Whale hunting and whaling
Click here for the latest news on whaling & the IWC
Humans have hunted whales for many centuries, and we nearly hunted them to extinction in the 20th Century. It was only at the very last minute that we realised what we were doing and moved to banish hunting and save the whale. (Read a brief history of how whale hunting was stopped - neatly. IWC - The 40-year struggle to reign in an industry).
A few countries still persist with limited, but growing, whale hunts, namely Japan, Iceland and Norway. While no one will object if the Inuit people harpoon a whale or two, as they have done for hundreds of years, commercial whaling very loosely disguised as 'research' is not only immoral, but downright foolish.
Lets not pretend that whales are being hunted for 'research'
So lets not pretend that whales are being hunted for 'research', lets think how much more valuable they would be alive than dead. What would we say if in a few years time someone decided that we should hunt Mountain gorillas for 'research' purposes?
The IWC in recent years has taken some encouraging steps in changing its emphasis towards conserving and studying whales, most recently in 2003 with the establishment of a Conservation Committee.
Loopholes
However, the whaling nations of Japan, Norway and Iceland retain politically influential whaling industries that wish to carry on whaling on as large a scale as possible. All three countries are exploiting loopholes in the Whaling Convention in order to kill nearly 2,000 whales each year despite the IWC's moratorium on commercial whaling.
Norway hunts whales under its objection to the moratorium, and Japan has been whaling under the guise of "scientific research" (see WWF's document "Irresponsible Science, Irresponsible Whaling" linked later in this document). Iceland joined the IWC with a formal objection to the moratorium in 2002 and, although claiming they would not undertake commercial whaling before 2006, immediately began a "scientific whaling" program.
During the 2007-08 season, Iceland killed six Minke whales and in January 2009, the country announced a dramatic increase in its whale quotas for the next five years saying it would catch 100 Minke whales, and 150 endangered fin whales.
Whale hunting news from other websites
- NB. These are links to external news stories, Wildlifeextra.com is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
- International Whaling Commission, the latest news from the BBC.
- Greenpeace pictures of whale being harpooned.
- IWC 2006 and South Atlantic whale sanctuary.
- More Japan supporters join IWC.
- Humpbacks to be targeted. May 2006.
- 'Scientific' whaling unsustainable, says report.
- We need to save the whales again.
- Results of Japanese whale research, they eat fish!
- Norwegian whaling.
- Finland and Sweden protest about Norwegian whale hunt.
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Is southern Sri Lanka the world's top spot for seeing blue and sperm whales?The Blue whales off the coast of Sri Lanka.
Southern right whales of South Australia.This is one of the best viewing areas in the world with up to 70 whales, including calves, congregating in the seas adjacent to the Bunda cliffs.
- Approach whales from the side, not from the front or the rear.
- Approach no closer than 100 metres and shift your motor into neutral or idle.
- Keep noise levels down - no horns, whistles or racing of motors.
- Start your motor only after the whales are more than 100 metres from your vessel.
- Leave the area slowly, gradually accelerating when you are more than 300 metres from the whales.
- Approach and depart slowly, avoiding sudden changes in speed or direction. Do not "leapfrog."
- Avoid disturbing groups of resting whales.
- Maintain low speeds and constant direction if travelling parallel to whales.
- When whales are travelling close to shore, avoid crowding them near the shore or coming between the whales and the shore.
- Limit the time spent with any group of whales to less than 30 minutes at a time when within 100 to 200 metres of whales.
- If there is more than one vessel at the same observation site, be sure to avoid any boat position that would result in encircling the whales.
- Minimize the time spent and the number of vessels with any one group of whales.
- Limit time, as above, and then move out to allow other vessels access to good viewing positions.
- Coordinate activities by maintaining contact with other vessels, and ensure that all operators are aware of the whale watching guidelines.
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- 20th January. 6 Bottle Nose dolphins off Stonehaven. (Courtesy of Ian Sim/Seawatch.)
- November. Humpback feeding off Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, possibly in the area for 2 weeks. Interacting with Bottle Nose Dolphins. (Courtesy of Ian Sim/Seawatch.)
- September. Minke whale found dead on Devon beach.
- August. 2-3 Minke whales off St Abbs Head/Coldingham Bay in Berwickshire.
- August. Minke whale in Fraserburgh Harbour.
- July. Northern Bottlenose whale strands in River Orwell, Ipswich.
- June. Humpback seen off North Devon.
- June. 10 Minke whales sighted off the Isle of Man.
- May. Several Minke sightings off Isle of Man, plus a Sei whale.
- May. Repeated sightings of Orcas off Orkneys
- May. Rare sighting of Bottlenose dolphins in the Channel, click here for details.
- April. Several Orca sightings off Northern Ireland
- April. Fin whale in the Moray Firth.
- April. Orca seen off Isle of Man.
- March. 2 Humpbacks seen off Anglesey/Isle of Mann.
- March. 3 Killer whales seen off Shetland.
- March. Sperm whale strands on Orkney.
- March. 6 Killer whales seen off Orkney.
- March. A pod of 15 Sperm whales seen by fishermen off Caithness.
- January. A pod of nine killer whales seen in the Firth of Forth.
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