Weighing in on Whale Wars

I have been waiting with much anticipation for Animal Planet's new series Whale Wars to start. Last night was the inaugural episode, and I was both delighted, and disappointed. The episode started out promisingly with a confrontation with the Japanese whaling fleet, then quickly became just another reality show, with strife and conflicting personalities among the crew. While these incidents are surely important to the outcome of the mission, I still felt time is being wasted on the people, rather than the whales. Either way, I plan to continue to tune in and watch.
Now from reality TV, to actual reality.
In 1982 the International Whaling Commission instituted a moratorium on commercial whaling. Japan fought the ban for several years, then in 1986 withdrew their opposition to commercial whaling...and announced their plans for large scale *scientific* whaling. Under these guidelines they were able to whale within certain limits, conduct their supposed research, and then because it's illegal to waste the meat from whales slaughtered for research, sell the meat on the open market. Smell fishy to anyone else? It certainly does to most anti-whaling advocates. Especially since OUR research shows that most Japanese prefer beef to whale meat these days, and the majority say they rarely if never touch the stuff. It is my understanding that Japan has thousands or more TONS of the stuff frozen and stockpiled on floating refrigerator ships. So why do they keep whaling?
One reason they claim is tradition. Whaling is a tradition in Japan and many other countries such as Russia, Norway, and yes, even here in the United States where certain Eskimo tribes still practice subsistence hunting. But I seriously doubt the Eskimo have an arctic cache full of enough muktuk to feed all of Alaska, while they go out and kill more whales. The Eskimo communities work closely with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to impose sustainable limits - limits that sustain both the bowhead whale population in the Bering Sea, and the Eskimo whaling communities that depend upon the annual harvest.
Another reason Japan might be insisting it be allowed to continue its whaling practices is a desire to thumb their noses at anti-whaling countries. From some of the footage shown on Whale Wars, it seems like the Japanese whalers are treating it all like a big joke, holding up giant plaquards for the GreenPeace and Sea Shepherd helicopters to read that claim they are 'Weighing stomach contents' or 'measuring brain mass' or doing other so-called 'research'. The fact of the matter is, we learn a hell of a lot more from whales when they are still alive and breathing than we do by cutting them up.
Now from the question of Japan's right to whale, to the question of whether the Sea Shepherd oversteps their bounds in trying to stop them. This is where I have trouble forming a good solid opinion. The Sea Shepherd and its crew are the rogues of the Anti-Whaling movement. The flagship (harhar, pun) anti-whaling organization most people think of is GreenPeace. Ironically, the Captain of the Sea Shepherd is one of the founders of GreenPeace, but he was later asked to leave the group. Captain Paul Watson and GreenPeace don't get along, these days. GreenPeace, as the name suggests, is a group who's ultimate goal is a peaceful resolution to the issues they protest. They practice a passive form of protest, following the whaling fleet, taking pictures, holding up signs, and 'bearing witness' as they say to the tragedy of whaling. I have an immense respect for GreenPeace. But I have to agree with Captain Paul Watson when he said "You don't just stand by and watch while someone kicks a puppy."
The line between the Sea Shepherd's aggressive form of protest and eco-terrorism is thin. I think the question that would define it better is whether or not Japan really IS breaking international law by whaling in the southern waters. Personally, I think they are. I think they cleverly dodged the bullet, and would love to wag their behinds and say 'nany nany boo boo' to us. They're kicking the puppy and just daring someone to do something about it, and I, for one, am the type of person who would kick back. But the line is thin, my friends, and crossing that line will do more harm to our cause than good. Chain yourself to trees if you must, but don't blow up the loggers.
My thoughts will be with the Sea Shepherd and her crew, as I watch the rest of the season unfold.

Stop Illegal Whaling

Finally, Care2 has come through where Defenders and other organizations have failed me.
I have been in a tizzy since hearing on the news at least a week ago about Japan planning to add Humpback Whales to its list of 'scientifically' harvested species. In this day and age I see no reason why whales must be slaughtered in order to study them...indeed, whales in particular are more easily studied when ALIVE, so that migration patterns and communication can be studied. Japan's harvesting for 'scientific study' is nothing more than commercial whaling in disguise.

From Defenders of Wildlife: "Whaling is one of the biggest threats to whales. By the middle of the 20th century, whaling had left many populations severely depleted. The International Whaling Commission introduced a moratorium which continues to this day. However, there are still some exceptions to this moratorium. This allows countries like Norway, Iceland and Japan and the aboriginal communities of Siberia, Alaska and northern Canada to continue their annual whale hunts. "
Since the international ban on whaling in 1986 more than 30,000 whales have been slaughtered. Japan has already overstepped its bounds in the hunting of commercial fishes, we cannot allow them to continue to expand their control over our marine mammals as well. Whales are an apex and keystone species of the marine ecosystem, and the health of our oceans depends upon, and is reflected in the health of our whales. Please do your part to help them now, but signing this petition today!
Stop Japan's Illegal Whaling!

Super Big Birthday Update!

Is it a coincidence that my birthday is in the same month as Defender's of Wildlife's anniversary? Perhaps, perhaps not. The card I received from my Grandmother today said "To a very special granddaughter who blends in with nature." Thats a great compliment, in my opinion!
In honour of Defender's anniversary I'm posting this list of some of their greatest accomplishment's over their 60 years of service to nature, along with updates on the subject and links you can click if you'd like to help in their continuing efforts in these areas.

Wolves: Defenders led a decades-long battle against wolf opposition to return these iconic predators to the wolf paradise which is Yellowstone National Park. Wolves were finally reintroduced in 1995, and have made an amazing come back! Their numbers are finally high enough that they can reclaim their place in the Yellowstone ecosystem, hunting Bison as they are meant to do. Not only is this great for the wolves, but it helps keep Yellowstone's Bison and Elk populations healthy. North American Grey Wolves still have a long road to travel though: we're still fighting to keep their protections and keep anti-wolf officials in New Mexico, Alaska, Wyoming and Idaho from trying to exterminate them! Take Action to help Wolves.

Bald Eagles and California Condors: The Bald Eagle is the internationally recognized icon of of the United States of America and our national symbol, but 50 years ago there were fewer than 500 nesting pairs in our country! Since then the banning of various pesticides (DDT, Carbofuran), efforts to protect habitat and crack down on illegal shooting of the birds has brought their numbers back up to somewhere around 70,000. But Bald Eagles and California Condors still share one common enemy: Lead shotgun pellets. Studies in California suggest that the most common threat to the endangered Condor is lead poisoning from ingesting shotgun pellets found in carrion. Recently legislation passed a key committee in California to reduce the use of lead shotgun pellets. Learn more about endangered avians!

Dolphins and Sea Turtles: You know that 'Dolphin Safe' lable you now see on your tuna can? That's because of a ban on large-scale drift nets that Defenders helped put in place in the 80's and 90's. Countless dolphins, whales, sea turtles and 'junk fish' have been unintentionally maimed and killed by drift nets, so continue to make sure you only buy dolphin safe tuna! Defenders thoughtfully supplies us with a list of which retailers sell dolphin safe, or non-dolphin safe tuna here.

Here are some of Defenders' most recent successes!

Defenders' supporters helped defeat a proposal to expand hunting near Alaska's McNeil River State Game Sanctuary and Refuge, potentially saving the lives of Brown Bears and other species.

Cook Inlet's Beluga whales have all but vanished, but pressure from Defenders' supporters convinced the National Marine Fisheries to reverse its earlier decision about the whales and propose listing them as an Endangered Species.

Finally, THANK YOU GOV. O'MALLEY! Just yesterday Mr. O'Malley signed a ban on commercial harvesting of Maryland's beloved Diamond Back Terrapins, which over harvesting had reduced to a quarter of their population two decades ago. GO TERPS!

I'd have more pictures for you, but blogger is having mental problems. Another update tomorrow because it's my birthday and I can do whatever I want to, nyah! Tomorrow a highly belated feature on the newly classified Bornean Clouded Leopard.