- is available at Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Communications Branch in Quebec City (418-648-7747) and Mont-Joli (418-775-0526).
The abstract of the Technical Report on the survey is as follows:
Kingsley, M.C.S. 1996. Population index estimate for the belugas of the St Lawrence in 1995. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2117. vi + 38 p.
On 25 August 1995 a survey flight was carried out to estimate a population index for the St Lawrence population of belugas (Delphinapterus leucas). Two aircraft, each equipped with a metric mapping camera shooting 9" x 9" frames through a 6" lens, flew at 4000 feet over a systematic grid of transects, aligned from northwest to southeast, that stretched from Nle aux Coudres to Nle du Bic. The transects were spaced 2 nautical miles apart, giving a 50% coverage of the estuary. One thousand and ninety-two frames were shot on colour positive aerial survey film. At the same time, another aircraft surveyed the length of the Saguenay Fjord with a single visual observer.
The wind was light over the whole survey area and the sky was clear, so good- quality photography was obtained. The film was analysed on a light table using low-power microscopy. A total of 377 belugas were counted on 86 frames. Ninety-three were judged to be duplicates of belugas also seen on the adjacent frame, so the net count was 284. Fifty of 197 (25%) appeared from their small size to be juveniles. The resulting estimate of visible belugas was 568 (sampling S.E. 94.0). A 15% visibility correction gave an estimated index for the St Lawrence of 653.2 (S.E. 108.1). The counts were not corrected for sun glare reflected from the water surface and appearing on the photo frames. On the simultaneous visual survey of the Saguenay Fjord, 51 more belugas were seen at baie Ste-Marguerite and one further upstream; these counts were not corrected for visibility. The final total estimated population index, including the Saguenay, was 705.2.
This index estimate is 34% bigger than the value of 525 obtained on a windier day in 1992 using the same methods, and a 16% increase over the 1990 estimate.
Copies of the Technical Report are available.
M.C.S. Kingsley email: m_kingsley@qc.dfo.ca
Date: Wed, 22 Jan, 1997
Russia not planning to resume whale hunting
MOSCOW, (Itar-Tass) - There are no facts proving the increase of the population of the white whale in Northern seas. This is why the resumption of whale hunting on a commercial scope is out of the question, Alexei Yablokov, head of the Interdepartmental Commission for Ecological Security under the Russian Security Council, believes.
Commenting on the recent speculations about a possibility of the resumption of whale hunting, which was totally stopped by the Soviet Union in 1987, he said today in an interview with Tass that "there are no grounds for such speculations."
Sources at the Russian State Committee for Fishing also told Tass that at present Russia is not ready for the resumption of whale hunting either technically, or economically, because during the past ten years the whaling fleet became obsolete.
Yablokov refuted statements that the white whale eats too much cod-fish, which may upset its population balance. The white whale does not eat this variety of fish at all, he explained.
According to his information, the population of only one type of whale the minke whale has shown a perceptible increase of late. Its habitat in the South Antarctic, which is a preserve zone. Whale hunting even for scientific purposes is forbidden there.
An international convention on whaling was signed in 1946. In accordance with the convention, the International Whaling Committee was set up, whose activities are aimed at eliminating any opportunity for the extermination of whales. Signatories to the convention agreed with the need for preserving the natural resources and confined whale hunting only to those types of whales which can still be hunted on a commercial scope. A quota for whale hunting was set for every hunting season. At present only whaling for scientific purposes is permitted.
Date: Tue, 28 Jan, 1997
Environmental Concern Over Contamination Of Guatemalan River
GUATEMALA CITY, (IPS) - Planned transport of timber by barge along the Rio Dulce River, one of the most beautiful in Guatemala, has stirred intense protests from environmentalists opposed to the move.
Jorge Schippers and Magali Rey Sosa of the non-governmental group Madre Selva (Mother Forest), said that the U.S. company Forestal Simpson had already badly polluted the Cienaga and Chocon Machacas rivers in the eastern department of Izabal.
The activists warned the National Environment Commission (CONAMA) and the National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP) that the Rio Dulce River could face the same fate. This river, also in the department of Izabal in northeast Guatemala, runs into the Caribbean bay of Amatique, near the town of Livingston. Its mouth is also close to the important shipping terminal of Puerto Barrios.
Schippers and Rey Sosa confirmed the nurseries of the Gmelina species planted by Simpson Forestal on the company lands "were transported along with great quantities of fertilizer along the Chocon Machacas River, in the protected area of the manatee reserve." Rey Sosa explained that when it rains, the fertilizer being transported runs off in a dissolved form into the river, a situation which is worsened by the manner in which the Forestal Simpson officers treat the bags containing it.
Schippers, meanwhile, said the company had cut down more than 10,000 Manaco palms, used by the Izabal inhabitants to build roofs for their ranch houses.
Forestal Simpson asked the government for permission to use the Rio Dulce River as a route to transport wood in barges. The deputy for the department of Izabal, Augusto Ponce, supported the company request, saying the U.S. company generated employment in the zone.
However, CONAMA coordinator, Francisco Asturias, warned that CONAP had not yet evaluated the environmental impact of the project presented by ForestalSimpson, and that until this happens the passage of barges transporting timber along the Rio Dulce will be illegal.
Meanwhile, Madre Selva warned that the transportation of timber in barges along this river could cause accidents, as well as alter the ecosystem, especially the natural habitat of the manatee. Michael Mussack, director general of Forestal Simpson, told the Guatemalan daily Prensa Libre that his company aimed to use the Rio Dulce to transport timber because they consider it "the most profitable, least contaminating and safest option." Mussack added the company experts reached this conclusion after comparing the water route with land and rail options. He also said a barge makes less noise and produces less contamination than the speed boats and tourist yachts which currently cruise the river.
The Forestal Simpson representative said the barges would have special navigation equipment to avoid accidents, the speed of the barges would be only four knots per hour, and the timber would be packed into special containers to prevent the residues from leaking into the water. Mussack argued that the company had fulfilled its environmental responsibilities, saying that it had created biological corridors -- strips of untouched natural flora that will allow the fauna to migrate -- in its plantations, establishing "mosaic plantations" which offer the animals access to water and connect them all to natural drainage. He said the sustainable development measures imposed by the company mitigated any possible negative effects, as they impede the migration of people to the park, where a large part of the development or Rio Dulce is located.
"We evaluated the impact (of the project) on water quality and on the flora and fauna, and we concluded that there will not be any negative impact on the manatee population, a endangered species," he said.
But the argument of Forestal Simpson did not convince the environmental groups, who vigorously oppose the authorization of timber transport along the river. The Audubon Association of Guatemala declared that if the project is approved it will create a precedent for other companies interested in doing the same. The transport of timber on barges, said the Audubon group, is risky and could destroy an area reserved for ecotourism development.
Schippers admitted that the activity of Forestal Simpson had generated hundreds of jobs on the banks of the Rio Dulce, but he noted that the workers carry out their jobs in subhuman conditions, with salaries of approximately a dollar and a half per day. Rey Sosa accused the U.S. company of intimidating some of the opponents to its operations.
Ex-president Jorge Serrano Elias in 1993 ordered the creation of a protected zone around the Rio Dulce which could not be converted into an industrial zone, and where any activities affecting the ecosystem of the region be allowed.
Date: Thu, 30 Jan, 1997
Navy Helps Track And Protect Right Whales
The Navy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin., the Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources and the Florida Dept. of Env'tal Protection are tracking and guarding right whales, an endangered species that researchers say numbers only about 350.
Kurt Fristrud, a Cornell U. biologist and acoustic engineer, "believes that the right whales are trapped by their habits and unable to migrate away from... shipping lanes." Fristrud: "I think there are hot spots -- little windows where for some reason whales and ships come together. If we can find those points, we can direct ships away and save the whales." The "only known calving grounds" are in shipping lanes off of GA and FL.
Rear Admiral Kevin Delaney, the environmental officer for the South Atlantic fleet, says the Navy is using infrared trackers to spot the whales. Researchers also are able to send instant messages of whale locations to ships so that collisions can be avoided (AP/BOSTON GLOBE online, 1/27).
Date: Fri, 31 Jan, 1997
Abandoned dugong aiding valuable research
By Chris Herde of AAP
GOLD COAST, Qld, (AAP) - A baby dugong being reared at Sea World could be vital to the long-term protection of the endangered species, Sea World Marine Sciences Manager Trevor Long said today.
Mr Long said there was little known about the species and the one-month-old male dugong, flown to Sea World early last month after it was found near Bundaberg, was providing a great deal of knowledge.
"We have had a tremendous amount of interest from the scientific community and zoological community," Mr Long said.
"We are in contact with the experts right around the world." Mr Long said the baby dugong was well, although there were "many hurdles" to cover.
"No-one has a (feeding) formula. We are designing a formula as we go. We are changing it as we go," he said.
"These animals suckle for 12 to 18 months... so we have a long, long way to go."
Mr Long said netting and boat strikes of dugongs were reducing numbers and he expected more young to be found abandoned.
"The animal is an endangered species," Mr Long said.
"This is the second we have had in the last couple of years and I think we're probably going to see a re-occurance of this situation, so any information that we can gain, we can pass on."
Date: Sat, 1 Feb, 1997
Stranded dolphin - Key West
We have had an event yesterday here in Key West of a dolphin going to shallow water. This female dolphin aprox.8' 6" in length and 350 lbs. was recovered by concerned volunteer's in the communities response network.
She is presently being cared for in an interem facillity pending further evaluation.
Identification, so far as species is Tursiops.
This dolphin, upon initial physical examination, has no teeth. Her rostrum is elongated and somewhat tubular and has a red-orange (described as looking like spaghetti stains) markings along the lower jaw, exterior, some slighly raised.
It is not known if this malady has been observed, (captive or wild environments) as to whether this could be an oral or gum disease that has caused this animal to lose all solid dentifrace.
There has been speculation of course that old age is a factor but this animal appears to be a fully mature female with very little scarring, 12 to 15 yrs. of age.
She is as could be expected somewhat lean from her ordeal, but has a strong heartbeat, good respirations and is responding well to her caregivers. [Captain Gary Elston - Dolphin Watch]
Date: Sat, 8 Feb, 1997
Dolphins Found Dead in Coastal Town
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Bacolod City - A third dolphin was found dead with bullet wounds on the shores of a beach in a village 82 kilometres north of Bohol, raising suspicions that fishermen may have been shooting the dolphins.
The 10-feet long dolphin was found to have four wounds, but the fatal one was in its head. Early this week two dead dolphins, also bearing wounds, were separately washed ashore in two coastal villages of this city.
The Negros Occidental Provincial Agriculturist Office had examined the first two dolphins and found a hole-like wound on each of them, said Ruel Almoneda, aquaculture technologist.
Residents of Barangy Old Sagay believe the wound was caused by spears hurled by fishermen.
"They appear to be bullet wounds", said Almoneda.
He said dolphins travel along with schools of tuna and fishermen on board big vessels may have shot at them so they would not disturb their fish catch. He said the dolphins that were washed ashore in Bacolod may have come from the Sulu Sea in southern Negros while the one found in Sagay came from the Tanon Strait.
The Tanon Strait, which separates the islands of Cebu and Negros, is a known habitat of dolphins. It is being promoted for aqua-tourism by officials of Bais City in Negros Oriental, which faces the strait.
Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia is still having the death of the dolphins investigated but so far the culprits remain unknown. The killing of dolphins is punishable by imprisonment.
Carla P. Gomez, PDI Visayas Bureau.
Date: Mon, 11Feb, 1997
First Sighting of Right Whale Calf
ANCHORAGE, (UPI) -- A chance encounter by marine biologists with a pod of whales in Bristol Bay has resulted in the first confirmed sighting of a right whale calf in the North Pacific ocean in 150 years.
The Anchorage Daily News reports Tuesday that when scientist Pam Goddard photgraphed the pod last summer she had no idea she was recording such an unusual scene. It wasn't until several weeks later that Goddard showed the pictures
to Dave Rugh, a biologist at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory. The two soon realized that this was no ordinary whale sighting. The animals in the pictures were right whales, the most endangered of all the great whales.
Hunted to the edge of extinction by commercial whalers, fewer than 200 of the animals are thought to remain in the entire North Pacific. The photos have since spurred optimism among whale researchers that the species may be returning.
The calf wasn't the only thing unusual about the pod. Goddard's photos, backed up by those taken by others aboard the Arcturus, showed four right whales together. No group of more than two right whales has been reported in the region in the past 30 years.
For many reasons, right whales were hunted for hundreds of years, and intensely during the late 1800s. They are slow swimmers. They have high oil content and a lot of baleen. They don't sink when killed. They are docile and don't actively avoid boats.
Whalers decimated the right whales in the North Atlantic and then in the North Pacific. The species has been protected against most hunting since 1935.
Date: Tue, 11 Feb, 1997
Joint Military Operation Questioned - Queensland, Australia
BRISBANE, AAP - Conservationists have questioned the need for the joint US-Australian military operation Tandem Thrust to be held off the north Queensland coast following the revelation today smoke grenades were lost overboard from a US supply ship. Queensland Conservation Council coordinator Imogen Zethoven said the council was opposed to the exercise being held in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park area.
"It should not be happening in the Shoalwater Bay area now," she said.
"Dugongs are already under threat in the area and with 17,000 US troops and 5,000 Australian troops moving into the area as well as a nuclear-powered submarine, the threat to the environment is tremendous."
In Federal Parliament today, Environment Minister Senator Robert Hill revealed 50 smoke grenades had been lost overboard from a US ship preparing to take part in the exercises. Australian navy divers had been able to recover only two of the
grenades.
Ms Zethoven, who will take part in a protest in Brisbane tomorrow to have gill netting banned from all dugong habitat areas, said Australians should be demanding answers about why their tax dollars were being spent on the exercise.
"Tens of millions of dollars are being spent on this operation," she said.
"Why are we doing it? Who are our enemies that we have to have this sort of operation?"
Queensland Commercial Fishermen's Organisation president Ted Loveday said the grenades could be a problem if they were in an area used by trawlers.
"We would hope that the navy would contact the local fishermen and advise them."
Mr Loveday said that following World War II, a lot of ammunition had been dumped at sea off the Queensland coast.
"Throughout the years we've trawled up bombs and things but the fishermen are usually very careful and stay right away from them," he said.
Date: Thu, 13 Feb, 1997
The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary
The shallow, warm waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands comprise one of the world's most important humpback whale habitats. Scientists estimate that two-thirds of the entire North Pacific humpback whale population migrate to Hawaiian waters to engage in breeding, calving and nursing activities. The continued protection of humpback whales and their Hawaiian habitat is crucial to the long-term recovery of this magnificent endangered species. These waters are also home to the highly endangered Hawaiian monk seal, sea turtles, seabirds and many endemic coral reef fish and invertebrate species.
This Spring, the Governor of Hawaii will decide on whether to approve or reject NOAA's Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. The Governor needs to hear that there is public support for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary or it may be rejected. The Hawaii Sanctuary provides an opportunity to coordinate the various activities of Federal, State and local government agencies and the public that may affect humpback whales and their habitat. The Sanctuary also has established a citizen's advisory council to allow public input into the management of the site and will provide additional resources for marine-related research, long-term monitoring and education projects.
If you would like to write to the governor to express your support of the sanctuary, please direct letters to:
Honorable Benjamin J. Cayetano
Governor - State of Hawaii
Executive Chambers, Hawaii State Capitol, Honolulu, HI 96813
Date: Thu, 13 Feb, 1997
Row Breaks Out in Japan Over Captive Killer Whales
By Olivier Fabre of Reuter
Tokyo, Reuter - A row broke out on Thursday over the fate of five killer whales destined for Japanese amusement parks.
Environmentalists demanded the release of the five mammals, which were among 10 killer whales caught by Japanese fishermen last week. But the Japanese Fisheries Agency said it had the authority to allow the whales' capture under international quotas set to catch whales for scientific study.
The 10 orcas, made famous in the Free Willy movies, were trapped on Friday when a giant net was put across a bay near the town of Taiji, about 450 km southwest of Tokyo. On Wednesday, five of the whales were set free. Fishermen prodded and lured three others into slings and they were sent to Adventure SeaWorld in nearby Shirahama. Two others remained inside the netted area waiting to be delivered to another amusement park and a whaling museum.
The agency gave permission to local fishermen in 1992 to capture five orcas. But the Dolphin and Whale Action Network, an environmental group, said the fishermen's authority had been nullified in the meantime by new international laws on scientific whaling which make orcas a protected species.
Japan, where whale meat is considered a delicacy, has long been at odds with many countries over its interpretation of regulations on catching whales for scientific purposes. Critics charge that Japan uses the guise of scientific study to maintain whale catching for commercial purposes while nearly all other countries have outlawed the industry.
There is no suggestion that the five trapped whales are to be slaughtered. But the environmental group said their dispatch to amusement parks is for tourist purposes, not for scientific study. Yukari Surugi, a spokesman with the group, said amusement parks pay up to 30 million yen ($NZ354,463) for a killer whale. He said the life span of killer whales in captivity ranges from six to seven years, while in the wild they can outlive human beings.
An official of the Izumito Sea Paradise, which has rights to one of the two whales still awaiting transfer, said they purchased their female for breeding purposes.
"At Izumito we are currently raising a male killer whale, and we are interested in breeding," said Masatoshi Mano, head of public relations.
Date: Thu, 13 Feb, 1997
Oil slick off Uruguay threatens sea lion colony
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, (Reuter) - An oil slick has threatened the world's largest sea lion reserve off the coast of Uruguay, local newspapers reported on Thursday.
The slick, from a weekend spill of 200 tons of crude, has washed up on Lobos Island at two points and threatens to trap thousands of sea lions, the reports said. An Argentine coast guard plane sprayed chemicals to break up the oil in the water near the island in an attempt to keep the slick from advancing on the animals. National coast guard chief Francisco Pazos said the slick was "under control," but he was contradicted by a naval spokesman responsible for the area of the spill.
The spokesman told El Observador that some oil was still leaking from the hull of the Panamanian-registered San Jorge. The ship ran aground on Saturday, 20 miles (32 km) off the Uruguayan coast, spilling the crude.
Officials initially had hoped the oil would be washed south out to sea, but a wind change sent it toward the coast.
The Uruguayan army sent 450 soldiers to clean contaminated beaches, Environment Minister Juan Chiruchi said. "The ministry will provide the army personnel with the adequate clothing and everything necessary for the manual cleaning work," he said. His ministry said that the San Jorge's owners were prepared to pay the Uruguayan government for the clean-up.
"Our theory is that he who pollutes pays," Chiruchi said.
Local environmental groups and the thriving tourism industry have expressed alarm at the accident. At the height of the summer holiday season, the slick was threatening the white sands of Punta del Este, a glitzy beach resort that lives off a seasonal influx of wealthy Argentine tourists.
Date: Sat, 15 Feb, 1997
Drug Sellers Eyed in Sea Deaths
By MARK STEVENSON - Associated Press Writer
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- A chemical that drug traffickers use to mark ocean drop sites may to be blame for the mysterious deaths of dozens of dolphins and whales off Mexico's west coast, scientists said Friday.
Forty-two dolphins were found dead on beaches near Culiacan on Mexico's northern Pacific on Friday; at least three dead whales have been discovered in the same area in the last week. Fishermen also are reporting schools of dead sardines floating in the Gulf of California. Biologist Benito Mejia of the University of Sinaloa said in a telephone interview that the whales were probably heading into the Gulf to breed when they died.
Scientists say they are looking into a cyanide-based chemical used by drug traffickers as a possible explanation for the die-off, the largest reported in at least a year. The phosphorescent chemical, known as Natural Killer-19 or "NK-19," is used to guide low-flying aircraft to areas in the ocean where bales of drugs have been dumped from passing ships.
Jaime Loya Chairez, an assistant to the state attorney general's office, was quoted by the daily Noroeste de Culiacan as saying that NK-19 was probably the cause. However, Greenpeace Mexico director Roberto Lopez says a combination of pollutants may be responsible for the deaths, which he says are not uncommon in the area. He cited the discharge of waste from local fish-packing plants, emissions of pesticides and antibiotics from coastal shrimp farms and agricultural and residential waste running directly into the ocean.
The decomposed state of most of the mammals washed ashore on the Tetuan and Novolato beaches may complicate the investigation. The first of the dead whales to wash up Feb. 7 near a tourist beach has already been towed to a dump.
"We are sending a team to take samples from the animals, to check chemical and pollution levels," said biologist Luis Miguel Flores, director of the School of Ocean Sciences at the University of Sinaloa.
"The case is very strange, because the waters off these coasts are deep, which tends to rule out the animals having beached themselves," he said.
Mexico City environmental activist Homero Aridjis contends that the Mexican government may be ignoring NK-19 as a possible cause because of the sensitive nature of drug trafficking in U.S.-Mexico relations.
Date: Mon, 17 Feb, 1997
Kayaks Offer Benign Way to Tag Whales
MONTEREY, Calif., (UPI) -- A small group of researchers are using sea kayaks instead of motor boats as a gentler way to attach radio transmitters to California gray whales during their annual migrations along the Pacific Coast. Scientists at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in Monterey said today (Monday) that motor boats alter the behavior of the giant creatures and affect research results.
The idea of the project is for researchers to quietly approach the whales in a fiberglass sea kayak, armed with a crossbow loaded with an arrow that has a suction-cup tip lashed to a small radio unit.
Jim Harvey, the project's lead scientist, says, "This is a more benign way to put a radio tag on these animals so we can track their normal movements and migrational patterns."
The only danger, Harvey says, is that the whales may not realize the kayak is above them and knock the researchers into the water.
Researchers hope that by charting the gray whales' movements in and around Monterey Bay they will gain a better grasp of the whale's biology and behavior.
California gray whales have rebounded from near-extinction twice. Their numbers were cut by whaling to less than 2,000 in 1880, and again in the 1930s. The present population is estimated at more than 22,000.
Date: Tue, 18 Feb, 1997
Cooperative Proposal to Reduce MM Bycatch in Driftnets
COOPERATIVE PROPOSAL AIMS TO REDUCE WHALE AND OTHER MARINE MAMMAL INTERACTIONS WITH SHARK AND SWORDFISH DRIFTNETS
The National Marine Fisheries Service is seeking public comment on a cooperative plan that is expected to significantly reduce injuries and deaths to marine mammals from commercial shark and swordfish driftnets, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today.
The proposed plan would reduce the bycatch and mortality of several marine mammal stocks, including pilot, sperm, and the rare beaked whales, that incidentally occur when fishing for swordfish and thresher shark with driftnet gear off California and Oregon. The draft plan, designed by a team of experts from the fishing industry, environmental groups, and scientists, was submitted by the Pacific Offshore Cetacean Take Reduction Team to meet requirements of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
"This cooperative team was formed to ensure everyone had an opportunity to participate in reducing marine mammal interactions with commercial fishing gear as mandated by federal law," said Rolland Schmitten, fisheries service director.
"The plan is a great example of teamwork and cooperation."
"I am excited to be part of a process that allows fishermen to be involved in determining the outcome of a take reduction plan," said Tony West, head of the California Gillnetters Association and member of the team. "Fishermen are much more informed about how to identify areas of marine mammal activity and how to avoid interacting with them."
"We were able to reach consensus in a group of people that represented opposite sides of the issue," said Hannah Bernard, director of education for the Hawaii Wildlife Fund and also a team member.
"There isn't any question that this type of team effort is going to become more common as a way to seek solutions to our environmental problems.
Four primary strategies are being proposed to reduce bycatch in the fishery:
Establish a fleetwide fishing depth requirement of six fathoms. Lowering nets has already significantly reduced incidental bycatch of cetaceans in this fishery. The proposed rule would require vessel operators to set their nets a minimum of six fathoms below the surface.
Conduct mandatory workshops to provide skippers with information on how the take reduction plan was developed and how to avoid marine mammal entanglement. These fisheries service workshops also would solicit feedback from fishermen on how to reduce marine mammal interactions.
Require all fishery vessels to use pingers to deter marine mammals from their nets. Preliminary results from a 1996 pinger experiment in the fishery show that the cetacean entanglement rate is almost four times less for nets using pingers than for those nets that do not. Pingers are high-frequency acoustic devices that may keep marine mammals from becoming entangled in fishing nets.
Further limit the potential expansion of fishing effort in California and Oregon. This proposal would not affect those driftnet fishermen that annually land well beyond established minimum landing requirements. The fisheries service is seeking comment on two recommendations, one to cease reissuing driftnet permits that have been allowed to lapse, and the other to institute a permit buy-back program to purchase permits from those fishermen who only land the minimum number of fish required to maintain their permits.
Comments on the draft plan must be received by March 31, 1997. Send comments to Chief, Marine Mammal Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226. Copies of the Federal Register notice, draft plan, and Environmental Assessment are available upon request from Irma Lagomarsino, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 W. Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213; or from Victoria Cornish, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226.
Submitted by: Vicki Cornish - NMFS Office of Protected Resources
1315 East-West Highway - Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226
phone: (301) 713-2322 e-mail: Vicki_Cornish@noaa.gov
Date: Fri, 28 Feb, 1997
World Council of Whalers Opens Secretariat In Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada
The Secretariat for the World Council of Whalers, located on the land of the traditional whaling peoples of the Nuu Chah Nulth Nations (at Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada), opened on February 26, 1997.
Following meetings held in June, 1996 participants from ten countries decided to form an international organization to promote the sustainable and equitable use of marine living resources, to protect the cultural, social, economic and dietary rights of whaling peoples, and to address their concerns. This was the first time whalers from around the world addressed the prospect of working together under one global umbrella.
Subsequent meetings and discussions resulted in the formal establishment of the World Council of Whalers (WCW) in January, 1997. This new organization will provide an informed international voice in support of communities engaged or interested in sustainable whaling, as well as working to protect whalers' livelihoods, health and cultural integrity.
Chaired by Chief Mexsis, Head Whaling Chief of the Huu-ay-aht Nation of British Columbia, the Executive Board consists of one Director from each of the five regions: North America, North Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific-Indian Ocean, and Caribbean.
Chief Mexsis stated:
"Many species of whales are non-endangered and are an abundant and renewable resource that various coastal peoples have used for food on a sustainable basis for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, it seems that many city dwellers are unaware of the continuing importance of whales, as both food and cultural resources, for many coastal communities today. These communities are often situated in areas where farming is not possible, and where 'peoples' livelihoods and dignity depend upon using marine resources. The World Council of Whalers intends to support the well-being of these communities through the promotion of competent science and local knowledge-based management, and the sustainable use of our customary marine resources."
The WCW will hold an international conference in 1997 to which whalers and others engaged in the management of whaling and the sustainable use of living marine resources will be invited. The WCW will seek affiliation with relevant United Nations and regional resource management bodies, and will contribute to the work of these organizations through the efforts of a number of expert committees, including a Legal Affairs Committee, a Human Rights Committee, a Health and Nutrition Committee, and an Education Committee.
For further information, interested parties are invited to contact:
World Council Of Whalers Secretariat
P.O. Box 1383, Port Alberni, BC, Canada V9Y 7M2
Phone: 1 250 724 2525 Fax # 1 250723 0463 E-mail: wcw@island.ne
- Mar97 - NO NEWS COLLECTED
Date: Thu, 3 Apr, 1997
Offshore drilling `Driving whales to their deaths'
By Zoe Brennan, European Correspondent, PA News
Environmental campaigners are reporting the British Government to the European Commission for breaching EU laws and driving sperm whales like Moby to their death, they announced today. The move could lead to Britain facing the European Court of Justice if the Commission backs the claim. Greenpeace has also written to Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth calling for an inquiry into Moby's death.
Ministers' failure to comply with rules on oil drilling might have killed the sperm whale, who died after becoming trapped earlier this week, the campaigners believe. Greenpeace and other pressure groups believe the Government is flouting an 1985 EU directive, by failing to ensure that legally-required environmental impact assessments were carried out before drilling began in the Atlantic. One of their concerns is that the noise of drilling disorientates sperm whales, who can then get lost and die if they flounder into shallow water. Moby died in the Firth of Forth last Monday after being trapped for two weeks, and was taken to a council landfill site today.
Greenpeace's letter to Mr Forsyth warned that more whales would die and called for an urgent inquiry into Moby's death.
"It is scandalous that the Government is giving out licences for drilling without these assessments," said Greenpeace spokesperson Mirella Lindenfels. "Whales are very sensitive to noise, and experts believe that the industrial noise of drilling is putting them off course. "Something is clearly driving sperm whales off course in increasing numbers, and we are calling for an urgent investigation."
She added: "Quite apart from that, we believe the Government is acting illegally in granting these licences without carrying out assessments.
"It is irresponsible, because we don't even yet know what lives in these waters. They are so deep that we have no idea, and we don't understandwhat we are doing."
The Marine Conservation Society, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds are backing the action. The oil being drilled cannot be burnt without accelerating global warming, said Ms Lindenfels.
"On the one hand, this Government is saying that climate change is terrible," she said. "But they are letting people drill for oil when it is generally accepted that we can't burn it without seriously damaging the environment. It is totally hypocritical."
Under the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, member states should have instituted regulations for dealing with offshore oil and gas activities by July 1988. But the British Government has not yet incorporated the directive into domestic law.
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997
Free The Taiji Five! Update - June Update
From: Dr. Paul Spong
One Female Is Eating At Last. Another Female Is Still Starving. This Is Day 62 !!!
I have encouraging, but also, very disquieting news.
If the TAIJI FIVE are to have any chance at all of returning to the ocean and their family, they have to stay alive. Hence my great concern about establishing whether they are eating yet, and my hopes that the Japanese government would help clarify the situation. The government is trying to help, I think, though the information being provided is still not by direct and verified observation, and the aquariums are not answering all the questions being put to them.
On April 8, an official of the Fisheries Agency reported that:
- The female at Izu Mito Sea Paradise is eating 20-40kg of fish per day.
- The female at the Taiji Whale Museum is eating 40kg of fish per day.
- The female at Shirahama Adventure World is eating 10kg of fish per day.
Independent observers were able to confirm (on April 9th) that the female at Izu Mito Sea Paradise is accepting fish, and is allowing the aquarium staff to touch her. This is certainly GOOD NEWS, as it represents a definite improvement in her situation. She is, however, moving very little and generally appears lethargic.
So far, there is no independent confirmation regarding the female at the Taiji Whale Museum, or the female at Shirahama Adventure World. If the information about the female at Taiji is accurate, this is good news also.
However, I distrust the statements of the museum, and hope we can obtain confirmation about the situation there very soon.
The Information From Adventure World Is Very Disturbing.
If the report is accurate, the female there is only eating 10kg of fish per day.
This Is Day 62 Since The Capture!
I strongly suspect that the female at Adventure World is still resisting her captors, and is being force fed. Let me tell you what force feeding an orca means. It means that a rope or piece of wood is being forced between her jaws, and fish is being shoved down her throat. I'm told that Sea World's infamous orca captor Don Goldsbury used to force a piece of 2"x4" lumber between the jaws of resistant orcas so that he could force fish into them.
Something like that is probably what's happening to that poor female at Adventure World. The procedure probably begins with the orca being crowded into a corner of the tank with a net, or with the tank being drained, in order to restrict
movement. Then, the application of force begins, until the whale's jaws are open wide. Then, fish are shovelled into her mouth and stuffed down her throat. Much of the fish is probably vomited immediately, but some of it stays down... 10kg a day, if we're to believe the report. No wonder, I suppose, that there continues to be such resistance to outside observation of what is happening.
I have very little doubt that the condition of that poor female at Adventure World is deteriorating rapidly. Even if she is consuming 10kg of fish daily, that amount of food is far below what her body needs. How much longer can she last?
I Think She May Be Starving To Death.
And, If She Is Pregnant, What Of Her Baby?
I only wish that I am wrong about this, but I fear not. What is still needed, IMMEDIATELY, is independent observation and verification of condition of the female at Adventure World. One of the few things we can do right now is continue to ask the Fisheries Agency to ensure this is done IMMEDIATELY.
Here is the fax number for the director, Mr Michio Shimada:
Fax: 81 3 3502 0794
Ask him to determine what is happening to the female orca at Adventure World... BY DIRECT AND INDEPENDENT OBSERVATION.
Please fax or email a copy of your letter to Mark Berman.
Fax: 1 415 788 7324; Email: berman@eii.org
Please do it today!
All best wishes, and THANKS!
Paul.
Date: Fri, 11 Apr, 1997
Moby: The Final Word
From: J. C. Goold
"Moby" (for those who've forgotten, was the sperm whale which died recently in the Firth of Forth, Scotland).
Moby measured in at 14.6 metres, rather larger than originally estimated from boat observations, and was probably a lone male. Initial reports that 3 other sperm whales were sighted in the Firth are probably incorrect; these were never confirmed or resighted. What was found in the area, however, was a humpback whale and 2 minke whales so most probably these were "the other 3 sperm whales".
When we observed the humpback and minkes from a boat our echosounder showed dense shoals of fish. Reportedly herring and sprat had congregated along the northern shore for a Spring spawning, which coincided with very high spring tide. I speculate that these 3 whales had come in to feed (they disappeared after a few days).
The sperm whale "Moby" did not frequent the same area and showed a consistent (indeed irritating) tendency to travel south-west, which eventually put him on a mud-bank far up river where he died. This was a whale with almost as many lives as a cat, having previously grounded himself 3 times followed by successful refloations on the incoming tides. On these three occasions the whale was never totally without the support of water, which no doubt saved his life.
During shepherding operations to encourage the whale to move out to the (relatively) open North Sea, the whale could be heard making regular clicks through the hydrophone. Only when the animal grounded on a sandbank (stranding number 2) was any change to the vocalisations heard. When grounded the whale emitted "loud, sharp knocks", which sounded to me to be rather more narrow band than the clicks. When a window in my workload presents itself I'll have a look at these in more detail, and as I was using a calibrated hydrophone hopefully the "loud" bit can be quantified to some extent.
Although the humpback and minke whales were likely to have been feeding on spawning fish, a sperm whale is unlikely to be able to feed efficiently on such prey, and indeed there was no evidence to suggest it was. I would, however, be interested to know if there is evidence from elsewhere that sperm whales have followed fish shoals. As the whale was probably a lone male, not fully mature but possibly old enough to undertake a migration to the breeding latitudes, the south-westerly trend of movement suggests to me that the whale was on the wrong side of the British Isles. Had he been following the shelf-edge to the west of the British Isles the path to more southern latitudes would be have been open. If, for whatever reason, the whale had diverted from this course and entered the North-Sea this path would be largely obscured by the land mass of the British Isles.
John C. Goold
University of Wales Bangor - School of Ocean Sciences
Menai Bridge - Anglesey. LL59 5EY. UK
Tel. (0)1248 383752 Fax. (0)1248 716367 email: oss123@sos.bangor.ac.uk
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997
Right whales recover strongly off Sth Africa
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Reuter) - Southern Right Whales, hunted to the brink of extinction in the first half of the century, produced a record crop of around 140 calves in the 1996 breeding season off South Africa, an expert said Thursday.
Peter Best, senior whale researcher for the University of Pretoria's mammal research institute, told Reuters he had photographed 146 cow-and-calf pairs during his annual survey last year. Through analysis of the photographs and the distinctive barnacle-like markings, he expects to weed out a handful of double-sightings, but the evidence remains clear that the whales are breeding successfully.
"There are more whales off the South African coast now than there have been for at least the last 100 years. They are breeding as fast as it is possible for them to do," he said.
Working from the South African national museum in Cape Town, Best combs the coast by air every year, photographing cow and calf pairs as part of a survey to monitor the recovery of the whales. He said last year's survey, the results of which are still being analysed, pointed to a growth in the migrant South African population from 2,000 to around 2,300 over the past three years.
That could be between a half and a third of the surviving world population of the Southern Right Whales, so named by 19th Century hunters because they were the best or "right" whales to kill.
"They are still depleted. It seems we are now around 10 percent of the original numbers before whaling started in earnest in the 18th Century. They've still got a long way to go," Best said.
The Southern Right Whales, which visit the South African coast between June and December every year, were given international protection in 1937, but the hunting ban was routinely violated until the 1960s. Now, the whales are protected from hunters and from the increasing numbers of whale tourists who arrive every year to watch them frolic in Cape Town's False Bay and in Walker Bay, their main calving grounds, to the east.
Hundreds of tourists visit the town of Hermanus every year to watch the whales playing in clear water at the base of its low cliffs, but boat-based whale-watching is carefully regulated to prevent any interference in the breeding pattern. Best said individual whales calved every three years.
Date: Thu, 17 Apr, 1997
U.S. House Panel Votes to Lift Tuna Embargo
By Vicki Allen
WASHINGTON (Reuter) - A House committee Wednesday passed a bill to lift an embargo against imports of tuna caught in nets that also snare dolphins, as long as dolphin deaths were kept to a minimum.
Supporters said the bill, backed by Mexico and the Clinton administration, would reward Mexico and other Latin American countries for improved fishing methods that have drastically reduced the killing of dolphins that swim with tuna in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. But opponents said the bill, passed by the House Resources Committee, would allow the injury, harassment and death of dolphins in order to catch tuna that would be sold in cans carrying a label that the tuna was caught with "dolphin-safe" methods.
The bill, which was passed in the House last year but never reached the Senate floor, has split many Democrats in the White House and divided environmental and wildlife groups. Now that the bill has been passed by the House committee it will have to once again go to the full House and the Senate for approval. The committee passed the bill on a voice vote after rejecting amendments from Democrats for stricter protections for dolphins they said may be drowned in nets, injured or chased by high-speed helicopters during the tuna harvest.
"I think it's about a lot of other decisions about trade policy that have little or nothing to do with dolphin-safe policy," California Rep. George Miller, the committee's ranking Democrat, said.
But Maryland Republican Wayne Gilchrest, the bill's sponsor, said it would put into law improved fishing methods that have reduced dolphin deaths from 100,000 a year to less than 5,000. Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, the United States and other countries signed an agreement in 1995 to limit dolphin mortality, which this bill would place into law. The bill would lift the embargo the United States imposed in 1990 on tuna caught in huge "purse seine" nets that are placed on dolphin to catch the tuna that swim below. But it would cap the number of allowable dolphin deaths at 5,000 annually, and says no tuna should be labeled dolphin-safe if there were an observed dolphin death during the catch.
Tuna companies in 1990 adopted "dolphin-safe" labels to affirm they were not selling tuna caught with the huge nets placed on dolphins. Gilchrest also said the bill would reduce use of other fishing methods that result in a heavy bycatch of turtles and other marine life. Critics say the administration is pushing this bill to lift the embargo because it fears it would lose if countries challenged the existing law at the World Trade Organization that governs international trade rules.
Mexico and other countries twice won challenges taken to the former General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade against the U.S. dolphin-safe law, but the United States vetoed those decisions. Hearings on the tuna-dolphin bill were scheduled to start Thursday in the Senate.
Date: Fri, 18 Apr, 1997
Black Finless Porpoise Settle in New Home
WUHAN, XINHUA - A school of 29 black finless porpoises have given birth to 11 baby porpoises since leaving their former home in the main course of the Yangtze River and settling in a new home last year.
The rare mammals now live in the Tian'ezhou White-Flag Dolphin National Nature Reserve in central China's Hubei Province, free from the polluted water of the main course, and the dangers of motorboats and fishing equipment.
The success story of the black finless porpoises offers scientific proof that the white-flag dolphin, a rare mammal on the verge of extinction in the Yangtze River, can be relocated for protection, scientists said.
Date: Tue, 22 Apr, 1997
Manatee protection bill killed
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., (UPI) -- The marine industry has apparently killed legislation that would have required boats manufactured in Florida after 1998 be equipped with propeller guards. The measure was intended to protect the endangered species. Last year, half of the 60 manatees that collided with boats in Florida waters died from propeller cuts or a combination of cuts and impact trauma.
But opposition from the marine industry killed the proposal, which now calls only for a third-party study to determine whether the guards -- cage-like devices that cover open-bladed propellers -- could effectively protect manatees without hampering the operation of boats on which they are installed.
Industry representatives say the guards can impede boat performance and handling, possibly posing a danger to operators. They also contend there is no evidence the devices can protect manatees or humans at anything other than minimal speeds, and that some models actually can entrap hands or limbs struck by a fast-moving boat.
The watered-down legislation specifies that, if studies demonstrate the guards can be effective, the state would encourage their use on a voluntary basis.
Date: Fri, 25 Apr, 1997
Keiko's Progress
from Beverlee Hughes, President
Free Keiko Foundation
Phone 541-867-3540,3544 Fax 541-867-3542 Email: keiko1@pioneer.net
Today, Keiko is a normal healthy teenage killer whale. He is independent, confident and sometimes defiant and aggressive. He has shaken off off his mental slumber and become alert to his environment. His papilloma is externally unidentifiable. Keiko's appetite, energy and playfulness is robust. In general Keiko is in great shape, mentally and physically.
Research
We have contracted with several scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and the University of California at Santa Cruz to better understand Keiko and other North Atlantic killer whales. State of the art technology is being installed to monitor and record Keiko's underwater vocalizations, document his swim speeds and respiration periods, assess his ability to detect prey acoustically and also gather physiological data needed. Ongoing research will continue throughout the year.
Release Plans
Today, we do not know when/if Keiko will be released. However, we believe the above mentioned research will indicate if Keiko is a suitable candidate.As soon as we know more about his ability to echo-locate and hunt food , we will make the appropriate determinations. If everything works out the way we hope, release to a sea pen could be in 1998.
Our Approach
Our goal is to engage in scientific research and public education while we rehabilitate Keiko. Developing accredited scientific protocols for reintroduction will be our first contribution to the scientific community. Given the popularity of Keiko in Newport, OR, we can afford to finance the pursuit of pure science and research in hopes of understanding Keiko and other killer whales. This research will not interfere with release plans, but should just increase their integrity.
Next Steps
Upcoming plans include stocking live fish with regular release in the pool, a search for Keiko's pod utilizing his database of vocalizations and development of a long term plan for future usage of our facility after Keiko's release.
Future Communications
Updates will continue every quarter. I apologize for the recent breakdown in communications; the learning curve has been very steep. Please call or email if I can provide any additonal information.
Date: Tue, 29 Apr, 1997
Pingers' May Preserve the Porpoise
By Roger Williams, PA News
University scientists are trying to discover what kind of noise annoys a porpoise -- because the prize could be a world-beating product that is life-saving for the threatened mammal.
Members of the underwater acoustics group at Loughborough University, Leicestershire, hope to perfect an electronic "pinger" whose sounds will send porpoises swimming away from death in fishermen's nets. Chief experimental officer David Goodson said he hopes the end product will be a small waterproof box which can be sold in large numbers to fishing fleets worldwide. His team's efforts, involving testing the effects of a range of noises on porpoises, come as figures for deaths of the animals have raised fears among some conservationists that one important species, harbour porpoises, could disappear around much of Britain and Ireland.
Paul Jepson of the Institute of Zoology in London said the statistics were based on a survey by Cornwall Wildlife Trust, whose volunteers spent time at sea on Irish and Cornish fishing boats and counted 43 dead porpoises in nets. Calculations from that suggested 2,300 would be found across the whole Celtic Sea, which was about 6% of the estimated area population of harbour porpoises, he said.
Death was most common in bottom-set gill nets, which form a static curtain rising from the seabed. Once trapped, porpoises were unable to reach the surface for the air they needed as mammals.
"Until now we were only guessing what the extent was," he told PA News.
"Now the data suggests there is cause for real concern. It is very worrying."
Mr Goodson said Canadian attempts to scare whales from fishing nets using underwater noises had some success with porpoises too, and his team had been carrying out detailed experiments in Holland.
"We built a box of tricks which makes different types of sound, and used video to find out whether each sound attracted the porpoise or made it move away,"he told PA News.
"We came up with quite a complex sound which they clearly find aversive. We don't know why, but it makes them go clear away."
The team believed it was also a world "front-runner" in developing the gadget to make it cheap and compact and able to withstand the rigours of repeated manhandling, as well as spending long periods under water.
"This is about the worst environment to put electronics into," he said.
"The equipment has got to survive not only being on the sea bed but being dragged on and off boats and jumped up and down on when the nets are on deck."
Worldwide concern about threats to porpoises meant there was a large potential market, he said. Each net would require a line of "pingers".
Dr Nick Tregenza of the Cornish Wildlife Trust, was cautious about the interpretation put on his own volunteers' findings. He believed that the reduction in fishing in the past two years meant that extinction was not a threat within 30 years, even on the worst view. Marine biologist Mark Simmonds of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society said the figures were a subject for debate in which some people believed there was a risk of regional extinction.
"Anything above 1% of a population dying is regarded as setting alarm bells ringing," he added.
However, Mike Townsend, chairman of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations and chief executive of the Cornish Fish Producers' Organisation, condemned "emotional outbursts" by some members of the conservation lobby. The 6% porpoise annual death figure "does not stand up to serious scrutiny", he said. Not only had the level of fishing halved in the area since the survey, but the population figure used was conjectural. But some Cornish fishermen had volunteered to try out the latest "pingers" from the Loughborough team this summer.
"These pingers would be another cost for fishermen, but it would be a price we would be prepared to pay to be able to fish responsibly, even though we think pollution is also an important cause of death."
"It is upsetting for anybody who gets something like a harbour porpoise caught in their nets," he added.
Date: Tue, 29 Apr, 1997
Paul Watson Update
As expected, the Norwegian government filed the extradition paperwork in the allotted time frame of 20 days. As the Norwegian newspapers predicted, additional charges were filed against Paul Watson to insure that a quick release was not possible.
The additional charges filed by the Norwegian government are:
- "...that the Whales Forever has navigated in such a manner that another ship has been damaged or has been endangered;" (This refers to the incident where the Norwegian Coast Guard vessel the Andenes rammed the SSCS unarmed conservation yacht Whales Forever as documented by the independent journalists onboard. Paul is being held responsible for the actions of the Norwegian government because they have embarrassed themselves terribly due to their failure to take Paul into custody when they confronted his ship in international waters off their coast.)
- "...violation of the regulations regarding the entry to Norwegian territory in peacetime of alien and non-military ships;" (Whales Forever never entered Norwegian waters.)
- "...violation of the regulations regarding distress-signals and other emergency-signals." (Obviously, the Norwegians do not consider being depth-charged, shot at and rammed in frigid north sea waters as distressful situations.)
The hearing will take place at the Haarlem Court on 26 May 1996 at 15:30 hrs.
The public is welcome to attend.
Situation Update:
Paul is still being held in Lelystad Penitentiary confined to his cell for 22 hours a day. Despite this, his spirits remain relatively high as he views this as a critical time to focus attention on Norway's continued illegal whaling activities.
Pressure must be kept on the Dutch authorities to release Paul. Paul will never get a fair trial in Norway and we fear for his safety!
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
P.O. Box 628
Venice, CA. 90294 USA
Tel: 310-301-7325 Fax: 310-574-3161
http://www.seashepherd.org/
Date: Tue, 6 May, 1997
Norway-Whaling
OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Norway opened its controversial whaling season Friday with whalers going after an increased limit of 580 minke whales. One boat was sabotaged by activists and may have to sit out the commercial hunt.
Norway resumed commercial whaling in 1993 following a six-year hiatus, despite international protests and a non-binding ban by the International Whaling Commission.
Norway's Fisheries Ministry argues that minke whales are not endangered and that an uncontrolled population of the whales would threaten valuable fish stocks. It has steadily increased annual quotas.
The limit was raised from 425 minke whales to 580 for this year, even though hunters took only 382 whales in 1996.
One of the 34 authorized whaling boats was damaged by arson Wednesday night. It was unclear if it could be repaired in time to take part in the hunt, which ends July 21. The same boat, the "Senet," also was sabotaged in 1994. Paul Watson, leader of the Sea Shepherd environmental group, was convicted of the sabotage in absentia and sentenced to 120 days in jail.
Watson was seized in Amsterdam last month and is fighting extradition to Norway, where he also faces charges of ramming a naval vessel during a whaling protest.
A previously unknown group called "Agenda 21" claimed responsibility for Wednesday's fire.
The Greenpeace environmental group, which opposes both whaling and extremist tactics, denounced the sabotage.
Because of tough ice conditions in the Arctic regions where the hunt takes place, it is unlikely that many boats will start whaling right away.
A new feature of this year's hunt is that each boat can only have an inspector on board for six weeks, effectively limiting individual boats' hunting season to six weeks, even though the season lasts closer to three months.
Date: Sun, 11 May, 1997
Cetacean Slaughter in Manado Suluwesi, Indonesia
I recently visited Manado, Indonesia on a SCUBA break and was horrified to discover that two high tech wall nets have been installed in the pelagic migratory channel. Inside informants report a 10 1/2 month catch of:
1,457 Mantas, 577 pilot whales, 789 Marlin, 326 sharks, 326 dolphins, 84 turtles, 9 dugong
all of which are destoyed for resale. The local authorities are turning a well-paid, blind-eye to the whole affair. Others are taking advantage of the lax enforcement of environmental regulations in the area and are harvesting the reefs at night and planning to build hotel lodging virtually on top of the once famous Bunaken Wall Reef.
We will be exposing what we know, along with an amatuer video showing the slaughter of a whale shark, at the Asia Diving Exhibition and Conference (ADEC) in Singapore May 16-20.
A vacationer-turned activist, Robin Marinos, has been collecting details while trying to put an end to this slaughter. He's even attempted to organise an attempt to cut away the nets from their moorings. It seems some ex-military intelligence officers (4 star & 3 star generals) have formed this fishing venture with the help of satellite pictures of the migration paths (this is what we believe but has yet to be verified -- all else has been verified).
Robin will arrive in Singapore this week for our thrown together ADEC campaign. I thought we might be able to organise a campaign to stop the use of the devastational method of fishing which I believe is banned internationally. (I am still trying to find out Indonesia's position on the matter. -- there is a possibility that the corruption goes farther than Manado but we don't know yet and hope not.
The Indonesian government should be encouraged to enforce the world wide ban on wall net fishing.
Steve Morris.
Date: Fri, 20 May, 1997
Explosions At Fernando De Noronha Island
From: Centro de Estudos e Preservação da Natureza NOVA TERRA
Since march of 1997 dynamite explosions have been taking place daily in Fernando de Noronha Island - Brazil (3°52'S ; 32°28'W). The explosions in Sueste stone quarry are being made by the Queiroz Galvão construction company, and the objective is to obtain 20.000m3 of rock for the work of expansion and recapping of the airport landing strip, military areas and the road that crosses the island (BR 363). The forecast is that the explosions will last until October this year, taking place twice a day, with a series of 5-minute explosions.
Although the explosions are taking place outside the Fernando de Noronha's National Marine Park (PARNAMAR-FN), the processing of the rock takes place within the Park. The Sueste stone quarry is approximately 3.5 km (~2 miles) from Dolphin Bay, the island's main attraction because it is being the place where the Spinner dolphin (Stenella longinostris) come to rest. The impact that such explosions may have on the dolphin is unkown, but these are animals whose hearing is their main form of guidance in their natural environment.
Next to the stone quarry, at Sueste beach, Sea Turtles lay their eggs and feed the whole year round. The site is protected against human interference, but their habits may be altered because of the explosions at the quarry.
We must emphasize that in the entire world only two sites were known where this species of dolphin used a protected area for rest, Fernando de Noronha, in Brazil, and the bay of Keakake'akua, in Hawaii. The dolphin left the latter due to human interference, so the Dolphin Bay, in Fernando de Noronha, is now the only one.
The Environmental Impact Study/Report (EIA/RIMA) submitted by the construction company is at least questionable, as so far there no studies that can determine if the dolphin will not be affected. On the contrary, the Stenella longinostris is considered a sensitive and extremely cautious animal, suspicious of anything unfamiliar. The birds that inhabit the area, as well as other animal species, may also be disturbed by the explosions.
The above-mentioned Study/Report foresees the restoration of the area with resources from the Ministry of the Environment!!! Also proposed is the ongoing monitoring of the Dolphin Bay by experts of the Companhia Pernambucana de Contrôle da Poluição Ambiental e da Administração de Recursos H’dricos (CPRH), a government agency. Representatives of these agencies, however, are not on the island, and a single expert visits the island every two months. As well as the risk that these activities bring to PARNAMAR-FN they indicate an attempt to foster tourism in the area. Until the end of last year a single airline had a daily flight to the Island. In December another airline was authorized to have two daily flights to the Island. Fernando de Noronha is already beginning to suffer with the growth of tourism, especially when cruise ships disembark hordes of tourists on the island.
Limited and guided tourist activity is critical to protect Fernando de Noronha, the National Park and the dolphin.
We solicit the divulgation of these facts and your protest to:
MINISTÉRIO DO MEIO AMBIENTE, DOS RECURSOS HÕDRICOS E DA AMAZÕNIA LEGAL
Email: webmaster@mma.gov.br
MR. FERNANDO HENRIQUE CARDOSO - PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL
Email: webmaster@mare.gov.br
Send a copy of your mail to hare@lexxa.com.br
For more information write to us
C.E.P.N. NOVA TERRA
PROJETO GOLFINHO
INSTITUTO DE BIOCIæNCIAS, USP
CP 11.461
CEP 05422-970, Brazil
Tel: 55-11-9999-2296 E-Mail: hare@lexxa.com.br
MILTON CÉSAR C. MARCONDES - DVM
LAURA IPPOLITO TORRANO GOMES
Project Dolphin Coordinator.
Date: Thu, 22 May, 1997
Injured Manatees need New Homes
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -- Manatees that cannot live in the wild are filling up facilities set aside for their care, forcing wildlife officials to seek places outside Florida that are suitable to the endangered animals.
"The rehabilitation facilities are crowded beyond their capacity to care for the animals, so we're looking at alternatives," said Robert Turner, manatee rehabilitation coordinator at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The wildlife service has never moved manatees out of Florida, where five facilities care for 50 or so animals that have been injured or orphaned. While many will eventually be returned to their natural habitats, about a dozen cannot be released to the wild because they've been in captivity too long, were too badly injured or were orphaned too young.
"If somebody can build a good facility that meets the standards we have in Florida, we're not opposed to them receiving permanent captives," said Kipp Frohlich of the Florida Officeof Endangered Species.
So far the Columbus Zoo in Ohio is the only facility that has talked seriously about the idea. Its board of directors has approved a $25,000 feasibility study.
Other offers have been rejected.
"I've been approached in the past by facilities that wanted to display manatees, and I told them that's not going to happen," Turner said.
"But now we're in a position where we need help."
Earlier this year, scientists counted 2,229 of the endangered sea cows in Florida waters. A record 415 manatees died in Florida last year; 151 of those perished in Southwest Florida between March 5 and April 27 due to red tide toxin. Manatees are now at five facilities in Florida: Florida Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Sea World in Orlando, Epcot in Lake Buena Vista, the Miami Seaquarium and the Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park.
Date: Thu, 22 May, 1997
Norway Whalers Sue Their Government
By DOUG MELLGREN - Associated Press Writer
OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Already facing death threats, sabotage and protests from outsiders, Norway's whale hunters picked a fight at home Tuesday by suing the government over a five-year gap in the hunt.
Norway resumed its controversial whale hunts in 1993 after a grudging five-year break. The renewed commercial hunt brought furious protests, boycott threats and attacks on whaling boats.
Despite the government's heavy spending in defence of the unpopular hunts, the whalers claim the state owes them millions for giving in to pressure in the past.
Twenty-eight whalers and four whale meat processing companies sued the government for 60 million kroner ($8.5 million) in losses during the years the commercial hunt was banned. They were appealing a loss in a lower court on the claim.
The whalers claim there was no reason for the ban, since Norway is not bound by a 1986 commercial whaling prohibition imposed by the International Whaling Commission. Commission rules allow members to reject its decisions, making Norway's hunt legal.
Norway says minke whales are plentiful, and should be hunted to protect fish stocks and provide income for coastal villages. But if the minke, the smallest of the baleen whales at about 30 feet were never endangered, then there was no reason to stop the hunt after the 1987 season, the whalers argued in Oslo district court on Tuesday.
"Despite a stated political goal to allow whaling as long ecologically responsible -- which it was -- the state stopped the hunts," the whalers's attorney Kristian Herslov said in court.
"Why? Because the threat from the United States of a trade boycott was too much," Herslov said. He said the government must pay compensation for illegally banning the hunt.
Norway does not admit that boycott threats from the United States and other countries forced it to call off the hunt after the 1987 season. It said it was taking a break to reassess the stocks.
This year's hunt started on May 2, with a government-set limit of 580 minke whales, an increase of one-third from 1996.
Date: Tue, 27 May, 1997
Court Ruling Seen As Initial Victory For Paul Watson
Internationally Renowned Environmental Hero not 'Out of the Woods' Yet.
Holland May 26th, 1997 - Captain Paul Watson, Greenpeace co-founder and President of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, prevailed in the first stage of his court challenge against a Norwegian extradition request when two of the more serious charges against Watson were dismissed by Presiding Judge Van der Pijl.
"This means that Watson cannot be extradited for his alleged 'reckless navigating' nor his alleged 'illegal entry to Norwegian waters'", said Sea Shepherd's European counsel Victor Koppe, who is representing Paul Watson during the hearing. "The Dutch court wants to take a short period of time now to reach a consensus on all the other arguements surrounding this case."
Paul Watson, a vehement critic of illegal Norwegian whale hunting, was detained in Holland on April 2nd, 1997, because Norway issued an Interpol warrant for his arrest. "Apparently Norway thinks it's a crime to be actively opposed to the illegal killing of whales," added Bob Hunter, a co-founder of Greenpeace who is interim Acting President of Sea Shepherd during the trial, "I guess that would make most citizens of the world criminals in the eyes of Norwegian whaling interests."
"The decision by the court today leaves only the minor allegation of 'sending a false distress signal' open for debate," said Lisa Distefano, International Operations Director for Sea Shepherd, "And even if he's found guilty of that charge, the public will be reminded that Norwegian commandos dropped four depth charges, fired upon our boat with 50mm cannons and sheared off the bow of our ship by ramming us in that incident. The Dutch court will make a ruling on this charge within 14 days - and in that time Captain Watson will have already served over 60 days in prison on predominantly false charges." (In Holland, Canada, the US and most European nations, sending a false distress signal is only penalised by a moderate monetary fine, not with a gaol sentence.)
"This initial verdict effectively means that the Norwegian government has just been rebuffed for sending a trite and insignificant extradition order to Holland. We are relieved that the court has recognised the threats against Paul's life emanating from Norway. This is clearly a victory for Paul and everyone else opposed to the Norwegian whale slaughter," Distefano said.
While praising the Dutch courts for their preliminary decision, Sea Shepherd is still concerned that the additional deliberation period may mean that the Norwegian government is busy lobbying the Dutch Government with political incentives to
extradite Watson.
"If Paul is sent to Norway even under these circumstances, it will become clear that this has become a political decision, not one based on fair judicial process," Says Distefano, "Just two weeks ago Norway sent 37 whaling boats to engage in their annual illicit and illegal whale slaughter for commercial purposes. It is time we put the spotlight back on the real criminals."
Date: Thu, 29 May, 1997
Update - Cetacean Slaughter in Manado Suluwesi, Indonesia
On 11 May Steve Morris (haysteve@pacific.net.sg) reported that two "high tech" wall / trap / draw nets were installed in the pelagic migratory channel at Tangkoko, Manado area, NE Suluwesi, Indonesia. Two set of nets were about 3 km apart 20-30 meters from the coastline of the Tangkoko Nature Reserve.
Sources indicate that between 27 March 1996 and 12 February 1997 catches included some 1,424 manta rays, 18 whale sharks, 312 other sharks, 4 minke whales, 326 dolphins, 577 pilot whales, 789 marlin, 84 turtles, and 9 dugong. The nets were completed March 1996, but the operations seem to be expanding very rapidly.
On 22 May Peter Rudolph (Rudolph.P@t-online.de), a biologist working on cetaceans in Indonesian waters, reported that, according to a dive master (Larry Smith), " the nets are located in and near Lembeh Strait, not in Manado Bay, and that these nets are set by Taiwanese. Bitung is one of the most important harbours in eastern Indonesia. It is one of the stops of the Taiwanese fishing fleet working in the Arafura and Banda Sea (this is the same fleet formerly working in northern Australian waters, with a very high bycatch)". "Bitung is also a very important military harbour. According to Indonesian fishermen, working on Taiwanese boats in the Banda Sea, most of the bycatch is not discarded, but stored and transported to Taiwan."
3 April video included the slaughter of a whaleshark. Please contact Morris for all documentation, including net descriptions, and the names of people, boats, companies, packing and shipping operations, and potential markets associated with this fishery. There is an urgent need to expand and substantiate all information.
There are various reports linking military and government authorities to this operation and enforcement of environmental regulations is very ineffectual. "By 15 May, eyewitnesses reported the disappearance of one of the Tankoko Trap Nets -- although the concrete pylons remain". This may or may not have been an early reaction to the publicity, but there is every certainty that the nets will be reinstalled or used elsewhere in the region.
Local government offices, such as the harbour master, Fisheries Department, Forestry Deptartment, Coast Guard, and the Bitung Police have all stated that they are unaware of any irregularities. The Indonesian government was one of the major co-sponsors of the 1995 United Nations conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, agreeing to all eleven Articles implemented. It is believed that the Central government in Jakarta has had little knowledge of the full extent of the actions of this fishery.
The Bitung operation is reported to have increased its fleet from one fiberglass skiff to include three much larger ships with crews of 15\20 men each, making trips two or three times a day to each net, some days working on 24 hour basis due to large catches. A second pier is being built to expand operations further. It is believed that many of these Taiwanese (and other) boats are connected directly or indirectly to the movement, distribution, and sale of the packed hauls, by-passing the normally required legal documentation, not registering the actual take, and not paying taxes or upholding quotas. It is believed that at least three more of these nets exist along the Suluwesi coastline, operated by the same company. There may be many others operated by other companies at different locations within Indonesia operating beyond the control and monitoring of proper authorities.
This message is an appeal to all concerned, for information regarding this Indonesian situation, first, with facts and contacts, and second, the potential of bringing this issue to CITES in a manner that will terminate this operation and strengthen fishing regulations and enforcement in the region. We appeal to all to contribute whatever knowledge, contacts, or suggestions that they can.
Cetacean Society International is acting only as a facilitator for the issue. We ask that any NGO with CITES or other appropriate affiliations consider joining in a coalition designed to stop this situation.
William W. Rossiter, President, Cetacean Society International,
Email: 71322.1637@compuserve.com
Steve Morris
Email: haysteve@pacific.net.sg
Date: Mon, 9 Jun, 1997
Whale Conservationist Victorious
Paul Watson Won't go to Norway
Haarlem, The Netherlands: On Monday, June 9th at 1:45pm local Dutch time, a cheer erupted in the courtroom as Judge van der Pijl ruled that Captain Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and co-founder Greenpeace, will not go to Norway. It's a victory that he will never be extradited to Norway - even though they tried every possible means to get him," announced Victor Koppe, Watson's legal counsel.
Although the Dutch court accepted the technical ruling of the 120 day sentence, the court showed sympathy by making a surprising move when the judge announced prematurely that they would release Paul Watson on June 20th. "This conviction will be thrown out in appeal," stated Koppe confidently. Watson was cleared of the other 3 charges which were additionally filed at the last minute by the Norwegian government in their voracious attempt to extradite Watson. These three charges all stemmed from the incident in summer of 1994 when the organization's conservation yacht Whales Forever was rammed in international waters by the Norwegian Navy who were guarding the whaling fleet off the coast of Skrova. Norway has been hunting whales in violation of the global ban on commercial whaling, imposed in 1986.
"We are ecstatic. This is a tremendous victory for Sea Shepherd's Paul Watson and environmental activism. It is only indirectly a victory for the whales, however, which Norway and Japan are still slaughtering by the thousands every year. For the whales, it means at least that Paul Watson will continue to be able to lead Sea Shepherd in the ongoing campaign to halt this barbarism before it spreads its stain into the next century," stated Lisa Distefano International Director of Sea Shepherd.
Bob Hunter, a co-founder of Greenpeace along with Watson and acting president of Sea Shepherd in Watson's absence, called the charges "pure politics."
"The Norwegian elections are coming up, and Prime Minister Jagland is an appointee with a shaky political base," Hunter said. "Whaling is an issue that Jagland wants to downplay to the world yet wants to exploit to garner votes in his own country. He needs the support of the coastal districts, the home of the whaling industry."
Distefano confirmed that the Norwegians have good reason to be upset because, "In a way, this has been as successful as any of our high seas campaigns -- we have been able to expose Norway's determination in persecuting Paul for political reasons which has actually succeeded in illuminating to the world their illegal and depraved whaling. We will continue this mission to make the world's oceans safe for all whales being persecuted by any country especially Norway and Japan."
Date: Tue, 10 Jun, 1997
Current Situation on Wall Nets at Tankoko Reserve, Suluwesi, Indonesia
-- As of 10 June 1997 -- Substantiation in progress!!!!
As of May 15, 1997 it was witnessed that the nets themselves had been removed presumably by their owners, leaving behind their permanent concrete mooring structures. The netting has been estimated to cost $100,000 US Dollars.
By early June the permanent structures had been rendered useless presumably by "local fishermen" and others.
A Justice Department investigation is believed to be underway (but this has not been sustantiated as of yet, June 10, 1997).
A group of local landowners, businessmen and concerned residents have formed the LEMBEH STRAITS SOCIETY -- Aimed at designating the entire NE Area of Suluwesi, from Tankoko Reserve to Bunaken Reserve a protected area with restricted fishing rights. High government officials in Jakarta are believed to support this plan and have expressed concern over the reported incidents of late.
Date: Wed, 11 Jun, 1997
Japan, Norway hint at defeat over whale catches
By Emelia Sithole
HARARE, (Reuter) - Japan and Norway said on Wednesday they were unlikely to win majority support at a world convention on endangered species in Harare for their contentious proposal to resume catching minke whales.
They accused the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of automatically adopting measures to protect whales taken by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which they alleged had been hijacked by some leading environmental groups with undue political influence.
All great whales, except for the West Greenland stock of minke whale, are listed on CITES' Appendix 1 which bans trade in endangered species. The CITES listing followed the IWC moratorium on commercial whaling which came into effect in 1986.
"I don't think we can get this time the two-thirds majority support (from the 139-member CITES). Maybe we can get 10 percent of that," said Masayuki Komatsu, senior deputy director of Japan's Far Seas division and Oceanic Fisheries department.
"It's impossible to win resumption of whaling for as long as CITES continues basing its decisions on that of the IWC," Komatsu told Reuters on the sidelines of the 10-day CITES meeting which started on Monday.
"We have a dilemma in achieving our goals in the IWC because it's now a body occupied by environmental groups which deny any sustainable use of natural resources," he added.
Peter Schei, head of the Norwegian delegation, backing a proposal by Japan to redefine its relationship with the IWC, said CITES needed to develop its own scientific committee to deal with whale trading and reduce its dependence on the IWC.
"We shouldn't link ourselves to political actions of another organisation which are not scientifically based," Schei said.
The Japanese proposal to delink CITES from the IWC is meeting stiff opposition from some leading environmental groups, notably the U.S.-based International Fund for Animal Welfare, Amsterdam- based Greenpeace and British-based TRAFFIC (Trade Records Analysis of Flora and Fauna in Commerce).
The Japanese and Norwegian proposal to allow commercial whaling is one of the top issues at the CITES meeting at which a bid by three southern African states to allow ivory sales has taken centre stage.
Date: Sun, 15 Jun, 1997
Ban on mesh netting to protect endangered dugongs
CAIRNS, Qld, AAP - The joint state-federal Great Barrier Reef ministerial council has agree to ban mesh netting by fishermen in parts of north Queensland to protect the region's endangered dugong population.
A two-day council meeting in Cairns this weekend, chaired by federal Environment Minister Senator Robert Hill, accepted that mesh netting was a significant cause of the decline in dugong numbers in the southern Great Barrier Reef.
Federal Tourism Minister John Moore and Queensland's Environment Minister Brian Littleproud and Tourism Minister Bruce Davidson also attended the meeting. The council agreed to apply speed limits on vessels in dugong areas of the Hinchinbrook area, to ban indigenous hunting of the sea mammals, to review penalties for the illegal catching of dugongs and to replace shark nets with floating drum-lines unless human safety was at risk.
The ministers will meet again in two months to finalise the boundaries of areas where mesh neting -- also known as gill netting -- will be banned.
Agreement was also reached to pay compensation to individual fishermen affected by the mesh netting ban, and to warn the Great Barrier Reef fishing industry to scale down investment in netting equipment and operations.
Date: Mon, 16 Jun, 1997
Japan Blocks Sea Fishing Scrutiny at CITES Meeting
By ANGUS SHAW - Associated Press Writer
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Japan blocked U.S. proposals Friday aimed at increasing conservation of depleted fish stocks, but lost a bid to strip the International Whaling Commission of some of its powers.
The fisheries decision at the U.N. Convention on Trade in Endangered Species, the world's largest gathering of conservationists, means huge commercial fishing industries, including Japan's, will not face increased scrutiny for at least
two more years.
Participants at the biannual conference are gearing up for voting next week on more than 80 other hotly debated proposals.
South Africa was using the conference to defend its push to resume selling rhinoceros horn, despite objections from environmentalists. There is a market for rhino horn in Middle Eastern countries that use it to craft traditional dagger handles,
and in many Asian countries, where it is believed to have medicinal properties.
But Japan was the center of much of the attention Friday. By a 50-49 margin, it won a secret committee vote to stop the convention from creating a U.S.- proposed working group as a first step to drawing up protection measures for certain sea fish.
In a second vote, also conducted by secret balloting, 57 countries opposed Japanese demands to transfer control over whale conservation from the International Whaling Commission to the 138-nation gathering. Only 27 countries sided with Japan.
The convention has little expertise in whaling and has relied on the commission for its lead, so the resolution was widely seen as an effort to weaken whale conservation. The International Whaling Commission imposed a moratorium on whaling in 1986, but Japan and Norway have resumed hunting.
Measures defeated in committee votes cannot be voted on by the full convention next week.
The rhino horn will be one of the most controversial issues, with South Africa leading an African push to water down a ban on trading in rhinoceros products. At the last convention two years ago, South Africa won the right to trade in live rhinos, which includes sales to zoos and game parks, while the ban on trading in rhinoceros horn remained intact.
On Friday, South Africa began a campaign aimed at gaining the right to sell rhino horn, perhaps at the next convention. It said it did not want to start selling rhino horn now, but wanted approval to begin negotiations with the main consumers on ways to regulate legal trading.
South Africa claimed Friday it could satisfy the world demand for rhino horn by selling its existing stock and by harvesting from its rhino population without culling or depleting the numbers.
"The only source presently available is illegal trade," said George Hughes, head of the wildlife service in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province, where most of Africa's surviving white rhinoceros live. The province has nursed South Africa's white rhino population back from a low of 14 at the turn of the century to more than 7,000 today, Hughes said.
But Indian conservation groups seeking to rally opposition to the South African position say their country's rhino population would be devastated by an easing of the ban on horn sales.
"As India is home to 70-80 percent of the world's last remaining one-horned rhinos, we view this issue with the gravest concern," said an appeal signed by more than 5,000 Indian conservationists.
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997
Taiji Orca Capture Alert
FREE THE TAIJI FIVE! UPDATE - April Update
On the morning of June 17, the female orca in Shirahama Adventure World died. She had been pregnant and had miscarriage in April. She had been refusing to eat fish so that she became weak and could not even float by herself. The aquarium staff decreased the water in the tank to half. And at the end, she was held up by a canvas sling.
Three days before the female's death, on 14th, one of the male orcas in Adventure World had died. He was the youngest among the Taiji Five and the one that was making a crying sound in the video.
It is now impossible for Japanese or international activists to get any information on the fate of the remaining three orcas. Their tiny tanks are barred from public view or access and no information is forthcoming from the aquarium or the government.
The condition of the remaining three orcas as they suffer loss of their family group, starvation, sensory deprivation and paralysis caused by lack of movement must be dreadful.
Letters should be sent directly to the Prime Minister or President of your own country, demanding that formal protests be sent to the Japanese Government. We should also call upon our own governments to immediately institute an international agreement banning the taking of wild orcas for captivity.
Doug Cartlidge - European Cetacean Organisation
7 Meadway Court - The Boulevard
Worthing, BN13 1PN
England
Tel+Fax: 44 1903 241 264 Email: dougc@mistral.co.uk Home page: http://www3.mistral.co.uk/dougc/
Date: Fri, 20 Jun, 1997
CITES Rejects Japanese Proposals
Delegates at the meeting of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Parties in Zimbabwe voted 27 - 51 by secret ballot to defeat a Japanese proposal to sever linkage between CITES and the International Whaling Commission, giving whale conservation monitoring to CITES exclusively.
On June 16, 1997, CITES delegates rejected by a 47 to 64 vote a Japanese proposal to downlist eastern Pacific Gray whales.
On June 17, 1997, CITES meeting delegates rejected additional proposals by Japan and Norway to downlist several Minke whale populations and allow international trade in certain whale products. Norway's request on Minke whales failed on a secret ballot vote of 57 - 51, not having achieved the two-thirds majority required. Delegates voted 45 - 65 by secret ballot to defeat Japanese proposal on west Pacific Minke whales and voted 53 - 59 by secret ballot to defeat a Japanese proposal on south Pacific Minke whales. Subsequently, Japan withdrew a third proposal to downlist Bryde's whales in the northwest Pacific. [Reuters, Dow Jones News, Assoc Press]
NEW YORK, July 1 (NewsWire) -- The majority of nations at the recent bi-annual meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) supported sustainable use of abundant whale stocks by casting their votes to allow trade in whale products, 57 to 51. By their ballots, they showed that they opposed the idea that whales cannot be used as a food resource, though their votes fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to remove the current trade ban.
"This indicates a significant decrease in opposition to whaling," said Ginette Hemley of the World Wildlife Fund, as reported by the Associated Press.
"The whole tone of whaling debate has changed."
In the past, the debate has been rather one-sided, with western nations such as the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand, France and Germany proclaiming that all whales were too endangered -- and too special -- to allow them to be hunted, even though one species numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
In 1982, the IWC imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling. The Scientific Committee maintained that all of the species of whales needing protection were fully protected by the RMP and that there was "very small risk" that the low levels of catch quotas allowed from the abundant stock of minke whales, would lead to any further depletion.
The moratorium, scheduled for revision in 1990, was upheld by the IWC majority, then pre-empted in large part by designating the Southern Ocean, home of the most diverse species of whales, as a commercial whaling sanctuary in 1994. The sanctuary also was adopted against the advice of a majority of the IWC's Scientific Committee.
During the first week of the CITES meeting, the whaling countries tried unsuccessfully to delink the IWC from any CITES obligation to support it, but most countries agreed that the IWC was still responsible.
In a statement to the conference, Norway accused the IWC of disregarding the recommendations of its experts which it said supported the view that there were abundant minke whales worldwide and they were not threatened with extinction.
"The IWC does not respect its own scientific committee. CITES shouldn't follow this practice and continue to disregard scientific findings," it said.
In an e-mail communication to the CITES Internet discussion group, Wil Burns of the Board of Managing Editors, Journal of Wildlife Management Law and Policy at the University of California-Berkeley School of Law admitted,
"I'm worried about the impact of the decision of parties to CITES to essentially tie its decisions about whether to permit trade in cetacean products to the decisions of the IWC. It's become increasingly clear in recent years that (IWC) nations (such as) Britain and Australia now oppose a resumption of whaling on preservationist rather than conservationist grounds... this basis for maintaining the moratorium in place probably violates both the letter and spirit of the ICRW (International Convention for the Regulation of whaling), undercutting its credibility."
By the second week of the CITES conference, it had become clear that CITES could not continue to ban trade in such species of whales as minke and gray whales without risking loss of its own credibility. The IWC Scientific Committee, on the basis of years of sightings surveys, had estimated that there were over 760,000 minkes in Antarctic waters and 112,000 in the northeast Atlantic. As for the eastern Pacific gray whale, the U.S. itself earlier had declared that the population had recovered to pre-exploitation levels.
At this CITES meeting, most of the important votes were cast using a secret ballot procedure, after many members complained that open voting procedures in the past made them vulnerable to intimidation by both environmental groups and large country grant donors. The secret ballot procedure allowed them to vote their own convictions rather than follow the dictates of the power brokers. Two years ago, at the last CITES conference, only 16 of the member nations by a show of hands voted to downlist the minke whales. This time, the ballot allowed the majority to vote for downlisting.
One sidelight to the vote: The chairman had to warn parties to cover their ballots, because observers were in the balcony using binoculars and tele-photo cameras to spy on how the delegates marked their ballots.
Date: Sun, 23 Jun, 1997
Garbage War--Dioxins in Japanese Waters
(ASAHI) "Dioxins affect on dolphins and whales. Found higher concentration around Japan compared to the southen ocean. Research by Ehime Univ."
A group led by Prof. Wakimoto, School of Agliculture, Ehime Univercity, Japan, found higher concentrations of dioxins in bodies of Japanese coastal dolphins and whales than the ones in the southen ocean. The comparison of concentration levels was made internationally for the first time. Since the type of dioxins found in cetacean bodies were the same as those found in burnt garbage, Prof. Wakimoto thinks that dioxin pollution by burnt garbage has increased. As the human body takes up dioxins mostly from foods such as fish, the contamination of Japanese coastal whales seems to affect the Japanese diet.
Since whales and dolphins are located in the higher levels of the food chain, the whole picture of oceanic pollution can be only understood by examining dioxin levels of cetacean bodies. Prof. Wakimoto's group examined dioxin levels in the blubber of 23 bodies of cetaceans including Baird's beaked whales and Fraser's dolphins off Nagasaki and Wakayama, Japan and 16 of Fraser's dolphins and Spinner dolphins around the Phillipines and the Indian Ocean.
When the toxicity of the different dioxins were expressed as those of 2,3,7,8-TCDD, that is one of the most toxic substance, 0.03~1.2 pico gram from the bodies of the southern cetacean were found, while 0.6~18.2 pico gram were found from Japanese bodies. Strikingly, the dioxin levels of 8~80 times higher than those of southern coastal ones were found from three Japanese coastal Finless porpoises. Dioxins are comprised of 75 isomers of dibenzo-para-dioxins and 135 of dibenzofurans. Isomers from both dibenzo-para-dioxins and dibenzofurans were found in the bodies of Japanese coastal cetaceans but almost no isomers of dibenzo-para-dioxins were found in the southern bodies. Burnt garbage produces both types of isomers and Prof. Wakimoto suspects that:
- Japanese coast has been polluted mostly by garbage burning
- Southern water has been polluted by dibenzofurans from PCB products dumped from ships.
Prof. Wakimoto warned,"There are many garbage burning facilities in Japan and the regulations are poor, letting pollution on the land extend to the sea. We assume that the dioxin from Japanese land hasn't reached offshore waters, but have to take appropriate mesurements as quick as possible since chemicals in the environment always spread."
Date: Wed, 25 Jun, 1997
Cousteau dead at the age of 87
PARIS, (UPI) -- The Cousteau Foundation reports undersea pioneer Jacques Cousteau has died two weeks after he celebrated his 87th birthday. His aides say today he had been ill for sometime. Other details of his death were not immediately available.
Cousteau, who turned 87 on June 11, opened the vast undersea world to humanity as co-inventor of the Aqua-Lung and brought its wonders to the living room of millions of others through his television films and best selling books.
But his own life story was as absorbing as his award-winning documentaries on whales and sharks and giant turtles.
A physical fitness addict who ate no sugar or animal fat, drank no milk or alcohol Cousteau in his 70s was still conducting and preparing expeditions aboard his famous ship, "Calypso," from which he saw as a world of inexhaustible opportunities for adventure.
Before his trip to the Amazon in 1982, Cousteau said,
"We are encountering as many surprising new facts as we did at the beginning."
Cousteau's age could not hinder his fascination with underwater life forms. He said,
"Age doesn't count. My experience enables me to out- perform young men who think diving is the privilege of strong young men. After all, my father started diving at 67."
Cousteau was preceded in death by his 37-year-old son Philippe, one of his chief collaborators who was killed in 1979 when the expedition plane he was landing on the River Tagus in Portugal struck a submerged object.
Cousteau's father, a lawyer, traveled as companion to a wealthy American and Cousteau spent his childhood on the move.
He learned English during a year in New York when he was 10. He was a sickly child but despite warnings about exerting himself he learned to swim and spent as much time as possible on beaches. Somewhat undisciplined, he was expelled from one school for breaking windows but he was gifted mechanically and built a 4-foot working model of a giant marine crane at 11.
In 1930 he passed the entrance examination for the Ecole Navale, France's naval academy, and three years later graduated second in his class as a second lieutenant. After winning his pilot's wings he was assigned to the naval base of Toulon on the Mediterranean where, having been given the kind of goggles worn by pearl divers in the South Seas, he realized the value of an apparatus that would enable humans to move freely about under water.
World War II interrupted his experiments and after the fall of France he joined the Resistance. One of the exploits he always refused to discuss was infiltrating Italian headquarters disguised as an Italian officer and photographing secret documents including the Italian navy code book. He was later decorated with the Legion of Honor and the Croix de Guerre with Palm.
The Germans did not interfere with Cousteau's wartime interest in sea diving. When he said his aim was to become a "man-fish" they put him down as a harmless eccentric. The key to a successful aqua-lung came from Emile Gagnon, a Parisian engineer who had invented an automatic gas-feeder valve. In 1943 Cousteau made a historic dive.
With such sponsors as the National Geographic Society, the French Academy of Sciences, Texas A&M and NASA and, later on, television producers, Cousteau photographed life and archeology underseas as they had never been seen before. He also took part in many scientific experiments.
His activities expanded into many fields and became a kind of industry involving more than a dozen commercial and scientific companies, some of them, such as his diving equipment operation, highly profitable. His first major book on his work, "The Silent World," sold 5 million copies and became a full-length documentary film that won an Academy Award in 1957 after taking the Grand Prize at Cannes.
His filmed report on "World Without Sun" -- an underwater colony under the Red Sea inhabited for a month by "oceanauts" -- won an Academy Award in 1964. A whole series of books on adventures on land and sea followed.
He was director of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco and an officer of many other groups in science and ecology. He was honored many times with the gold medals of scientific societies and degrees from universities.
He married Simone Melchior in 1937. Their surviving son, Jean-Michel, is also in the Cousteau organization.
Date: Wed, 25 Jun, 1997
Global Warming threatens Whale's Favorite Food
LONDON (Reuter) - Global warming could be contributing to killing off krill, the favorite food of whales, penguins and other sea animals, scientists said Wednesday.
The tiny, shrimp-like creatures are being undermined by salps, according to Valerie Loeb of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in Moss Landing, Calif. and colleagues.
Salps are tunicates -- simple, pouch-like sea creatures that are not eaten by many animals but which create dense blooms that interfere with krill reproduction and kill off their larvae.
"Our data suggest that decreased krill availability may affect the levels of their vertebrate predators. Regional warming and reduced krill abundance, therefore, affect the marine food web," they wrote in a report in the science journal Nature.
They noticed the salps flourished in years when there was less sea ice, while the krill, the primary food of many sea-going animals, did better in colder years.
The salps also seemed to eat up the krill's food in warmer years, they said.
"A warming trend has been documented for the Antarctic Peninsula region since the 1940s, and a decreased frequency of extensive winter sea-ice conditions has been associated with this trend," they wrote.
The krill population had already become noticeably smaller and predators could already be suffering, they said. Adelie penguins on King George Island had already suffered a 30 percent population decline.
Date: Wed, 25 Jun, 1997
Japanese Institute to sell around 2,000 tons of whale meat
TOKYO, (Kyodo) -- An institute commissioned by the Japanese government to undertake "research whaling" has decided on specifics of a sales plan for meat from whales it caught in the Antarctic Ocean between last November and March, institute officials said Wednesday.
The plan covers 1,995 tons of meat from 440 minke whales, the largest-ever volume for sale from the whaling program, the officials of the Institute of Cetacean Research said.
The meat will be sold mostly to processors of canned foods, they said, with some sold for general consumption as well as school-lunch programs.
They said proceeds from the sale, projected at 3.5 billion yen, will be used to finance research.
The wholesale price of prime-quality red meat for general consumption will be 3,840 yen per kilogram, unchanged from the previous catch from the North Atlantic in summer 1996, they said. The retail price will be three times as high,they said.
Whale meat is fetching high prices due to limited supply because commercial whaling is banned, industry sources said.
The institute has been selling meat from whales under what is termed research, which is permitted under an international treaty. The institute says such research, commissioned by the Fisheries Agency, involves studies on habitat and other matters related to whales.
Date: Tue, 01 Jul, 1997
Sperm whale entangled in pelagic drifting nets
In a single week two sperm whales still alive have been entangled in drifting nets in the waters of the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy.
The first has been found during the night of the 9th of June, about 5 miles off the Calabrian coasts. It was 12 meters long; it had a big portion of the net around the lower jaw and a second one around the tail. The two portions were connected by a string of net along one side of the body. As the specimen was particularly restless, two days of work were necessary to cut the net.
The 14th of June a second sperm whale, a male 10 meters long, has been found entangled, about 13 miles offshore, in the same area. The net was around the body and the tail. Even if in this case the specimen was quiet, many hours occurred to release it. The portion of the net around the tail weighed more than 100 kilos.
G. Paolillo (representing the Italian stranding network Centro Studi Cetacei) directed the operations to release the sperm whales, with the help of the scuba divers of Italian Finance Police.
In this area many striped dolphins, with amputations or clear marks of entanglement in a fishing net, strand every year in these months. In the same period many fishing boats using surface pelagic drifting nets to catch swordfish are working in the area. The legal length of this kind of net in Italy is <2.5 km; we have no certainty of its respect, that in any case is not a safety measure for marine mammals. As the majority of the data that we collect are about cetacean found stranded on the Italian coasts, a lot of bycatches remain probably unknown. We think that the few data we have are enough to produce a big concern on cetacean conservation. In this connection many environmental associations are asking for the total ban of this fishing gear.
Date: Wed, 2 Jul, 1997
Concern over Dugong slaughter - QLD, Australia
BRISBANE, (AAP) - Queensland fishermen were concerned about reports that 500 adult dugong had been slaughtered for the illegal export of the meat, Queensland Commercial Fishermen's Organisation president Ted Loveday said tonight.
Media reports this week claimed an illegal dugong meat operation was based near the remote Lockhart River on the eastern side of Cape York Peninsula.
Customs officers last year seized 200 tonnes of dugong meat in the same area. The meat was believed to be ready for shipment to South-East Asia, he said.
Mr Loveday said if this week's television reports were accurate the implications could be serious for the survival of dugong which is classified as an endangered species and listed as critically vulnerable.
A joint federal-state task force meeting in Cairns last month under Environment Minister Senator Robert Hill banned gill net fishing along stretches of the north Queensland coastline known as dugong feeding grounds.
Mr Loveday said: "If the latest allegations are true, hundreds or even thousands of dugong may have been killed for their meat by black market poachers."
He called on the federal and Queensland governments to launch an immediate investigation.
Mr Loveday said gill net fishermen faced job losses because of the netting ban but the sharp decline in dugong numbers in north Queensland waters may be at least partly due to illegal poaching.
Date: Sat, 5 Jul 1997
Japanese Whalers Still Using Outlawed 'COLD' Harpoon
"Japan has alternative secondary whale killing methods... One is second harpoon without penthrite grenade and the other is electric lance." (Ishikawa)
"...the crew prepared to use one of the two available secondary killing methods. The first of these was to shoot a second (cold) harpoon into the whale." (Walloe)
Has Japan Harpooned Itself In The Foot?
The use of non-explosive 'cold' harpoons for minke whaling was banned by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1981 on the grounds that it is inhume.
Now it is revealed that Japanese whalers, during commercial minke whale hunts (conducted under the guise of "scientific" whaling) in the Antarctic 'Sanctuary' and the western North Pacific, are using the cold harpoon extensively as a secondary killing method.
A leading Norwegian whaling scientist has inferred that the cold harpoon is used in preference to the 'electric lance' secondary killing method.
During recent Japanese minke whale hunts, around a quarter (26%) of whales caught were subjected to one or more cold harpoons following an unsuccessful first strike by penthrite explosive grenade harpoon. Of the minke whales struck with the cold harpoon, about half (53%) remained alive after one or more shots and were then subjected to electrocution with electric lance apparatus.
Both penthrite and cold grenade harpoons are used to recapture struck-and-lost whales.
The IWC member governments seem to have been unaware of the ongoing use of cold harpoons by Japanese whalers; thus the Government of Japan appears to have deliberately kept the use of cold harpoons a secret from the IWC.
The inefficient and inhumane cold harpoon and electric lance secondary killing methods are used instead of a second or third explosive penthrite grenade harpoon for economic reasons - they destroy less of the commercially valuable flesh on the small minke whale.
The Government of Japan (GoJ) argues that because of its technical objection lodged against the IWC decision to ban the cold harpoon for commercial killing of minke whales, Japanese whalers have no obligation to adhere to the ban; and IWC regulations - including the ban - do not apply to "scientific" research whaling anyway.
By blatantly ignoring the cold harpoon ban, the GoJ and the Japanese whaling industry are imposing their ethical values on a majority of the international community: cultural imperialism from a government and industry which regularly accuse all who oppose commercial whaling of cultural imperialism.
The GoJ has clearly acted in bad faith, with complete disregard for the humane treatment and welfare of individual whales, the regulations of the IWC, the widespread international public concern about inhumane killing of whales, Japan's international reputation and the overseas perception of the Japanese public in general.
During Japanese pelagic (open ocean) minke whaling operations in the Southern Ocean (Antarctic) and western North Pacific, the whalers use a penthrite explosive grenade harpoon as the primary killing method when capturing minke whales. Between just 26% and 29.4% of the minke whales are killed instantaneously (Walloe 1996, GoJ 1994). The majority of whales that survive the first harpoon strike are then subjected to a secondary killing method.
Until 1996 it was thought that the inefficient and inhumane 'electric lance' apparatus was the only secondary killing method employed in Japanese pelagic minke whaling, except for occasional re-shooting with a second explosive harpoon when the first is poorly placed, pulls out or the fore-runner (harpoon line) breaks. During a joint Japan-Norway defence of the electric lance, it was revealed that Japanese whalers also use non-explosive 'cold' harpoons, despite the fact that the cold harpoon is banned by the IWC because of its unacceptable inefficiency and inhumaneness, whether or not it is used as a primary or secondary killing method.
Quite simply, Japan has unwittingly admitted to using an internationally outlawed weapon.
Cold Harpoon & Minke Whaling
Until its replacement with the penthrite explosive grenade harpoon in the mid 1980's, the non-explosive 'cold' grenade harpoon had been the chosen primary killing-capture method employed in Japanese commercial whaling operations for minke whales since 1971. A non- exploding grenade was used against minke whales in order to 'prevent extensive damage and consequent loss of the carcass, caused by the explosion of the grenade in such a small animal' (Best 1974). The lethality of the cold harpoon is directly related to the damage the projectile causes to the organs and tissues it hits on passage through the whale's body. 'The killing effect and the crushing and damage that arises are due more to a direct hit in vital organs and damage from the wing-formed harpoon claws and fore-runner, than damage from the harpoon head. The cold harpoon therefore works more like a large arrow' (Oen 1992).
As a primary killing method, use of the cold harpoon failed to achieve instantaneous death or insensibility in 80-90% of cases. Times to death (the time between first harpoon strike and death or insensibility) were unacceptably long, with mean times to death of between 5 and 11 minutes that indicated prolonged periods of suffering. There is no question that the cold harpoon as a killing method - whether primary or secondary - is inefficient and inhumane.
Prohibition Of The Cold Harpoon
Under Article V.1 (f) of the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), the IWC may amend the Schedule of the ICRW to specify or prohibit the types of gear and apparatus and appliances which may be used in whaling. In 1980, the IWC voted to prohibit use of the cold harpoon for the commercial killing of all whale species except the minke whale, with effect from the start of the 1980/81 pelagic season and 1981 coastal season, on the grounds of its inhumaneness (IWC 1980). In 1981, Australia proposed a Schedule amendment to prohibit use of the cold harpoon on the minke whale, again due to its inhumaneness. After discussion this was agreed subject to a phase out; the prohibition was effective from the start of the 1982/83 pelagic season and the 1983 coastal season (IWC 1981). This established a clear precedent, demonstrating that it was within both the framework of the ICRW and the competency of the IWC to take decisions and make regulations concerning the welfare of whales and to prohibit the use of certain pieces of whaling equipment on the grounds of inhumaneness.
No Mention Of Cold Harpoons
Documents submitted by the GoJ to the IWC in recent years make no mention whatsoever of cold harpoons being employed as an alternative secondary killing method to the electric lance during pelagic whaling operations. The only reference which could be said to 'hint' at the possible use of cold harpoons comes from a GoJ document (GoJ 1994) concerning the 1993/94 season, which states: 'As Japan had lodged formal objection to Schedule 6 of the Convention, adopted in 1981, pertaining to the obligation to use explosive harpoons in the whale catch, the Japanese scientific research catch pursuant to Article VIII of the Convention, conducting (sic) since 1987, has been exempted from the provisions of Schedule 6.' Thus it does appear that, until 1996, it was GoJ policy to deliberately keep the use of cold harpoons a secret from the IWC.
Electric Lance Only?
It is apparent from documentation submitted to the IWC that the majority of IWC member governments, non-governmental organisations and researchers have been unaware that the Japanese whalers have used anything other than the electric lance as a secondary killing method - except for the limited use of a second explosive penthrite harpoon to secure a whale with a poorly placed first shot, or which is lost when the first harpoon pulls out or the fore-runner breaks - as the following examples illustrate:
"The two main secondary methods of killing currently on record are use of the electric lance (Japan) and the use of large calibre rifle (Norway)" (GoUK 1995).
"If a whale is not killed instantly by an explosive harpoon, the Japanese use electric lances as a secondary killing device" (McLachlan 1995).
"The Japanese and Norwegians use different techniques for dispatching wounded whales. The Japanese whalers winch the whale to the ship, implant electrodes through the blubber..." (Kestin 1995).
Use Of Cold Harpoon Revealed
The following is from a paper submitted by Hajime Ishikawa of the Institute of Cetacean Research, Tokyo: "Japan has alternative secondary whale killing methods in order to kill a whale which does not die with the first explosive harpoon in Japanese Whale Research Programme under Special Permit (JARPA and JARPN). One is second harpoon without penthrite grenade and the other is electric lance."
The use of alternative secondary killing methods employed in Japanese pelagic whaling operations to dispatch wounded whales is expanded upon by Professor Lars Walloe, chief scientific advisor on whaling to the Government of Norway, member of the IWC Scientific Committee and the Norwegia delegation, in the second paper in question, his analysis of recent Japanese whale killing data with special emphasis on the use of the electric lance. The paper included the following references to the cold harpoon:
"...If a whale died instantaneously or within a few minutes, no secondary killing method was used. But if the whale showed signs of life after the first hit, the crew prepared to use one of the two available secondary killing methods. The first of these was to shoot a second (cold) harpoon into the whale. This operation could be repeated. The second method available was to use electrical stunning..."
With regard to use of the cold harpoon as a secondary killing method, Walloe's analysis is reliable. He clearly states that he was provided with a comprehensive data file, in which the records for each of the 891 whales were complete. These included records of: "(first) secondary method (none, harpoon, lance), number of cold harpoons, voltage and amperage of electric current, time to firing of (first) cold harpoon, time to use of lance, loss/ recapture..."
Cold Harpoon - The First Choice
In his paper, Walloe implies that given the choice of employing the electric lance apparatus or re-shooting with a cold harpoon, it is the cold harpoon which is the preferred option of the Japanese whalers, as the following reiterations show:
"...the crew prepared to use one of the two available secondary killing methods. The first of these was to shoot a second (cold) harpoon into the whale... The second method available was to use electrical stunning..."
"The electric lance was sometimes used in addition to a cold harpoon if the first (or second) cold harpoon failed to kill the animal."
"In most cases the whalers chose the secondary killing method they considered most suitable in the circumstances. If, for instance, the whalers considered that the first harpoon was in danger of being pulled out, a second harpoon was used. On the other hand, if the whale was too close to the boat, it was often not possible to shoot it with a second harpoon, but the electric lance could conveniently be applied. In some cases either secondary killing method could be used with an equal chance of success as judged by the whalers."
Conclusion
This matter of Japan's use of the cold harpoon must now be dealt with internationally at the highest levels of government, both through the IWC and private channels. This issue not only highlights the urgent need for a firm resolution seeking to enforce the 1981 IWC decision, but also the need for rigorous measures to deal effectively with the perennial problem of inhumane killing of whales.
Any further delay by the GoJ in implementing genuine attempts by the international community, through the IWC, to minimise, eliminate and prevent the significant proportion of slaughter which fails to meet the IWC definition of Humane Killing is simply not acceptable.
The GoJ has evidently absolved itself of responsibility over the matter of humane killing. As Fukuzo Nagasaki, former Director-General of the Institute of Cetacean Research stated (1993): "But even if methods are discovered which guarantee animals a more pain-free death, we must consider the costs of implementing change, and the effect these costs will have on product prices. There are thus certain practical limitations when it comes to developing humane methods of slaughter."
Full text at: http://members.aol.com/breachenv/cb-coldh.htm
Japanese contacts to protest: http://members.aol.com/breachenv/r-r.htm (Read & React - Hall Of Shame).
Popular Resolution on Abolition of Inhumane Commercial Slaughter of Whales - Sign-On Petition at: http://members.aol.com/breachenv/popreslt.htm
David Smith - Campaign Director
Breach Marine Protection UK
Tel/Fax: +44 1405 769375 email: BreachEnv@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/breachenv/home.htm
Rapid Environmental Disaster - Response. & Rescue
(R.E.'D.R.Res) Hotline: 0973 898282
Date: Tue, 8 Jul, 1997
Killer Whales attack Humpback pod
GOLD COAST, AAP - More killer whales may be seen along Australia's east coast as the number of humpback whales - one of their major food sources - making the trek northwards increased, a whale expert said today.
National Parks and Wildlife Service officer Dave Paton said killer whales had been sighted off the New South Wales far north coast for the past three years but there was no specific evidence of an increase in their numbers.
He said that with the 10 to 12 per cent yearly increase in the number of humpback whales migrating north to warmer breeding waters, more killer whales may be seen.
Mr Paton made his comments after witnessing three killer whales attack a pod of three humpbacks he had been trailing about six kilometres east of Byron Bay yesterday.
"There was a large male eight metres long and two smaller killers, either sub-adults or females," he said.
"They came straight at us, made several swift passes at the boat and then circled us several times no more than five metres away."
"It was a pretty intimidating sight."
"The male, with a two metre dorsal fin, was nearly twice the size of the research boat."
He said the killer whales surged at the three humpbacks at about 20 knots.
"In the event there was no bloodshed, but while the attack lasted there was an awesome display of power and violent upheavals," he said.
"The humpbacks, twice the size of the killer whales, closed ranks thrashing the sea into huge water spouts.
"I guess the message was to indicate size and strength."
Date: Tue, 8 JUL, 1997
Orca whales in Captivity - Protest Rally
M2 Communications - A 50 ft whale will be beached in Trafalgar Square on Thursday, 17 July 1997 to launch a massive campaign to stop the capture and use of Orca whales in marine parks around the world.
Of 134 Orcas taken into captivity in recent years. ninety-eight of them are now dead. In captivity, these majestic animals only survive an average of five years, never reaching the average of 50 for females and 29 years for males in the wild.
Every year millions of people flock to see ill, frustrated Orcas in cramped, manufactured seawater tanks, performing sad circus tricks in marine parks around the world unaware of the effects this has on the whales themselves.
The ten year-old Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) - the world's biggest charity dedicated to the conservation, welfare and preservation of whales - is now calling for possible release for every Orca whale in captivity and a total ban on the capture of more whales for marine parks around the world.
The WDCS is launching a campaign urging people to boycott marine parks and calling on world governments to introduce legislation to ban the capture of Orcas.
The launch in Trafalgar Square is expected to draw huge crowds to see the 50ft long, 12ft tall inflatable whale. Supporters of the campaign will be able to step inside this huge beached animal, to learn about the campaign.
The WDCS has not only received widespread support from prominent conservationists, but also massive support from UK businesses. In an unprecedented move, the Advertising, Media and Public Relations industry, led by London Bridge based Clark & Taylor, has created, produced, and will air an advertising campaign free of charge during the summer to raise the awareness of the plight of Orcas currently kept in Marine parks.
The campaign will feature cinema, television, bill-board and press advertisements across the country, all donated free to support the campaign.
Commenting on the plight of the world's 52 captive Orcas, Mr Chris Stroud, Director of Campaigns at WDCS said:
"It's not right to keep an Orca in a marine park. These beautiful mammals are taken from their natural habitats and families to suffer in swimming pools in the name of entertainment. We firmly believe that it is cruel to keep whales in captivity. They are animals of the open ocean, unsuited to life in small chlorinated tanks and pools. Captive animals suffer depression, psychological damage, mutilate themselves, and even commit suicide by refusing to breathe. It's not just a prison, it's a death sentence."
Simon Clark, Chairman of Clark & Taylor said:
"We need to put a stop to this mindless 'entertainment' and keep Orcas out of captivity. Clearly we feel strongly enough about this to donate our time and resources free. We hope our advertising campaign will help raise awareness of the conditions inflicted upon these Orcas and make people think twice about going to see these wild animals perform tricks in Marine parks."
Facts & Figures
- At least 134 Orcas were taken into captivity between 1961-1996. Ninety-eight of those whales are now dead.
- The average survival time in captivity is just over five years.
- Most die in captivity before they reach their early twenties. In the wild females live an average of 50 years but can live to the grand old age of 80. Male Orcas live an average of 29 years, but can live to the age of 50.
- Since 1968 there have been 47 known pregnancies in captivity - only 17 calves survived.
- Orcas in parks self mutilate, commit suicide, attack handlers and die.
WDCS aims to:
- Prevent the extinction of any population of whale, dolphin or porpoise in the wild.
- Monitor the conservation status of all whales, dolphins and porpoises world- wide.
- Identify and secure adequate conservation measures for the most important sites for whales, dolphins and porpoises around the world.
- Prevent suffering in individual whales, dolphins and porpoises.
- Promote a world-wide interest in whales, dolphins and porpoises.
Date: Tue, 15 Jul, 1997
U.S. offers new plan to protect Atlantic whales
PORTLAND, Maine (Reuter) -- Federal regulators, pressured by New England's lobster industry, on Tuesday unveiled a less restrictive proposal to protect endangered Atlantic whales.
The rules are designed to protect whales from entanglement in fishing gear by requiring some equipment modifications and prohibiting lobstering in a few areas when whales are known to be present.
"I don't think (the rules) are watered down ... I think they're more workable for both the whales and the fishermen," said Andrew Rosenberg, the National Marine Fisheries Service's regional administrator.
The new proposal won initial praise from the industry and its political supporters, who had argued that a more extensive plan proposed this year would have cost at least $50 million and forced many lobstermen out of business.
"With this announcement we will be all right," said Robin Alden, Maine's Commissioner of Marine Resources, who had threatened to sue the federal government over its original proposal.
Alden said the controversy had made lobstermen more aware of the danger some gear poses for whales, in particular the northern right whale, whose population has been reduced to an estimated 300.
"(The whales) now have 7,000 friends looking out for them on the ocean," Alden said, citing a proposal to train fishermen to assist special rescue crews that will disentangle the whales.
Whales caught in gear can drown or be unable to eat. They can drag a tangle of lines and lobster traps for years. Officials hope to reduce the northern right whale's death rate from entanglement to less than one per year.
The fishing industry had complained they were being singled out for regulation. Rosenberg acknowledged whales also face the danger of being hit by ships, but said his agency cannot regulate the shipping industry.
"This is not just a problem for the fishing industry, it is a problem for people who live on the East Coast and value the (whale) resource," Rosenberg told reporters.
The rules will also restrict the use of gill nets used off New England and drift nets used off Georgia and Florida. The United States also will work with Canada to coordinate whale protection efforts.
Date: Thu, 17 Jul, 1997
Dolphins `Use Tools to find Food'
By John von Radowitz of The Press Association
London, (PA) - Dolphins have been seen for the first time using tools to find food and defend themselves, researchers believe.
US scientists studying bottle-nosed dolphins in Shark Bay, Western Australia, observed five females carrying sponges on the tips of their snouts as they searched for food on the seabed. They appeared to use them as protection against the spines and stings of animals like stonefish and stingrays -- and also to rake up prey.
The discovery was made by Dr Rachel Smolker from Michigan University in Ann Arbor, one of the world's leading DOLPHIN experts. Her observations, published in the journal Ethology and reported in New Scientist magazine today, are thought to be the first evidence of practical use of tools by dolphins in the wild.
Mark Simmonds, marine scientist at the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society in Bath, said: "Rachel Smolker is one of the great DOLPHIN researchers. I think her discovery is extremely interesting".
"Dolphins are a very different kind of animal to ourselves and the primates in that they don't have hands, but that doesn't mean they can't manipulate objects."
He said young dolphins had frequently been seen playing with bits of floating seaweed, plastic or netting. In captivity, dolphins could be taught to balance objects on their noses, push buttons and pull levers.
"We have been running a study around Cornwall and Devon over the last four years and have seen them pulling anchor chains," said Simmonds.
"Obviously they can manipulate things. It's not surprising at all to hear that they use tools. The important point is that a group of dolphins were seen, obviously it's not play behaviour, and it seems to be serving some useful purpose."
He said dolphins had been filmed playfully manipulating air bubbles in the same way as a smoker blows smoke rings. They would lie on the seabed, blow a ring-shaped bubble, and then blow a second bubble through the middle of the first.
The problem with studying DOLPHIN behaviour was that they were usually only observed on or near the surface of the sea, said Simmonds. He added: "We can't see what they are doing a lot of the time. For all we know they might be down there stacking shelves and playing chess."
Date: Wed, 23 Jul, 1997
Virus Found In Endangered Florida Manatee
Miami, (Reuter) - A virus that causes benign skin tumours has been found for the first time in Florida manatees and could pose a new threat to the endangered MARINE MAMMAL, a University of Miami researcher said on Wednesday.
It was the first time any virus had been found in manatees, which have strong immune systems, UM scientist Dr Gregory Bossart said.
The infection, called papillomavirus, was confirmed through DNA molecular testing on tissue from two manatees inhabiting separate areas of Florida's Gulf coast, Bossart said in a statement.
"The fact that we have confirmed that two animals from different locations are infected indicates that this may be a new problem and it has the potential to spread," Bossart said.
Papillomavirus causes lesions in a variety of mammals including humans. Researchers have seen unusual viral infections, skin lesions and tumours in other marine mammals in recent years, including bottlenose dolphins and killer whales. The tumours rarely are malignant, but can appear above the eyes, on the mouth or genitals, causing functional problems for the creatures, researchers said.
Manatees, or sea cows, are gentle, slow-moving vegetarian giants, weighing over 1000 pounds. They are among the most endangered of marine mammals, with only 2500-3000 remaining in warm US coastal waters.
More than 400 manatees died last year, the worst mortality record of any year on record. About 150 of those were killed by brevetoxin, a substance produced by red tide, a massive algae bloom.
Bossart said the emergence of the virus in manatees may have resulted from environmental degradation.
"We've been using the ocean as our toilet for so long that we may now be seeing the results," he said.
Date: Fri, 25 Jul, 1997
Norway whaling season ends, quota not fulfilled
OSLO, (Reuter) - Norway's controversial whaling season ended on Friday with this year's catch falling short of the government quota by 77 whales, officials said.
The quota was 580 minke whales, but only 503 were harpooned because the hunt was hampered by bad weather, Rannveig Boethun, an official of the Directorate of Fisheries in Bergen, said.
"Thirtyone whale-hunter boats took part, and they have now all returned to port," Boethun told Reuters. "The season is over."
The annual season is between May and July, with each boat allowed to hunt for six weeks. This year whales were killed mostly in the Barents Sea off northern Norway and the North Sea.
Norway's whale hunters have fallen short of their quota every year since resuming commercial catches of minke whales in 1993 in defiance of a global moratorium by the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
"There are enough minke whales in the sea, but the hunt has to do with the weather and the wind," Boethun said.
The hunt, which has deep roots in Norwegian tradition, requires calm waters for whalers to detect minke whales, which surface to breathe for only around four seconds before diving.
Norwegian fisheries authorities say the northeast Atlantic minke whale stock is growing and that the species can safely be hunted without any risk of extinction.
In London, police on Thursday removed a banner place outside the Norwegian embassy to protest against the hunt.
The environmental group Greenpeace reiterated its opposition to all commercial whaling.
"There is a legimate scientific debate from which comes the evidence that unchecked hunt will definitely endanger the whale population. This is why we oppose any human activities which harm or threaten the health and habitat of whale populations," a Greenpeace statement said.
"Personally I am satisfied with the result of this year's hunt," said Oeyvind Rasmussen, an expert at the Fisheries Ministry. "We are very concerned that the hunt is commercially viable, that people buy the meat."
Norway honours a CITES ban on the export of whalemeat.
Harald Dahl, a spokesman for the Norwegian fisheries sales administration in Svolvaer, said this year's catch boiled down to 730 tonnes of dark blue-red whale meat with a value of 22 million crowns ($2.9 million) to the hunters.
In Oslo, whale meat costs up to 150 crowns ($20) per kg.
Date: Wed, 30 Jul, 1997
U.S. Senate OKs tuna compromise
WASHINGTON (AP) -- After seven years of only"dolphin-safe" tuna on grocery shelves, consumers may soon see tuna cans bearing no such promise under a measure the Senate passed Wednesday in a 99-0 vote.
The bill would lift the embargo on imports of tuna from the Eastern Pacific, but tuna caught there with huge nets that can encircle dolphins could not carry the dolphin-safe label until that method is proven safe.
Under the bipartisan compromise, the Secretary of Commerce would make a preliminary determination in March 1999 on since the embargo was imposed in 1990, protect the mammals sufficiently to warrant the label.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, pressed for the compromise after the House passed a measure in May to lift the embargo and immediately label the new imports "dolphin-safe" without the study the Senate would require.
"I feel good today because I know that consumers can continue to rely on the `dolphin-safe' label for at least 18 more months, and that means fewer dolphins will die," Boxer said.
The House will likely accept the Senate's version, said Dan Walsh, legislative director for Maryland Republican Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, who sponsored the House bill.
"We think the compromise is worse than the House bill, but apparently it's the best we're going to get from the Senate, so we'll take it," Walsh said.
Under the Senate version, it would be up to consumers to determine whether to stick with tuna labeled "dolphin-safe" -- the only kind now available, or buy fish without the label.
A final decision by the Commerce secretary, either confirming or reversing the March 1999 ruling, is due by December 31, 2002.
The close connection between dolphins and schools of tuna occurs mainly in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. The 1990 embargo was imposed after huge encircling purse-seine nets were blamed for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of dolphins a year.
But fishing methods with the nets, including deployment under the dolphins, have vastly improved, said Annie Petsonk of the Environmental Defense Fund.
Twelve countries, including the United States, signed the Declaration of Panama in October 1995 that limited total annual dolphin kills through net fishing to 5,000. The other 11 countries, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Spain, Vanuatu and Venezuela, had contended the U.S. embargo was an unfair barrier to the lucrative American market.
"I think at the end we are seeing a good result," Carlos Camacho, Mexico's deputy minister of fisheries, said in an interview in Washington. "We needed the United States, which was committed to the Declaration of Panama, to change its legislation."
One third of Mexico's tuna fleet already fishes in a dolphin-safe manner, Boxer said.
Critics say a designation of dolphin-safe doesn't ensure that all individual dolphins are being protected. "Dolphin-safe for the average consumer means it's safe for each and every dolphin," said John Fitzgerald of Friends of the Earth. "It turns dolphin-safe from a green label to a green lie."
However, groups including Greenpeace and the Center for Marine Conservation support changing the dolphin protection policy, arguing the Senate legislation will lead to increased international protection of dolphins by the tuna industry.
"This is a victory for dolphin, the marine ecosystem and consumers," said Roger McManus, president of the Center for Marine Conservation. He said by the United States lifting the import ban, countries with large tuna fleets in the eastern Pacific will comply with new international efforts to protect dolphins.
Date: Sun, 03 Aug, 1997
New Canadian Radio to Play Orca Music
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, (UPI) -- It's all orca, all the time.
A Vancouver whale researcher has proposed a new radio station that will broadcast the sounds of killer whales live from their ocean home on Canada's West Coast.
It's part of a new project underway at the Vancouver Aquarium, where technology links researchers to underwater microphones hundreds of miles (km) up the British Columbia coast.
Special hardware and software use a cellular phone to transmit the whale whistles, yelps and squeaks to the aquarium from Robson Bight, a spot on the British Columbia coast that's favored by killer whales.
Researcher John Ford has applied to Canada's broadcast regulator for an FM radio license for the new station, which would be the world's first to have an all-whale format.
It would broadcast only around Robson Bight.
A direct link to the aquarium would give visitors a real glimpse into killer whale life on the Pacific coast.
Said Ford, "You'd be able to listen in live to whales hunting or socializing. You can tell their mood by how they make their calls."
Once regulators approve, the new station could be on the air this fall.
Date: Mon, 4 Aug, 1997
US Senate Passes Compromise Tuna-Dolphin Bill
The US Senate passed S.39 the Tuna/Dolphin bill by unanimous vote early Wednesday (30th July). The bill rewrites the tuna fishing laws and changes the criteria for the "dolphin-safe" label on tuna.
After much wrangling that has characterized a substantial amount of the debate surrounding the controversial "tuna-dolphin" bill, the Senate voted a compromise bill agreed to during negotiations last week by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) who opposed returning to fishing for tuna by encircling dolphins. Last week there was a flurry of talks between the White House, which supports the bill, and senators supporting the Sierra Club's position, resulting in a compromise which removed the stumbling blocks to the bill's passage.
The legislation revamps the U.S. definition of dolphin-safe tuna so that tuna, which often travels with dolphins, could be caught under a controversial method known as encirclement. Under the encirclement method, fishermen use large fishing nets for tuna that can also ensnare dolphins. Under the new law, the tuna could still be classified as dolphin-safe if the fishermen ensured that any dolphins caught were then released and did not die during the catch.
The legislation was pushed by the administration in order to approve the Panama Declaration, an international agreement brokered in 1995 between the United States, Mexico, Venezuela and nine other countries that fish for and market tuna. The agreement was spurred by the threat of complaints being brought to the World Trade Organization from the foreign countries claiming that U.S. dolphin safety standards and import regulations for tuna impeded fair trade. U.S. standards require foreign companies to prove that their dolphin protection measures are comparable to U.S. standards if they want to sell their tuna here. The U.S. dolphin protection requirements are codified under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and were developed in response to estimates that up to 500,000 dolphins were being killed by tuna fishermen in foreign countries. The number has dropped drastically and last year an estimated 2,700 dolphins were killed by tuna fishermen.
The opponents of the original bill, which included many Democratic and some Republican legislators, consumer advocates and some environmental groups, including Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club, argued that encirclement would cause too many dolphin deaths and that by passing the legislation, the United States would be bowing to trade pressures at the expense of dolphin protection.
The compromise calls for a fully funded three year study on the effects of encirclement on dolphins. At a Senate Oceans and Fisheries Subcommittee hearing in March, Boxer argued that there was not enough scientific evidence to support approval of encirclement as a dolphin safe method for tuna fishing and advocated that a study be done before Congress considers whether to allow encirclement.
Under the compromise, encirclement would be acceptable under the dolphin-safe label provided that any dolphins inadvertently caught would be let go. The Department of Commerce would be free to allow the dolphin-safe label to be used after making a preliminary finding by March 1999, in only 1-1/2 years, if no evidence to forthcoming proving that encirclement is having a negative effect on dolphin stocks. If there is an impact on dolphins, the United States would have to stick to its current standards. The Sierra Club objected that the language puts the burden on the scientists to prove that there is a negative impact rather than on the government to prove that there is none. The Club also sided with many scientists in pointing out that it would take at least three years of field study to reach any conclusions on the effect of this fishing method on dolphin stocks.
The original bill was supported by many GOP legislators, the Clinton administration and several environmental groups, including Greenpeace, the Environmental Defense Fund and the World Wildlife Fund. The proponents of the bill argue that because the fishing areas affected by the Panama Declaration are in the Eastern Pacific and are not U.S. waters, passage of this legislation may be the United States' only opportunity to influence fishing practices in those waters. A companion bill (H.R. 408) was passed by the House on May 21 by a vote of 262-166. The House also passed tuna legislation last year.
Date: Wed, 06 Aug, 1997
Alarms help stop nets catching porpoises
LONDON, (Reuter) - Acoustic alarms attached to fishing nets can prevent porpoises from getting caught in them and drowning, experts reported on Wednesday.
In one of the first field tests of warning devices designed to protect marine mammals, U.S. researchers said they greatly reduced the number of porpoises caught in fishing nets. Scott Kraus of the New England Aquarium in Boston and a team of marine scientists said the effect was enormous.
"The most serious danger to dolphins and porpoises around the world is the threat from various forms of gill-net fishing," they wrote in a letter to the science journal Nature.
"More than 80,000 small cetaceans (dolphins, porpoises and small whales) are killed annually in coastal waters around the world, and at least two species are in imminent danger of extinction because of fishing activities," they added.
Scientists have thought that alarms on fishing nets might help save dolphins and porpoises, which use sound to navigate and hunt. But the theory has not been widely tested. Kraus's team recruited fishermen to test their alarms.
"Between 18 October and 15 December 1994, 15 commercial sink gill-net fishers from the coasts of New Hampshire and southern Maine took part in our experiment," they wrote.
Some of the nets were equipped with acoustic alarms that sounded as soon as they hit salt water while others were fitted with devices that looked exactly the same but emitted no sound. Two porpoises were caught in the nets using the alarms while
25 were caught in nets carrying silent devices.
The same number of cod and pollock, which is what the boats were after, were caught in nets using either kind of alarm.
"At present we do not understand why the use of alarms produced such a dramatic reduction in porpoise catches," they said.
The obvious inference is that the animals heard and avoided the alarms. But herring -- the main prey of the porpoises -- also seemed to respond to the alarms.
"It is possible that herring reacted to the alarms by avoiding the nets, thus reducing the number of porpoises becoming entangled while attempting to capture prey," they wrote.
Date: Sat, 09 Aug, 1997
Chinese River Dolphin on Exhibition
BEIJING, XINHUA - The Chinese river dolphin, an endangered rare species, is on exhibition which opened Friday in Beijing Natural History Museum.
According to today's China Daily, the exhibition offers visitors through samples, photos, articles and lectures information about the dolphin, knowns as baiji, which is considered one of the rarest and most endangered species in the world.
Once numbering in the thousands, there may now be less than 50 baiji in the world, all living in the Yangtze River.
Considered the "living fossil," baiji is believed to have lived in the world for more than 25 million years, much older than another precious and endangered animal -- the giant panda.
Owing to rapid development of the Yangtze, the water pollution and overfishing, the rare animal's living environment and food sources are threatened.
In order to heighten public awareness and protect the creature, the China Wildlife Protection Association and Green Earth Volunteers, with four other wildlife and environmental protection groups, began "Save Endangered Wild Animals" in June and suggested designating 1997 "The Year of Baiji."
In a campaign to protect baiji, Chinese scientists will search for the dolphin, which measures 2-2.5 meters long and weighs about 150 kilograms,, trying to catch at least 20 of them, moving them to semi-natural protection areas.
Date: Fri, 15 Aug, 1997
Researcher Records Unusual Activities of NZ Killer Whales
By Robert Lowe of NZPA
Auckland, Aug 15 - Killer whales in New Zealand waters often dig in the seafloor for stingray before surfacing and tossing their catch around ``like a frisbee'', according to an Auckland University researcher.
Whangarei-based Ingrid Visser, some of whose results have been published in the latest issue of the British magazine New Scientist, said New Zealand ORCA whales appeared to be unique on at least two counts. While there had been reports of the whales elsewhere catching stingray, the New Zealand population specialised in preying on ray fish as part of their diet, she said.
"And they are digging for the stingray, which no other population of ORCA in the world has been reported to do," she told NZPA today.
Miss Visser has been doing research on the species in New Zealand waters for the past six years and is writing her doctorate thesis. On the whales' feeding habits, she said they at times had mud stuck on their faces as far back as the blowhole, suggesting they had dug more than a metre deep during their "benthic [seafloor] foraging".
"They bring the stingray up to the surface and they'll flick their heads and toss it in the air -- not always, but it's fairly common," she said.
"It's quite incredible to watch and sometimes they'll toss the stingray 10m from one animal to another."
Miss Visser said the process could last from moments to half-an-hour but, while she had witnessed it, she was still trying to confirm the reasons behind it.
"It may be a case of repositioning the stingray, because it does have a sting, and it may have something to do with teaching their young," she said.
"It may just be for display, or maybe they're taking turns to carry the food around. At this stage, I really don't know."
During her research, Miss Visser began the first catalogue of orcas in New Zealand waters, and has recorded 125 in photographs. There had been no previous population count and therefore no accurate indication of how many there were, where they went or what they fed on.
Miss Visser said it was important to know more about orcas because of their position in the marine hierarchy.
"They are the top predator and are at the apex of the ecology of the ocean," she said.
"So they're a key indicator species and we need to get basic information about them before we can monitor whether their numbers are increasing or declining."
(Eds: photos available from Focus Photo Library, in Auckland, 09-3580797, although none show 'frisbee' tossing.)
Date: Fri, 22 Aug, 1997
Whale Petition's Landmark 10 million Signatures
Today, support for the Breach Marine Protection 'Popular Resolution', through its accompanying World-Wide Sign-On Petition, reached yet another significant landmark.
With the addition of a declaration of support for the 'Popular Resolution' from the Humane Society of the United States, the total individual and group sponsored signatures now stands in excess of 10 million people globally. The number of organisations signed on to the Petition is now 88 and increasing daily. Significantly, political parties from several countries are adding their voice to this attempt to stop the inhumane slaughter of the great whales and close down commercial whaling permanently.
"We feel as though we have made a major breakthrough." said David Smith, Founder of Breach Marine Protection who has co-ordinated the 'Popular Resolution' since its conception. "I cannot tell you what it means to have all these people behind this issue. It shows clearly that, despite the hype that went with the establishment of the so-called Antarctic 'Sanctuary' in 1994, most people recognise that the whales are not safe, and never will be until this unacceptable, barbaric carnage is finished off once and for all."
The 'Popular Resolution' is a draft resolution, formulated in United Nations treaty language. It shows how, by raising awareness of the cruelty issue, the International Whaling Commission can, by schedule amendment to 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), permanently ban both commercial whaling and inhumane killing of the marine mammals for which the IWC is responsible for. It is supported by the World-Wide Sign-On Petition, onto which all are invited to sign.
"Popular Resolution's Petition is a tangible means by which the general public and others can have their democratic say to the politicians who hold the fate of our cetacean cousins in their hands." Signature collection will only cease when the commercial and inhumane killing of the great whales finally comes to an ignominious end.
Click here to sign-on to the
'Popular Resolution's' Global Petition.
For more information, contact:
David Smith - Founder & Campaigns Director
Breach Marine Protection UK
Tel/Fax: +44 1405 769375 email: BreachEnv@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/breachenv/home.htm
Rapid Env. Disaster - Response. & Rescue
(R.E.'D.R.Res) Hotline: 0973 898282
Date: Mon, 08 Sep, 1997
Beluga's the Secret Travellers
Leeds, England, (Reuter) - Beluga whales, long thought to be huge stay-at-homes who hardly left the Arctic coast, are secret travellers with astonishing powers of navigation and dive to great depths, scientists said on Monday.
The discovery follows the development of new tracking techniques using the latest in radio technology. Scientists from the Sea Mammal Research Unit of the University of St Andrews in Scotland tracked North American populations of the beluga, or white WHALE.
The unit's Tony Martin told Britain's main annual science festival that the research had overturned accepted wisdom about the mammals, which can grow up to five metres long and weigh up to two tonnes.
"The Eskimos who hunt belugas saw our findings and said they were rubbish... at first," Martin said.
Instead of hugging the shoreline of the High Arctic, male belugas raced thousands of kilometres to a deep marine trench to gorge themselves on polar cod, he said. To do so, they swim under apparently unbroken ice, using previously unsuspected skills to navigate their way over thousands of kilometres and to find isolated breathing holes in the ice cover. The secrets of how the whales navigate have yet to be deciphered but the scientists believe they might find airholes by listening for faint sounds of water swirling around them.
Once at the marine trench, the whales then dived up to 550 metres to catch fish, said Martin, who said the new discovery showed the belugas were in fact "able to exploit the entire Arctic". Female belugas do not accompany the males but travel with their young -- both male and female -- to a shallower trench closer to home.
Martin told The British Association festival that the new findings could help in devising conservation strategies -- and could also force scientists to revise their estimates of the beluga WHALE population.
Official estimates of the numbers of the 18 kinds of beluga WHALE around the Arctic range from 40,000 to 80,000. Martin said this might now have to be revised to 200,000.
Date: Fri, 12 Sep, 1997
The California Gray Whale Needs Your Help Now!!!
THE CLOCK IS TICKING .......
The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has just released a Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) analyzing the environmental impacts associated with its proposal to seek a gray whale quota from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to permit the Makah Tribe of Northwest Washington to resume aboriginal subsistence whaling. It is imperative that every individual and organization concerned about whales react to the NMFS management review and submit substantive comments on the DEA opposing any effort by NMFS to seek a quota or to permit the Makah to resume whaling.
COMMENTS ARE DUE BY SEPTEMBER 22, 1997
Such a quota, if granted, would set precedent for an expansion of aboriginal subsistence whaling throughout the world and may be used as a foundation to ultimately resume commercial whaling. The available evidence suggests that pro-whaling countries are working with the Makah to secure the gray whale quota.
The DEA came about as a result of a letter submitted by Australians for Animals (AFA) and Breach Marine Protection (BREACH) alleging that the NMFS had blatantly failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act when it entered into an agreement with the Makah to seek the gray whale quota from the IWC. The DEA provides an opportunity for ALL whale advocates to raise substantive concerns and questions about the proposed quota. If enough
substantive issues are raised, the NMFS may not have any choice but to, at least, delay seeking the quota until it can address the public's concerns and comments.
Issues that you may want to raise in commenting on the DEA, include:
- The adequacy of current population and productivity estimates for the gray whale.
- The number and severity of human-caused threats to the gray whale and its habitat (i.e., coastal development, oil drilling platforms, vessel traffic, entanglement in fishing nets, ozone depletion and pollution: and industrial development in its calving lagoons in Mexico.
- The legality of the NMFS seeking a quota for the Makah under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
- The Makah application has been shown NOT to satisfy the IWC definition of "aboriginal subsistence whaling."
- The Makah application has been shown NOT to satisfy the IWC definition of humane killing.
- The direct, indirect, and cumulative impact of this decision on other whales through expanded aboriginal subsistence whaling, coastal whaling and commercial whaling.
- Failure to await the results of the "five year monitoring plan".
- The economic effect on both US and Mexican whalewhatching industry.
This list is preliminary; if you need advice, please contact: djschubert@aol.com
A copy of the DEA is available by email in an attached file or can be split from: BreachEnv@aol.com
Hard copy can be obtained by calling the NMFS, Office of Protected Resources, at: +1 (301) 713-2319 or contact D.J. Schubert at +1 (202) 588-5206 or by e-mail at: djschubert@aol.com
For NMFS address and fax no. contact: djschubert@aol.com
In addition, if you would like a copy of the original letter sent by AFA and Breach Marine Protection to the NMFS, contact D.J. Schubert or David Smith on email: BreachEnv@aol.com or +44 (0)1405 769375 (tele/fax) or 0973 898282 (mobile/ answerphone)
PLEASE INFORM YOUR COLLEAGUES, MEMBERS, AND FRIENDS
ENCOURAGE THEM TO GET INVOLVED
Please forward all copies of your comments on the DEA to:
David Smith - Campaign Director
Breach Marine Protection UK
Tel/Fax: +44 1405 769375 email: BreachEnv@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/breachenv/home.htm
Rapid Env. Disaster - Response. & Rescue
(R.E.'D.R.Res) Hotline: 0973 898282
Popular Resolution on Abolition of Inhumane
Commercial Slaughter of Whales - Sign-On Petition:
http://members.aol.com/breachenv/popreslt.htm
Date: Thu, 23 Sep, 1997
Whaling Commission Approves Combined Russian - Makah Gray Whale Quota
Russian - Alaskan Native Bowhead Quota Also Approved
MONACO -- The International Whaling Commission today adopted a quota that allows a five-year aboriginal subsistence hunt of an average of four non-endangered gray whales a year for the Makah Indian Tribe, combined with an average annual harvest of 120 gray whales by Russian natives of the Chukotka region.
A combined quota accommodates the needs of the two aboriginal groups hunting whales from a single stock. The commission adopted the combined quota by consensus, thereby indicating its acceptance of the United States' position that the Makah Tribe's cultural and subsistence needs are consistent with those historically recognized by the IWC. The Makah Tribe, located on the remote northwest tip of Washington state, expects to start its subsistence hunt in the fall of 1998 under government supervision. The Makah quota will not involve commercial whaling.
"The United States has fulfilled its moral and legal obligation to honor the Makah's treaty rights. The right to conduct whaling was specifically reserved in the 1855 U.S.-Makah Treaty of Neah Bay," said Will Martin, alternate U.S. commissioner to the International Whaling Commission, and deputy assistant secretary for international affairs for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The two countries agreed to submit a joint request for an average of 124 gray whales a year, of which 120 are for Russia's Chukotka people, and four are for the Makah Tribe. The United States and Russia tabled the joint resolution after many countries suggested that the two nations work together to address the needs of both native groups while reducing the overall quota. In preliminary proceedings, the Russian government had outlined its need for 140 gray whales a year and the Makah Tribe had outlined its need for up to five gray whales a year.
Over a five-year period, the joint quota will reduce the number of whales taken by 80 from the existing Russian 140-whale annual quota. The Commission's Scientific Committee will conduct an annual review of the gray whale stock and can recommend changes to the quota. "The approval of this joint gray whale quota reduces the overall number of whales taken while addressing the needs of native groups," said Martin.
The Makah request is unique among native peoples, in that the tribe's 1855 Treaty of Neah Bay is the only Indian treaty in the United States that expressly reserves a tribal right to go whaling. "We are pleased that the commission has recognized the cultural and subsistence need of the Makah Tribe," said Marcy Parker, Makah Tribal Council member, and member of the U.S. delegation. "We will now develop a management plan and are committed to being a responsible co-manager of the gray whale resource in our usual and accustomed whaling grounds."
The Makah have a 1,500-year whaling tradition. Tribal whaling ceased in the early 1900's after commercial whalers had decimated whale stocks and government assimilation programs forced tribal members to abandon their intricate whaling rituals and pursue an agrarian lifestyle. Today, almost half of the Makah people live below the poverty line, unemployment is nearly 50 percent, and their subsistence fish and shellfish resources are dwindling to all-time lows.
"We appreciate the support and dedication the United States government has shown the Makah Tribe in our request to resume our centuries-old whaling heritage. The Makah tribal members will now be able to again perform important whaling rituals and receive sustenance from this important and traditional marine resource. Today will mark one of the most significant events in our history with western civilization that will now be passed on through our oral traditions as a positive move toward cultural revival of vital missing links once thought lost to our people," said Parker.
The Makah Tribe will not use commercial whaling equipment, but will combine humane hunting methods with continued traditional hunting rituals, including using hand-crafted canoes. The U.S. government's environmental assessment of the hunt found it will not adversely affect the gray whale stock's healthy status, which is currently at more than 22,000. The gray whale was taken off the U.S. Endangered Species Act list in 1994.
In a related action, the commission approved on Wednesday a combined quota of bowhead whales to meet the needs of the Eskimos in Alaska and Russia. The combined quota allows an average of 56 bowhead whales to be landed each year. The Alaska Eskimos have been conducting aboriginal subsistence hunts with approval of the International Whaling Commission since the commission
began regulating such hunts in the 1970's.
"We are pleased that the commission continues to recognize the importance of the bowhead whale hunt to Alaskan Eskimos," said Martin. "The central focus of the bowhead hunt in the culture of the Eskimos is well known."
The 39-member International Whaling Commission is the sole international body with authority to regulate all forms of whaling. Under the commission' whaling regulations, native communities are allowed quotas for subsistence and cultural purposes. Such quotas prohibit the sale of any edible whale products from aboriginal subsistence hunts.
Date: Thu, 25 Sep, 1997
Ultrasonic noise can save a fish's life
By LIDIA WASOWICZ - UPI Science Writer
SAN FRANCISCO, (UPI) -- Researchers say their latest studies show the American Shad, a member of the herring family, can detect high frequency sounds -- an ability that may save its life. This adaptation, they say, may allow the fish to escape their principal predator -- dolphins.
Reporting Thursday in the British journal Nature, the investigators from the University of Maryland in College Park say they found the American Shad has two ranges of hearing. It can detect the range typically detected by most other fish and much higher frequency sounds in ranges nine times greater than those humans can hear.
The scientists speculate this ability to hear such high pitched sounds enables the fish to detect the ultrasonic clicking employed by dolphins, and, thus, escape their predator. The ability may also be present in other shad and herring. Study co-author David Mann says, "Prior to our study, scientists suspected shad and herring could detect some ultrasonic noises, but it had never been confirmed."
The results may improve efforts to use sound to protect shad and related species from being sucked into cooling water intakes of power plants. Ultrasonic sounds already are used to keep fish away from such intakes.
Mann says, "Knowledge of the range of sound that shad can hear may make it possible to use this protective technique far more effectively."
Date: Sat, 11 Oct, 1997
Killer Whale Kills Great White Shark
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Killer whales are kings of the sea -- and now there's videotape to prove it.
A clash between a killer whale and a great white shark last weekend was captured on video. The taping, apparently the first ever, has electrified researchers around the world.
"Nothing like this has been known to happen before," said Mary Jane Schramm, a naturalist who witnessed the attack.
Before the encounter Saturday off the Farallon Islands, 20 miles west of San Francisco, marine biologists assumed that killer whales and great white sharks -- the ocean's two boss predators -- avoided each other.
Wildlife enthusiasts on a cruise sponsored by the Oceanic Society received a radio transmission from a fisherman who'd seen two orcas in the area. When the boat arrived, the two orcas -- a 20-foot-long female and a youngster about half her length -- were swimming idly about.
"Then we noticed this dark shape moving in the water, giving the orcas a wide berth," Schramm said.
Soon, the female orca veered toward the dark shape, and then surged to the surface with a 10-foot-long great white shark in her jaws.
"We were stunned," Schramm said.
The whale eventually swam away from the boat and began thrashing the shark on the surface of the water, a practice orcas typically employ with their prey.
About this time, Peter Pyle, a great white shark expert with the Point Reyes Bird Observatory stationed on Southeast Farallon Island, raced to the scene. With a special underwater camera, he got within five feet of the orcas and began shooting the attack.
"The female apparently killed the shark, but she didn't eat it -- she was encouraging the calf to feed," Schramm said. "(The calf) especially liked the liver. You know how hard it can be to get kids to eat. Not him, though."
Date: Thu, 16 Oct, 1997
Russia Seeks New Whaling Quota
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia will seek to preserve its traditional hunters' current quota for killing whales when the International Whaling Commission meets in Monte Carlo next week.
Russia will ask the commission to permit the Bering Strait Chukchi tribesmen to catch 145 whales in 1998 -- the same number as this year, Vladimir Izmailov of the Agriculture Ministry's fisheries department said Thursday.
Years of illegal slaughter and the threat of extinction of some species led to a worldwide ban of commercial whaling in 1986, but traditional hunters were allowed to continue killing the whales for subsistence.
A legal loophole also allowed Japan and Norway to kill the whales for scientific reasons.
On September 10, 1997, the Russian government informed the IWC that it will allow Chukotski Autonomous Region natives in the far north-east of Siberia, to kill 5 bowheads from the Chukchi/Bering Sea stocks circa (8,150 animals). The Russian government gave that region permission to take 2 bowheads in 1996, but as of last week's trip to the region, I was unable to ascertain whether that take actually occured. I did document 6 bowhead carcassess in the Lorino/Providenya region, but 3 were older that 3-5 years and the age of the other three where undeterminable, but did not look quite that old.
Russia initially made such a request to the IWC in 1996, but withdrew their petition when it was determined they would not gain the necessary 3/4 support. The most concerning aspect of this allocation request involves the issue that, all the Chuckchi/Yupik people I talked with indicate that the gray whales they are currently permitted to take are not being made entirely available to the natives (used instead primarily for fox food), and that if it was strickly 'subsistence, there would be excess meat from the current 140 (ending this year) quota. From their estimate, 2 gray whales would feed a village of 1200 for an entire year (very relevent to the Makah Tribal request in the US.)..... there are not enough villages existing to justify the current quota allocation, so there is good reason to question why an additional 5 bowheads should be allocated to Russia.
It should be noted that the present fox farming operations are in decline, with at least 2 farms scheduled for closure in the coming months. There is a strong possibility that the Russian quota is being made to delay the closure of these fox farms, which profit the government-run 'Collective Farms' business. The Collective Farms include salmon harvesting and Reindeer harvesting operations, in conjunction with local gray whale and walrus hunting, under the guise of 'subsistence'.
As far as the argument about alternative meat not being avaliable in the region, I encountered relatively large sources of pork, processed canned meats, salmon, char and very large amounts of reindeer meat in the regions I travelled in. From my recent experience in this corner of Russia, I am convinced this request is being made to delay the closure of the remaining government Collective Farms-run fox farms in the Chokotski region.
Michael Kundu, Pacific Northwest Coordinator
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Email: arcturus@seanet.com
Date: Fri, 17 Oct, 1997
Preview of the Major Issues
49th Annual General Meeting of the
INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION
Monaco 20th to 24th October 1997
- Japan
Scientific Permits - During the 48th AGM a resolution was passed requesting Japan to "refrain from issuing a special permit for the take of Southern Hemisphere Minke whales, particularly in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary.
Japan has yet to officially confirm their take of Minke whales during this past season but are expected to have killed 440 whales within the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. More than 1,000 tonnes of whale meat flensed from these whales has already made its way into the Japanese whale meat market. An additional 100 Minkes have been taken again this year from the Northwestern North Pacific.
Japans unwillingness to cease issuing permits will certainly be discussed again this meeting. Small-Type whaling - For the tenth successive year, Japan will request an allocation of Minke whales for four of its coastal villages to "relieve the hardship" experienced in these communities since the Moratorium. The proposal for an ׂinterim relief quota" of 50 Minke whales was defeated last year.
Japan did succeed in having the commercial, socio-economic and cultural needs of these communities reviewed for discussion at this year's meeting.
- Norway
Commercial Whaling - Like Japan, Norway paid no heed to Resolutions made last year. In particular, to the Resolution calling on Norway to "reconsider its objection to the moratorium and to halt immediately all whaling activities under its jurisdiction". The Resolution also called on Norway to "maintain its policy against the export of whale meat and products" in light of evidence of illegal trading.
In defiance the Norwegian government issued an increased quota of 580 Minke whales over last year.
A stronger stance on Norway's actions seems appropriate for this years meeting but remains to be seen.
- Humane Killing
It is expected that the contentious "electric lance" a secondary killing method will again be a topic of discussion. As in previous years the lance's effectiveness will be a hot topic. The whaling nations insisting that the electric lance is the most effective secondary killing method available while recent research concluding that rather than being effective, the lance "is likely to cause extra pain and suffering to an already distressed animal". The Commission may reconvene the Working Group on Humane Killing.
- Whale Watching
The Commission is likely to continue its interest in the growth and development of whale watching internationally. The Commission has endorsed the Scientific Committee's recommended priorities for further work in the area of approach distances, activity limitations and platforms, and also that the educational, economic and social development aspects of whale watching should be discussed further at this year's meeting.
- Small Cetaceans
- Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling
Subsistence whaling quotas remained unchanged following the 1996 meeting, with the exception of an extension of the current quota for St Vincent and the Grenadines. Four aboriginal Subsistence quotas fall due for review this year: the eastern North Pacific Gray whales, east Greenland Minke whales, west Greenland Minke whales, west Greenland Fin whales. Last year the Russian Federation argued strongly for an additional five Bowhead whales for the Chukotka natives. It was pointed out that the Chukotka were not presently utilising their full Gray whale quota and that Bowheads were the most endangered whale species. A new application for a quota of five Gray whales for the Mukah Indian Tribe in the north-western United States was withdrawn last year after much debate. The proposal is expected to be put again this year.
- Other Issues
The Revised Management Scheme (RMS) Is likely to be as contentious and as laborious as in previous years. Whale Stock Assessment, the Southern Ocean Sanctuary and Scientific Research are other major issues on this year's agenda.
by Paul Hodda - Australian Whale Conservation Society
Edited by Graham Clarke - Whales on the Net
Date: Sat, 18 Oct, 1997
Sea Shepherd Releases Congressional Letter of Opposition to Makah Whale Hunt
Congressman Jack Metcalf & 43 Other Members of Congress
Deliver Condemning Letter At IWC Meeting in Monaco
MONACO, The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society held a press conference aboard the 200-foot long vessel Sea Shepherd on Saturday, October 18, 1997. At the conference, U.S. Congressman Jack Metcalf delivered an official letter of objection, signed by 44 members of the United States Congress, condemning a U.S. government-supported proposal by the Makah Tribe of Washington State to resume a controversial Gray whale hunt.
"This bi-partisan letter expresses the voice of 10% of the entire U.S. Congress -- representing about 2,500,000 voting citizens of the United States," says Sea Shepherd's Pacific Northwest Coordinator Michael Kundu, "This should send a profound international message that the people of the U.S. do not want to see any new whale hunts in our coastal waters"
The Sea Shepherd press conference was scheduled to coincide with the beginning of the International Whaling Commission's annual meeting in Monaco, at the end of which the 39-nation body will consider the Makah request, presented to the lWC on behalf of the Makah tribe by a delegation from the United States Department of Commerce.
Sea Shepherd initiated the effort to develop the letter with Metcalf's staff in early 1997. Earlier on the morning of the 18th, Kundu and Sea Shepherd President and founder Captain Paul Watson approached the IWC's Aboriginal Hunting Workshop alongside Congressman Metcalf to officially deliver the letter. The Congressman was allowed to enter the meeting with the caveat that he would not be allowed to speak during the IWC discussions. Sea Shepherd, which has openly criticized the IWC for their lack of enforcement of illegal whaling activities, was excluded from the meeting.
"We have been patrolling Neah Bay for the past two years, accompanying the Gray whales migrating by the Makah reservation on some occasions," adds Captain Watson. "But the delivery of the Congressional letter of condemnation to the International Whaling Commission's meeting in Monaco alongside Congressman Metcalf was certainly the biggest blow to the opportunistic plans of the Makah Tribal Council. The Makah now know how far we are willing to carry the voice of the U.S. public -- and we're prepared to deliver that message again next year, if we have to."
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
International Director Lisa Distefano (310) 301-7325
For Congressman Jack Metcalf
Legislative Assistant Brad Marshall (202) 225-2605
Date: Mon, 20 Oct, 1997
IWC Squabbles Pose Big Risks to Whales - Rainier
MONACO, (Reuters) - Prince Rainier of Monaco opened the International Whaling Commission's annual meeting on Monday, warning member states that their arguing risks tearing the organisation apart.
"We believe that decisions on whaling should be based on conservation considerations alone, with due respect for the rights of other nations to follow their own consciences," Rainier told the IWC's 49th annual session.
Rainier told the five-day meeting, expected to be one of the most heated in years, that bitter disputes between whaling and anti-whaling forces overlooked the main issues facing the organisation.
"As anti-whaling forces gain sufficient strength to impose their views unilaterally, the temptation will grow larger for whaling nations to defect from this commission ...reducing the IWC to a small club of protectionist countries," he said.
Pro-whaling states like Norway and Japan have become increasingly vocal in demands for an end to a moratorium on commercial whaling while anti-whaling members want to make the ban permanent.
"As it stands now, the tense conflict between the whaling and anti-whaling coalitions -- each entrenched in their firm resolve and convictions -- looks more and more like a no-win situation for the whales."
Coming from the anti-whaling camp, Ireland has put forward a controversial plan to end the deadlock and stem mounting whale slaughter that should be the main debating point of the Monaco conference. Under this plan, whaling on the high seas would be banned and only hunting in a few coastal areas for local consumption would be permitted. The IWC would regulate hunting and no new nations could begin whaling.
"Scientific whaling," the clause under which Japan hunts whales, would be banned. Japanese whale kills climbed to 540 this year from 517 last year and 288 in 1992, according to the environmental group Greenpeace.
Norway, which hunts minke whales in the North Atlantic after having registered an objection to the 1982 IWC moritorium, killed 503 whales in the last season, up from 383 in 1996 and 95 in 1992.
Date: Fri, 24 Oct, 1997
Australian Delegation's "Statement on Aboriginal Whaling"
"At its meeting on 23 October 1997, the International Whaling Commission adopted, by consensus, an amendment...of the Schedule to the Convention dealing with the taking of gray whales from the Eastern stock in the North Pacific by certain aboriginal communities...
...The schedule amendment was proposed initially by the Russian Federation and the United States of America. Australia objected to the schedule amendment in its original form and moved a further amendment to clarify the meaning of the schedule amendment and to qualify its operation. As a consequence, an amendment was accepted by the Commission to the schedule amendment. This now provides that the only aboriginal people who are authorised to take gray whales are those
'whose traditional aboriginal subsistence and cultural needs have been recognised'.
...The Australian delegation made it clear that it accepted that the Chukotka Natives' request and claim clearly met the requirements of the successful amendment to the schedule amendment in relation to the recognition of both traditional subsistence and cultural needs; whereas the request and claim of the Makah people did not.
This view was endorsed explicitly by a clear majority of the delegations participating in the debate of record referred to by the Chair.
...The Australian delegation has noted a News Release issued by the United States delegation which claims, inter alia, that the Commission has:
- 'adopted a quota that allows a five year aboriginal subsistence hunt' by the Makah people;
- indicated 'its acceptance of the United States' position that the Makah Tribe's cultural and subsistence needs are consistent with those historically recognised by the IWC', and
- 'recognised the cultural and subsistence need of the Makah Tribe'.
The Australian delegation explicitly rejects each of these claims as false and as giving an entirely erroneous interpretation of both the schedule amendment as passed (with the Australian further amendment) and the decision of the Commission itself.
Claims that the passage of the schedule amendment (as further amended by the Australian initiative) constitute an acceptance or recognition by the Commission of the validity of the Makah claims are false. They are supported neither by the terms of the schedule amendment itself nor by the record of the Commission debate. The Australian delegation has made this point in an explicit intervention in the Commission's proceedings as part of the Commission's formal record during the course of the Commission's further proceedings.
Clearly the Commission, as the only competent authority in the matter, has recognised the claims of the Chukotka Natives but not those of the Makah people.
The Australian delegation wishes its position, as the movers of the successful amendment to the schedule amendment..., to be understood without qualification."
edited by Naomi A. Rose, Ph.D.
The Humane Society of the United States
Email: narose@ix.netcom.com
Date: Mon, 27 Oct, 1997
International Whaling Commission - FINAL PRESS RELEASE 24 October 1997
1997 Annual Meeting, Monte Carlo, Monaco
The Red House, 135 Station Road, Histon, Cambridge, UK CB4 4NP
Tel: +44 (0)1223 233971 Fax: +44 (0)1223 232876 e-mail: iwcoffice@compuserve.com
The 49th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was held from 20-24 October 1997 in Monaco. The proceedings were conducted by the Chairman, Dr. Peter Bridgewater (Australia) and the Vice-Chairman, Mr Michael Canny (Ireland).
Catch limits for commercial whaling
In 1982 the Commission took a decision, which came into force from the 1986 and 1985/86 seasons, that catch limits for all commercial whaling would be set to zero.
As in previous years, the Commission did not adopt a proposal by Japan for an interim relief allocation of 50 minke whales to be taken by coastal community-based whaling.
Norway has lodged objections to the ban and has exercised its right to set national catch limits for its coastal whaling operations for minke whales. The Commission passed a Resolution calling on Norway to halt all whaling activities under its jurisdiction.
Revised Management Scheme
Although the Commission has accepted and endorsed the Revised Management Procedure for commercial whaling, it has noted that work on a number of issues, including specification of an inspection and observer system must be completed before the Commission will consider establishing catch limits other than zero. This work is ongoing. The Commission adopted Resolutions encouraging improved monitoring of whale product stockpiles, and the reporting and reduction of cetacean bycatches.
The Irish Commissioner introduced a proposal intended to break the deadlock between the governments opposed to a resumption of commercial whaling and those in favour. It would complete and adopt the Revised Management Scheme; designate a global sanctuary for whales; allow closely regulated and monitored coastal whaling within 200 mile zones by communities with a long tradition for such activity; but allow no international trade in whale products; and end scientific research catches. Reaching consensus on such a package of measures will not be easy, but Commissioners expressed their interest on continuing discussions, including bi-lateral contacts, and Mr. Canny will prepare a paper for discussion at the next Annual Meeting.
Catch limits for aboriginal subsistence whaling
This year the Commission agreed to catch limits for several stocks subject to aboriginal subsistence whaling:
- Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas stock of bowhead whales (taken by Alaskan Eskimos and native peoples of Chukotka) - The total number of landed whales for the years 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 shall not exceed 280 whales, with no more than 67 whales struck in any year (up to 15 unused strikes may be carried over each year).
- Eastern North Pacific gray whales (taken by those whose "traditional, aboriginal and subsistence needs have been recognised") - A total catch of 620 whales is allowed for the years 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 with a maximum of 140 in any one year.
- West Greenland fin whales (taken by Greenlanders) - An annual catch of 19 whales is allowed for the years 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002.
- West Greenland minke whales (taken by Greenlanders) - The annual number of whales struck for the years 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002, shall not exceed 175 (up to 15 unused strikes may be carried over each year).
- East Greenland minke whales (taken by Greenlanders) - An annual catch of 12 whales is allowed for the years 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 (up to 3 unused strikes may be carried over each year).
- Humpback whales (taken by St Vincent and The Grenadines) - for the seasons 1996/97 to 1998/99, the annual catch shall not exceed two whales.
The Scientific Committee continued its investigation of potential new management regimes for aboriginal subsistence whaling.
Scientific permit catches
Two proposed permits by Japan were considered. One is an extension of its continuing programme in the Southern Hemisphere (now 400Ä…10% minke whales from the Antarctic). The second is for the continuing programme to take 100 minke whales in the western North Pacific. The issuance of such permits is a sovereign right under the Convention. The Commission adopted a Resolution calling on the Government of Japan to refrain from issuing these permits.
Humane killing of whales
The Commission this year considered information on the use of the electric lance as a secondary killing method, and killing methods used in aboriginal subsistence hunts. Japan announced that while it maintains the view that the electric lance is still an effective secondary killing method, it intends to use rifles as the principal secondary killing method from the next season.
The Commission adopted a Resolution on improving the humaness of aboriginal subsistence whaling, and agreed to hold a Workshop of Whale Killing Methods in 1999.
Small cetaceans
Notwithstanding the different views of member countries over the legal competence of the IWC to manage small cetaceans, the Contracting Governments continue to co-operate in consideration of small cetaceans, particularly with respect to the work of the Scientific Committee. The Commission passed a Resolution encouraging all members to undertake relevant research and continue to provide information to the Scientific Committee.
The environment and whale stocks
The Scientific Committee has examined this issue in the context of the Revised Management Procedure and agreed the RMP adequately addressed such concerns. However, it has noted that the most vulnerable species to such threats might well be those reduced to levels at which the RMP, even if applied, would result in zero catches. The Committee has held Workshops on the effects of chemical pollutants on cetaceans and on the effects of climate change and cetaceans. The Commission has endorsed the Committee's work on these issues and agreed to fund work to be carried out by the Scientific Committee in the coming year to take forward the recommendations of these Workshops and specifically to design multi-disciplinary and multinational research programmes in co-operation with other relevant organisations.
Whalewatching
The Commission continues to address this issue. Last year it adopted general principles for the management of whalewatching and drew these to the attention of coastal states, and this year it took note of the educational value of whalewatching.
Southern Ocean
The Commission is providing financial support for two cruises in the Southern Hemisphere as part of the newly designated IWC-SOWER programme (Southern Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research). One is aimed at providing information on blue whales and the other at providing information on minke, blue and other whales in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. Japan is generously providing the vessels for these cruises. The Scientific Committee will continue to address matters relating to research in the Sanctuary.
Date and place of next meeting: The Commission has been invited to hold its 50th Annual Meeting in Muscat, Oman in May 1998.
Date: Mon, 27 Oct, 1997
Japan Whaling Association Statement on IWC Credibility
MONACO, Oct. 28 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released today for the Japan Whaling Association:
IWC Trashes Science and Credibility
On the last day of its five day meeting in Monaco 20-24 October, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was well on its way towards losing its last vestiges of authority and credibility.
At that day, in one day, it managed to trash science, integrity and credibility. Earlier, it had abandoned all pretence of resource management, its raison d'etre. Cynical IWC watchers are now calling the IWC the "Institution Without Credibility". They are watching closely to see if it can sink to any new lows in its next meeting in Oman in May.
The final day's adventure into the absurd began with a request by Japan to alleviate the plight of four small traditional whaling communities which, it was acknowledged, had many elements in common with the U.S., Russian, and Greenland aboriginal communities, all awarded significant catch quotas earlier. In 1994, the IWC officially recognized the great distress of the small communities and resolved to work "expeditiously" to provide them with relief.
The relief sought was an annual temporary catch quota of 50 minke whales from an unendangered Japanese coastal stock numbering more than 25,000 animals. Despite a Japanese pledge to remove all commercial aspects from the catch and use of the whales, the request -- the tenth in as many years -- was turned down. In rejecting the request, the United States had the effrontery to insist that some commercial elements would remain in the operations, after previously acknowledging that U.S. aboriginal whalers sold products from their own whale hunt. The Monaco Commissioner helpfully suggested that the Japanese re-file their request under the heading of "aboriginal whaling", asking the Japanese to adopt the same level of hypocrisy as is usually employed at these meetings.
But hypocrisy reached new heights when the major powers -- the U.S., U.K., New Zealand and Australia -- loudly declared that, although they had sympathy for the disintegrating communities, they would have to wait until the IWC adopts its long-awaited Revised Management Scheme (RMS) and ends commercial whaling. Earlier, each of the big powers had solemnly pledged never to allow the resumption of commercial whaling, with Australia even declaring that it would no longer support development of the RMS!
Thus, the IWC effectively abandoned its mandate to manage the whale resources and meet the needs of people depending upon them.
Later that afternoon, the big powers and their acolytes trashed truth and science in response to the IWC Scientific Committee's report on its thorough review and evaluation of Japan's comprehensive scientific research program in Antarctic waters. First, the Commissioner of New Zealand condemned Japan for conducting research in the so-called "whale sanctuary", ignoring the fact that the "sanctuary" only applies to commercial whaling, not research nor aboriginal whaling. Then he demanded that Japan stop its whale research program, a demand entirely out of order in view of the fact that the IWC's charter, under Article VIII, completely removes all whale research from the authority and political biases of the IWC.
Then, in his closing remarks, he called the scientific research in the "sanctuary" waters "morally and ethically wrong" although one of the reasons given for establishing the "sanctuary" in the first place was to allow research to be conducted without any of the biases that might be caused by commercial whaling. (One wonders whose standards of morals and ethics he was referring to, and whether he believes his own conduct to be "moral" or "ethical").
The main criticism of Japan's whale research program was based on allegations that it did not meet "critical needs" for implementation of the Revised Management Procedure (RMP). The RMP was specifically designed to calculate safe catch levels even in the absence of precise biological data, and "critically needs" only abundance estimates and past catch data. While acknowledging that the Japanese research results did not meet the Commission's definition of "critical needs", the IWC Scientific Committee greatly praised the new biological, ecological and stock identification information which they provided.
The Scientific Committee concluded that even though the biological data provided by the Japanese minke research program were not absolutely essential to derive a minimal catch quota from the RMP, their results have "the potential to improve the management of minke whales in the Southern Hemisphere." According to the committee report, it was agreed that the programme provided "valuable information on a number of biological parameters (recruitment, natural mortality, decline in age at sexual maturity, and reproduction)." It also provided in formation requested by the IWC's Pollution Workshop, contributed greatly to stock definition ("uniquely valuable"), and improved understanding of the minke whale's role in the ocean ecology.
While the Japanese research program is only half finished, the review committee stated that the program has already made a "major contribution to understanding of certain biological parameters" and when finished "should result in an improved understanding of the status of minke whales in these Areas."
Incredibly, the speaker from Monaco, who claimed to be a scientist, first declared that less is known about whales than about the moon and Mars, then stated that biological research on whales was not necessary. This will be news to the other members of the Scientific Committee.
Copyright 1997 Scoop, Inc. Duplication and distribution restricted. Article No. USW1997102808405535X
Date: Tue, 28 Oct, 1997
'Popular (Peoples) Resolution' Presented to the IWC
A copy of the 'Popular (Peoples) Resolution on Abolition of Inhumane Commercial Slaughter of Whales', and its accompanying World-Wide Petition, was accepted for the first time by Ray Gambell, Secretary to the International Whaling Commission on the 24th October, 1997. These documents were presented on behalf of millions of people across the globe during the IWC Commissioner's meeting in Monaco by Annelise Sorg (Breach Marine Protection's IWC representative).
Gambell was shown that, at that time, the 'Popular (Peoples) Resolution' was supported by in excess of 10,000,000 group sponsored and individual signatures. Support for the draft 'Resolution' is growing daily. Gambell was instructed to make all IWC Commissioners aware of these documents, and of the growing global community's democratic demand for the abolition of inhumane commercial slaughter of whales these documents represent. He was asked to make the 'Popular (Peoples) Resolution' an agenda item at the next IWC meeting planned for May 1998 to be held in Oman.
"The Popular Resolution's Sign-On Petition is a tangible means by which the general public and others can have their democratic say to the politicians who hold the fate of our cetacean cousins in their hands", said David Smith, founder of Breach Marine Protection and the draft resolution's co-ordinator since its conception. "It has caught the imagination of those who wish for an end to this barbaric slaughter."
"Politicians must not let these millions of people down. We are now calling for all IWC member Governments to carry out the global communities mandate and vote the contents of this draft resolution into IWC regulations," added Annelise Sorg.
Signature collection continues; and will do so until politicians listen to the will of the majority of people world wide and act to stop the inhumanity of slaughtering the Great Whales. Please make YOUR Government aware of the 'Popular (Peoples) Resolution' by contacting your relevant Minister and informing him/her of the above. Please forward all replies to 'Popular (Peoples) Resolution' Co-Ordinator, details below.
David Smith - Campaign Director
Breach Marine Protection UK
3, St. John's Street
Goole
East Yorks DN14 5QL
United Kingdom
Tel/Fax: +44 1405 769375 email: BreachEnv@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/breachenv/home.htm
Rapid Env. Disaster - Response. & Rescue
(R.E.'D.R.Res) Hotline: 0973 898282
http://members.aol.com/breachenv/redrres.htm
Popular (Peoples) Resolution on Abolition of Inhumane
Commercial Slaughter of Whales - Sign-On Petition:
http://members.aol.com/breachenv/popreslt.htm
Date: Wed, 29 Oct, 1997
Tuna Nets Face Ban to Protect Dolphins
By: David Brown Fisheries Editor
FISHERMEN will be banned from using huge "wall of death" drift nets, which are blamed for killing thousands of dolphins, under plans to be announced by the Government today.
Elliot Morley, fisheries minister, will announce at a meeting of EU fisheries ministers in Luxembourg that Britain will use its presidency of the EU from Jan 1 to broker a deal to outlaw the nets, which are used by British, French and Irish fishermen to catch tuna in the Bay of Biscay and other parts of the Atlantic.
"We have decided to bite the bullet on this issue. We have evidence that too many dolphins, sharks and other marine species are being killed in them," he said last night.
The Government will almost certainly succeed in banning the nets despite strong opposition from French fishermen who are the biggest users of them in the Bay of Biscay. Spain, the EU's largest fishing nation, has pressed for a ban for years and Italy has stopped its fishermen using them in return for compensation.
Use of the nets by British, French and Irish fishermen sparked a fish war in the Bay of Biscay in 1994 when several Cornish fishing boats had their nets cut away by Spanish vessels. The Spanish use poles and lines with hooks but can catch only about 200 tuna a day - five times less than vessels using nets.
Spanish fishermen were furious because a glut of tuna had depressed prices.
The Government move will hurt Cornish fishermen who invested heavily in pounds 30,000 monofilament drift nets to hunt tuna after tightening EU quotas drove them out of home waters. British vessels use nets fitted with "doors" intended to allow dolphins and sharks to escape, but Mr Morley said dolphins were still caught in such nets.
Mike Townsend, chairman of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, said:
"We will be seeking compensation for fishermen who have invested heavily in this equipment." (1997 (c) The Telegraph plc, London)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct, 1997
UC Davis Doctor Agrees to Examine Keiko to Help End Current Health Controversy
Dr. Jeffrey Stott Agrees to Join Blue Ribbon Panel
NEWPORT, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 31, 1997 The Free Willy Keiko Foundation today announced that, to help put an end to the controversy surrounding Keiko's health, one of the nation's most prominent professors of immunology has agreed to evaluate Keiko's immune system and make his findings public, as well as join a panel of experts being assembled to evaluate the current state of Keiko's health.
Four veterinarians have already examined Keiko in recent weeks and found him to be well, but the public controversy continues.
Dr. Jeffrey Stott, a professor of immunology and director of the Laboratory for Marine Mammal Immunology at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California at Davis, will visit the killer whale in Newport this Saturday, November 1. Stott will draw a blood sample, return with the live blood cells immediately to his laboratory in California, and begin a battery of state-of-the-art tests that will evaluate Keiko's immune system. The results will be very valuable to the blue ribbon medical panel being convened by the US Department of Agriculture and the Foundation to evaluate the current state of Keiko's health.
Complete results will be available in roughly 30 days, and will comprise a portion of the data the panel will review.
Stott said he agreed to participate in Keiko's health evaluation on the condition that he would not have to participate in the "media circus" surrounding Keiko's current health. The Foundation, respectful of Stott's time and because his activities in Newport on Saturday will be limited to drawing blood, will hold the procedure off-limits to reporters and photographers. Stott will grant interviews after his medical findings have been completed and released. The media will be welcome when the full blue ribbon panel examines Keiko at his Newport facility. The Foundation hopes to announce a date for the evaluation within the next several weeks.
Stott will be the fifth doctor to examine Keiko in the past two months. The four others who examined the whale had given him a clean bill of health. According to the Foundation, the four previous veterinarians who examined Keiko included Dr. Lanny Cornell, of San Diego, California, who has been Keiko's physician since leaving Mexico; Dr. Deke Beusse, of Oviedo, florida, who is the veterinarian for four marine parks; Dr. Michael Simon, of Las Vegas, Nevada, who cares for the cetaceans owned by The Mirage; and Dr. Dean Bauman, a Newport, Oregon veterinarian.
"We are looking forward to welcoming Dr. Stott and the blue ribbon panel to Keiko's facility in the coming weeks," said Beverlee Hughes, president of the Free Willy Keiko Foundation. "We want the public to be confident of Keiko's current medical status. Our only interest is in Keiko's health and welfare. That is why we brought him to Oregon from Mexico. That is why we have spent millions and millions of dollars to restore him to good health. What motivation could we possibly have for saying he is healthy, when he is not? It just doesn't make any sense."
As Keiko's owner, the Foundation's next goal is to move Keiko to an enclosure in a North Atlantic bay or fjord. There he will be under the care of the same team that has been assembled in Newport. He will be acoustically linked to the marine world around him.
"We are confident that Keiko will one day be ready to live in a bay pen, but the decision to move him has not been addressed yet," Hughes says. "We aren't ready to consider his full release into the wild. We will only release him if it is in Keiko's best interests, and right now it's too soon to determine that."
Copyright 1997 Scoop, Inc. Duplication and distribution restricted. Article No. BWIR1997103116405473X
Date: Sun, 02 Nov, 1997
Killer Whale Dies in Marine Park at 32
Vallejo, CA (AP) Yaka, the 32-year-old killer whale who entertained millions at Marine World Africa USA, has died, apparently of pneumonia, park officials said.
The 20-foot-long, 10,000-pound mammal had been ill for about three months before her death Wednesday, park officials said.
"It is exactly like losing a family member," said park spokesman Jeff Jouett. "There is a period of shock and denial and grief and all the stages that you go through as you try to understand how life goes on without someone or, in this case, an animal."
A necropsy performed Wednesday night and Thursday showed the preliminary cause of death was pneumonia, Jouett said.
More than 31 million people have seen Yaka perform at Marine World since the killer whale's arrival in 1969. She was the third-oldest killer whale in captivity, park officials said.
"At 32, she was one of the oldest killer whales in oceanariums, so you always have to be prepared for the worst, but since this is the first killer whale we've lost in 17 years, it is a very unusual experience," said Marine World Director Terry Samansky.
For the past 16 years, Yaka has been paired with Vigga, a fellow killer whale.
Yaka had received veterinary treatment for a fungal infection for the past three months. Marine mammal experts, consulted about Yaka's case, pointed to an infection centered in the killer whale's sinuses, park officials said.
"We sincerely appreciate the support of all the veterinarians involved in this effort," Samansky said.
"The finest talent in the world was applied to this valiant effort to preserve Yaka, and absolutely no expense was spared."
Animal activists, meanwhile, called Yaka's death symbolic of the "tragedy of captivity."
"This tragic event highlights the fact that captivity is a death sentence for dolphins and whales," said Elliot Katz, president of the Mill Valley-based In Defense of Animals. "It is time for Marine World to permanently close its marine mammal show and to begin the process of rehabilitating its remaining orca for potential release to the wild."
Date: Wed, 12 Nov, 1997
Whale Of A Tale Letting A Northwest Tribe Hunt Them Is A Bad Idea
To hear some leaders of the Makah Indian tribe of Washington state tell it, their 2,000 or so members must have an "aboriginal subsistence" whaling quota from the International Whaling Commission to preserve their culture. And last month, if you believe these leaders and the Clinton administration, they got it. But maybe they didn't, and besides, it's a bad idea.
The IWC, formed in 1946 to protect whales from extinction, imposed a ban on all commercial whaling in 1986. Only certain aboriginal groups -- Eskimos of Alaska and the Chukchi of eastern Siberia notable among them -- are allowed to harpoon whales and use them for nutritional or ritual purposes. On that score, the Makah do not qualify: They stopped whaling more than 70 years ago, and today's members neither eat whale meat nor engage in rituals. Indeed, many members oppose a revival of whale hunting. Yet suddenly, some say they have rediscovered their culture.
More likely, they've realized that by landing even a few whales they can generate as much as $1 million per animal in markets such as Japan and Norway, which continue to defy the IWC ban on commercial whaling. And the Clinton administration, citing an 1855 treaty that grants the Makah the right to hunt whales, carried the tribe's case at this year's meeting. What it got is a matter of dispute:
U.S. and Makah leaders say the tribe won the right to land four gray whales each year, to be taken out of the Chukchi quota. But IWC members who oppose relaxing the whaling ban -- because a dozen or more tribes are ready to use the Makah precedent to advance their own claims -- say that the only thing they approved was a slight adjustment in the Bering Sea quota that covers both the Siberian Chukchi and Alaska Eskimos and that the resolution said nothing about the Makah, whose quota was part of a side deal between Russia and America.
Fortunately, there's time to stop this breach in the ban before it starts. U.S. officials say that Makah whaling won't begin until late next year; before then, the IWC will meet again, when it's to be hoped it will make it clear that the Makahs were not granted a hunting license. If that were to happen, an already uphill struggle -- to avert an increase in commercial whaling that could again put these creatures at serious risk -- could become even more so, given the apparently insatiable appetites of Japanese and Norwegians for a species that, with a few rare exceptions, is not essential to any people's diet or cultural tradition.
Copyright 1997 Scoop, Inc. Duplication and distribution restricted. Article No. SBEE766534
Date: Wed, 12 Nov, 1997
Japanese Whalers Invade Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
CANBERRA (Greenpeace) -- Japan's so-called 'scientific' whaling fleet has sailed for the Antarctic in search of profits, not data, Greenpeace said today.
A five ship fleet, including the factory ship Nisshin maru (for processing whales), a sighting ship and three catcher boats, departed japan yesterday (Tuesday, 11th) and will catch whales within an area declared as a whale sanctuary by the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
"A review by IWC scientists earlier this year found the data being produced was not required for the management of whales," said Greenpeace campaigner Richard Mills.
"To call this research is an insult to science. This is a fleet without a scientific mission; the very nature of the vessels in the fleet belies any scientific purpose. The real reason for this voyage is to provide whale meat to keep the market open in Japan," he said.
A resolution passed by the IWC at its most recent meeting last month affirmed that the 'scientific' whaling program did not address critically important research needs, reiterated the Commission's deep concern over the continued taking of whales in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary and strongly urged the Government of Japan to refrain from allowing any further take.
"By keeping the whale meat market open, this operation provides cover for illegal whaling on protected species," said Mills. DNA testing of market products in Japan, reported to the IWC, has uncovered meat from protected species such as Humpback's. Orca's, Bryde's whales and even the rarer Blue whale.
"Japan should heed the call of the IWC and call this fleet home at once," said Mills. "The whales of the Southern Ocean should be left in peace."
The IWC created the Southern Ocean Sanctuary in 1994 by a vote of 23 to 1. Only Japan was opposed.
Date: Mon, 24 Nov, 1997
Baby Whales Returned to Sea
BEIJING (Nov. 24) XINHUA - Five baby whales, who apparently became lost in the tide and mistakenly swam to the shore, have been returned to the sea with the help of an aquatic products department and fishermen in Taizhou, eastern China's Zhejiang Province.
The Beijing-based "China Oceanic News" reported that the whales were caught by local fishermen when they were stranded on the shore. Each of them weighed 40-50 kilograms with a sea-blue back and a circular spouting hole on the head.
The whales, about 1.2 meters long, reportedly made crying sounds. Experts believed that they were newborn whales.
The Taizhou aquatic products bureau brought the five whales into deep ditches on the shore, and kept them alive for several days. After the baby whales recovered sufficiently, they were returned to the sea. This was the first report ever of stranded whales in Taizhou.
- Dec97 - NO NEWS COLLECTED
|
