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The Best Science Writing Online 2012
Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...
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Whaling has been banned since 1986. And yet the actual number of whales killed each year has been increasing steadily. Japan, Iceland, Norway and indigenous groups hunted and killed at least 17,000 whales over the last decade.
[audio clip of minke whale song]
That's the song of an Atlantic minke whale —and minkes are often the type of whale in the cross-hairs of Japanese and Scandinavian harpoon ships. Whale meat isn't confined to those countries; a sample showed up in a California sushi restaurant in March.
But there’s an effort to hold back the rising tide of whaling. A group of countries, including the U.S., has proposed permitting a limited amount of whaling . This would allow for the return of the commercial whaling that Ronald Reagan led the charge to ban. In exchange, whaling countries would accept quotas for the number of whales they could kill . The proposal will be voted on at the end of June.
Unfortunately, those quotas over the next decade would be exactly the same as the number of whales hunted and killed today for so-called "scientific purposes ." So the plan might slow the steady creep up in whaling. But it wouldn't halt, or even curtail, the current hunt.
—David Biello
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13 Comments
Add CommentMaybe we should organize a "Save the Politicians" campaign.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisthey wont care till they are gone....what if a higher alien race were to come hunt us? how would we feel then? would quotas be enough....no one will do anything until it bites them in the face...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBlue fin Tuna fishing quotas have been in place for a long time now. Recently Japan humbly apologised for exceeding its quotas for the entire period - they claim they have no idea by how much. Their quota was increased as a result.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhen you have people with the integrity of the Japanese around, no quota system is ever going to work. Remember Japanese whale fishing is a government enterprise that looses money every year.
Ban whale fishing, boycott Japanese goods. For the first time this year I will not replace my Honda with another, my new car will not be Japanese.
I still don't see the point how hunting will save them. No matter what... we're still taking away numbers from their populations. How is there growth? Is there growth or recovery of whale numbers? The activity of whale hunting needs to be banned no matter what. Quotas never work because whalers will continue to argue that the numbers are too low and would want to increase the capture number.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDo not allow this pseudo-science to be used as an excuse for legalization of whaling. Please join us in taking action in supporting & encouraging anti-whaling nations in phasing out whaling. Banning all forms of whale hunting is true conservation!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFew days left to make our voices heard. Delegates from around the world will be joining to determine the future of the whales. A number of pro whaling nations are seeking to lift the ban and hunt openly, help save the whales !!!
http://WhalingNoMore.org/
I keep wondering if Japan is going to humbly apologize once Blue Fin Tuna go extinct?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhen they banned ALL ivory sales and elephant hunting in Africa the elephant population PLUMMETED. Except for one single nation. They were the only holdout that refused to sign on to the agreement. Instead they began to sell elephant hunts and their population defended and cultivated their herds instead of poaching them. FAR more $$$ came in to those natives than to the countries that outlawed and the poor natives poached. The single hold out herds more than doubled in 10 yrs. Just exactly like socialism, Protectionism NEVER EVER works. For more details on tis true story see old ABC 20/20 stories.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLook, these are people convinced that their lives depend on whaling for survival. The only way you're going to stop people from killing whales is to both provide them with a means of survival without whaling, and then convince them that whaling is detrimental to their lives. Yes, it's selfish, but that's life. And the only way to do both those things, is to ensure they have another food source, and then make a highly visible spectacle out of killing the whalers in action. Once the risk becomes too high, it'll stop.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat's the only way it's going to stop. Laws and resolutions and political blathering mean nothing to people in the survival mindset.
What is the problem with hunting a limited number of whales? Why are whales more special than tuna or sea bass? I think it's emotion, not science.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn a civilized society the killing of whales would be treated as murder and the serial killers sentenced to life in prison or executed. Problem solved for the whales.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSoccerdad,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this1st: Whales are not hunted but slaughtered. Hunting is something you do with animals that have a chance to hide or flee. Whales don't have this chance.
2nd: According to research on whales' neural systems, it is not impossible that they have a mind which is similar to ours in intelligence and the ability to feel love, fear and many other emotions. They even may have a kind of intelligence and emotions which we do not understand.
An arrogant "what is the problem" is inappropriate as long as we know so little.
Scientific Eartling,
I support your ban of Japanese goods.
Minke whales aren't really an endangered species.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisO PPLEASE
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