The act of whaling is defined as “the capturing, hunting and killing of whales for primarily oil and meat” (Jackson). Whaling is an activity that was conducted all throughout history by our ancestors, dating back to 3000 B.C. For people in cold climates, whale meat acted as a major source of food and provided sufficient amounts of vitamins A, C, D, iron and protein. The excess parts of whales could be used to make light lamps, tools and sleds. Most modern societies no longer depend on whaling for resources, but it still remains deeply embedded into some cultures. The extinction of whales could prove to have major repercussions on an ecosystem or the aquatic environment. Commercial hunting of whales by several countries has greatly reduced whale populations and is threatening their existence. Conservationists also argue that whales show signs of high intelligence and exposing them to the inhumane methods of whaling and pain is cruel. These reasons are why whaling is a controversial environmental topic and is creating tensions between countries. So the question is: should the act of whaling be banned? One of the biggest arguments for banning whaling is that it is pushing several species towards extinction. According to Greenpeace, the blue whales of the Antarctic are at less than 1% of their previous numbers. West Pacific grey whale is on the edge of extinction with only over 100 remaining, and humpback whales that were previously numbered to be 1.5 million prior to commercial whaling are now only left with 20,000 (Greenpeace, 2014). Other than the obliteration of a species, whales stabilize several food chains and ecosystems within an aquatic environment. Whales can consume 40 million krill everyday (Whalefacts.org, 2014)so the ex... ... middle of paper ... ...c environment, pushes species to extinction, produces poisonous meats, and the other side presents arguments that certain species are pests, whaling is a part of tradition and culture, and contributes to the local economies. Overall the arguments for banning whaling weigh over the arguments against. Possible solutions to this issue are having people of both sides come to a compromise. The act of whaling should be more closely monitored and severely controlled, with the banning of hunting certain species of whales coming to extinction, and maybe allowing those who depend on whaling as a resource of food in harsh climates (like the Inuits) special permission to hunt. This solution provides protection for whales and time for them to reproduce, as well as making sure they will not be pushed to extinction, and still allows for hunters to harbour their small provision.
“Whales provide us with the food for our bodies, bones for our tools and implements and spirits for our souls.” “We haven’t hunted the whale for 70 years but have hunted them in our hearts and in our minds.” “Whales are a central focus of our culture today as they have been from the beginning of time.”
Australian beaches are some of the best in the world and WA beaches are some of the best in Australia. But this may soon no longer be a view held by everyone if the WA government continues to support and allow the shark culling off Perth's major beaches. Hi I'm Maya Koentgen, a marine biologist, ecologist and fellow beach user, and I'm here to tell you why shark culling needs to stop. At the moment hundreds of innocent sharks are being caught and killed and why? Because they are simply swimming in their own homes that us humans have invaded.
An English naturalist Charles Darwin (1802-1882) developed a theory of biological evolution. He studied variation in plants and animals during his five years’ voyage around the world in the 19th century. Darwin studied hundreds of species, which he researches variations between locations. His theory states that all species of organism arise and develop through natural selection. Natural selection is the process of organisms that adapt to their surrounding environment, which tend to survive and produce more offspring. Killer whales are remarked to have evolutionary links from land dwelling organisms, millions of years ago. This paper will display the evolution and natural selection of the killer whale.
In Japan, although the government appears to operate under international law, it is often found to use the "scientific research" loophole. This includes whaling in Antarctica. There are also government subsidies in place to promote this "scientific research". I understand a little about subsidies, in America we have subsidies on milk so prices are kept low enough for people with low incomes to buy milk. I am starting to see why the anti-whale people are a bit put out by Japan. If this is so important to their culture, why does this industry need subsidies to survive?
Whales living in captivity become aggravated and have been known to take out anger on themselves by self harming. In the pools they live in, metal bars are placed in between the pools to prevent the killer whales from swimming to another pool. On several occurrences, the whales have attempted to bite and break the metal bars. This leaves the whales with broken teeth and a risk of infection. Infections in killer whales can lead to death in many cases. If a whale gets an infection, they have to be taken out of the pool and placed into another pool by themselves to prevent any problems with other killer whales they live with. In many cases, whales with infections need serious care from whale specialists.
The Makah’s seemingly domestic issue of whaling has and is taking on a larger international problem. The United States plays a large part in policing the hunting of whales, one of the most recent examples being the U.S.’s ...
How would you feel if your mother was murdered directly in front of you and you were only a few weeks old and you did not know how to fend for yourself? That's what these poacher are doing of these whales. They look for mother with fairly new calves because it means they have more fat on them. The more fat the more oil they produce which makes for more money. In Greenland they kill at most ten whales a year. While in Japan they kill five hundred and thirty to seven hundred
I think that killer whale shows should be banned because killer whales can protect themselves in the wild,they can lose natural abilities to hunt and feed themselves, and that killer whale shows can ruin the population of killer whales. My first reason is that, that killer whales could protect themselves in the wild because from a website called “animals.mom.me,” it said that “Orcas in the wild have an average life expectancy of 30 to 50 years-their estimated maximum lifespan is 60 to 70 years for males and 80 to over 100 years for females. The average age of death for orcas that have lived in seaworld is 13 years old.” So this shows that if you do not capture orcas (killer whales), they will have a longer life span because they can protect themselves in the wild and can survive much longer than 13 years in an aquarium.
The latest animal rights issue to hit the public is a whale of a controversy. For decades, the public has enjoyed visiting SeaWorld and taking in mesmerizing displays of aquatic performance by orcas, the largest species of dolphins, and their trainers. Recent events have stirred up a media uproar over the safety of these creatures and their trainers. Much of what the public knows about the maltreatment of these creatures comes from a documentary released in 2013 called “Blackfish”. The breeding and captivity of killer whales for entertainment purposes poses a threat not only to the whales, but also the trainers who interact with them.
I agree with the Norwegian and Japanese positions on permitting the hunting of non-endangered species of whales as a cultural exemption. Both of these cultures have been whaling for thousands of years. One stipulation that I would add in order to qualify for a cultural exemption is that the hunting should take place in a historically accurate manner. For the Japanese, this would mean using nets to catch the whales.
The quest to gain international agreement on ethical and legal norms for regulation of whaling has had a long and troubled history. The modern phase of global concern over whaling ethics and conservationist management originated in 1946, when the International Convention on Regulation of Whaling was signed. Thus the International Whaling Commission was created. The International Whaling Commission was designed to control and mandate the whaling industry. From it’s beginning as simply a whalers club with scientific guidance, to the current day conservationist body; the IWC has undergone many revisions and transformations since the start. In 1982 the IWC voted to implement a “pause” on commercial whaling (which is still in effect today). Which major whaling nations, Japan, Norway, Peru, and the Soviet Union (later replaced by Russia) lodged formal objections, due to the fact that the moratorium was not based on advice from the Scientific Committee. One major disappointment of this regulation was due the fact that the moratorium only applies to commercial whaling. Thus, whaling under scientific-research and aboriginal-subsistence is still allowed. Japan and other countries have continued their hunt in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary under the “scientific research” loophole. However, environmental activist groups openly dispute the claims and continue their rally to end the whaling industry for good.
Captivity is the state or period of being imprisoned, confined, or enslaved, according to Wiktionary. Every year, marine parks and aquariums, like SeaWorld, make billions of dollars through ticket sales. SeaWorld estimates about 70% of their total revenue is due to their performing killer whales (Jeffs). People visit from all over the world to encounter killer whales up close. “Their beauty and power, combined with willingness to work with humans, have made them legendary performers” (Gorman). In recent years, humans have gained the ability to tame and train these creatures. Killer whales should not be kept in captivity simply because it is cruel, unnatural, and dangerous.
“Overfishing occurs when more fish are caught than the population can replace through natural reproduction”. CITATION
For almost 400 years, whales have been chased to near extinction. Vessels have travelled the globe to find and extract precious oil and gather whale meat to eat. This has resulted in over 10,000 whales being executed since the moratorium in 1986. A moratorium is a delay or suspension of an activity or a law and in this case a suspension of whaling. Also a ...
Introduction One particularly interesting sea creature is the whale shark, formally known as Rhincondon typus; it was first discovered in 1828 by Andrew Smith (Rowat 2012). This large fish is found globally in warm tropical oceans and prefers to stay within 200 meters of the ocean’s surface in waters ranging from 4.2 to 28.7 degrees Celsius (Stevens 2006). This creature can be found all across the globe in warm tropical seas. Aggregations of whale sharks have been seen off the coast of Australia at times, although it is primarily a creature of solitude. Whale sharks are filter feeders that consume plankton as well as small fish and are harmless to humans.