Jill Gustafson

Jillian Gustafson

Ms. Tetterton

English 1200-50

26 April 2010

Project 1

Whaling: Research or Senseless Killing?

One night, while flipping through the television channels, I came across a show called “Whale Wars.” It immediately caught my attention because I had never even heard of this controversial issue of whaling before now. After watching on television a group of people fight for something they were so passionate about, I soon wanted to learn more about this issue. Whaling is a practice in which primarily the Japanese kill whales for what they call “research” when in reality they are just killing the harmless creatures for their meat. When I went into further research I learned that the Japanese consumers aren’t buying as much whale meat as in the past, but still the same amount of whales are being killed, leaving tons of whale meat stored away in freezers. Now whaling is being wasteful? I don’t know of a better time then now, that whaling needs to be put to a halt for good. Currently, there are many conservation societies trying to stop whaling, but much more needs to be done. Whaling should be immediately stopped and should become illegal in all bodies of water before most species of whales, being hunted, become extinct. How can this be done? I believe the first step in saving the whales is to make the public more aware of this issue. Most likely many people, like myself previously, have never even heard of whaling before, and if they did I am sure they would be outraged like I was. The population as a whole needs to come together and defend these defenseless creatures, so we can put a stop to this horrible practice of whaling.

Fortunately whaling is not affecting all species of whales, but commercial whaling is leading to many whale species becoming extinct. “Between Norway and Japan alone, together 1,000 minke whales are killed every year” (Whaling). The species of whales that are currently being hunted are “minke, blue, right, bryde, sperm, and humpback” (Whaling). The population of the species of whales “may be far less numerous then originally estimated and they have not shown any clear signs of recovery despite decades of protection” (Whaling). The number of whales in the population is startling lower than it was originally expected. This being said, more whales are being killed by the Japanese then are being recorded, making it harder and harder for the whale population to regenerate itself. Has the whale population dropped to a point of no return? Will the oceans soon be barren of many species of whales? These points are hard to even fathom but at this rate, if whaling is not stopped soon, anything is possible.

Whaling has been going on since before World War two. “Whaling was not in the public spotlight until 1986” (Phelan). This is because people were just beginning to take notice of the large amounts of whales that were being killed every year. The International Whaling Commission was created to govern the countries that participate in the practice of whaling. “Article 8 of the International Whaling Commission founding treaty permits lethal sampling for the purposes of research, and allows for the public sale of whale meat as a by-product” (Phelan). This article founded by the International Whaling Commission allows the Japanese to kill the whales for research and then sell the whale meat when they are done. I believe this article is flawed because it gives the Japanese an excuse to sell the whale meat. The Japanese are not allowed to just hunt the whales for their meat, but they find a way around it by “researching” the whales first, then selling the whale meat. Even though the International Whaling Commission was created to regulate whaling it has “clearly failed to govern whaling substantially. Quotas were to high and often violated. As many as tens of thousands of whales were being illegally killed each year” (Whaling). Even though there are quotas for how many whales the Japanese can kill it is not an “effective regulation of quotas and species restrictions may very well be impossible-factory ships process whales at sea, making it difficult to tell what species and how many marine mammals are represented by the hunks of meat that are off-loaded at ports”(Whaling). Also, it is nearly impossible for the Commission to keep track of whales species, because they continually migrate and they are undersea, making it very easy for the quotas set in place by the Commission to be violated. Japanese whaling fleets spend most of the year out at sea, making it very expensive to hunt whales because of the cost of the fleets fuel, and food. Most Japanese whaling fleets have upwards four boats out in one spot hunting together making it even more expensive. The Japanese “need to kill at least 765 whales to break even” (Phelan). Because of this high number it is clearly not an ethical way for the Japanese to be “researching” the whales. This points out another controversial issue. Is whaling really used strictly for research purposes or is it used for the sale of whale meat?

“Japan is using marine science as a cover up for its ongoing trade in whale meat” (Phelan). The issue of killing the whales for research is just merely an excuse the Japanese use to get permission to continue the practice of whaling. The Japanese get around the issue by saying the practice of whaling is strictly for the purpose of research because the Japanese know, and the Commission has clearly stated, hunting whales solely for the purpose of selling the meat is illegal. This excuse is very questionable because of the fact that they turn around and sell the meat to the Japanese population. “Whale hunters say that they catch the animals for scientists to research what the whales are eating” (Whales). If this is true then where is all the research data that the Japanese has collected from all the whales that have been killed? The truth of the matter is the Japanese only want to sell the meat; they don’t need to do research. All the Japanese care about is the money and not the whales. But the consumer consciousness may be the only thing that can save the whales right now. Up until, and during, World War two, whaling was a delicacy and enjoyed by much of the Japanese culture. But it is not readily enjoyed as much anymore. The Japanese food market just cannot handle the amounts of whale meat coming in from the seas. Now along with the anti-whaling countries thinking eating whale meat is taboo, times have changed and more and more Japanese people are cutting whale meat out of their diet.

Because of the large population, many people, especially the older generation, still eat a large amount of whale meat but the number of people as a whole is dramatically dropping. “Japanese fisheries Agency claims that up to 5000 tones of whale meat are consumed every year in this country” (Phelan). This number should drop increasingly over the next couple of years as new generations grow older and the older generation dies out. The Japanese whaling industry may be falling quickly due to the lack of interest of eating the whale meat, especially in the younger generation. “A survey conducted by the Nippon Research Center in 2006 found that 95 percent of Japanese have never eaten, or very rarely eat, whale meat” (Legros). Whale meat used to be a delicacy, but in current times whale meat is starting to loose its luster. The Japanese “don’t eat the meat because its scarce, they just don’t like it” (Phelan). Whale meat is readily available to the Japanese public due to the high numbers of whales being killed every year. Even with the high availability of the meat, due to the flavor of it, the younger generation of Japanese people just aren’t interested. A Japanese restaurant owner of the Japanese restaurant “Paddock” “doesn’t serve the meat because it doesn’t taste good” (Phelan). I have never and will never try whale meat, but for people that have tried it, they say the taste of whale meat resembles that of a moose, or a reindeer. Whaling activists don’t understand why whale meat is even served because other fish meat is much more delicious and much more readily eaten. “Demand is so low that in 2007 more than 4,000 tons of unsold frozen whale meat was stored in Japanese warehouses” (Legros). With the tons of unsold whale meat sitting in freezers, the quotas of whale the Japanese are allowed to kill a year still stays the same. Due to this, currently “3000 tones of whale meat are now sitting unwanted in cold storage” (Phelan). These new revelations are very maddening to whaling activists making us ask then why kill more whales then necessary? Before more whale meat piles up in the freezers something needs to be done to stop it.

One of the most active, and political conservation organization agencies is the Sea Shepard. The Sea Shepard was “established in 1977” (Phelan). The Sea Shepard is an “international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization whose mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the worlds oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species” (Who We Are). The Sea Shepard “uses innovative, direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas” (Who We Are). Because of the Sea Shepard’s hard work and motivation for the cause they save hundreds of whales every year. If more people were educated about the issue and knew how to help, I think the public alone could make huge progress in ending whaling and saving the whales from these senseless killings. “The Sea Shepard’s opposition is proactive to the point of ramming its own ships into whaling vessels” (Phelan). With what whaling activists are up against, the huge machine and man power of the Japansese whaling fleet, it is going to take a little more than the stink bombs, and other homemade defense mechanisms, to stop whaling. We need more organizations like the Sea Shepard’s, to step up and fight this problem head on. I believe if more people are educated about the topic and more people took action, either by joining an activist group, or even as simple as donating to the cause, we can make whaling a thing of the past.

The Japanese are using research as an excuse for selling and making money off of the meat the whales they hunt and kill. Because of the high quotas the International Whaling Commission allows them, the whale population is dropping dramatically, soon to the point of no return. Even after the Japanese interest of eating whale meat is dropping, the numbers of whales being hunted every year stays the same. Because of the over hunting of whales there is a large amount of whale meat currently being stored in freezers un-eaten. This maddens whaling activists even more making it even more crucial that something be done to stop whaling or even for right now, just slow it down. Because of the increasing education and support people have for this issue, through conservation societies, like the Sea Shepard’s, and the decreasing interest in whale meat as a delicacy, the end of whaling should be in sight.

Jill Gustafson

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Cover Letter