Norway And Japan Prop Up Whaling Industry With Taxpayer Money

The governments of Norway and Japan are using taxpayer money to subsidise their unprofitable whaling industries, according to a first-time analysis of the economics of whaling released today.

Ahead of the 61st International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Madeira, new research commissioned by WDCS and WWF considers a range of direct and indirect costs associated with whaling and the processing and marketing of whale products such as whale meat. Researchers conclude that these costs, combined with declining demand for whale meat and the risk of negative impacts such as trade or tourism boycotts, make commercial whaling unlikely to produce economic benefits for either country. The findings are revealed in our new report - Sink or Swim : The Economics of Whaling Today

Heather Sohl, Species Trade and Policy Officer at WWF-UK says: "In this time of global economic crisis,the use of valuable tax dollars on the propagation of what is most likely an economically unviable industry, is neither strategic, sustainable, nor an appropriate use of limited government funds."

The Norwegian government has spent more than US$4.9million on public information, public relations, and lobbying campaigns since 1992 to garner support for its whaling and seal hunting industries. In addition, government subsidies for the whaling industry in that country have typically equalled almost half of the gross value of all whale meat landings made through the Rafisklaget, the Norwegian Fishermans Sales Organisation.

Data gathered on Japan shows a similar use of taxpayer funds. During
the 2008-09 season, the Japanese whaling industry needed US$12 million in taxpayer money just to break even. Sales of whale meat, blubber, and other whale products in Japan have made financial losses for most ofthe last 20 years, requiring Japanese subsidies to the industry of US$164 million since 1988.

Japan and Norway, in defiance of the International Whaling Commissions moratorium on commercial whaling, kill up to 2,000 whales a year, exploiting loopholes in the IWCs founding treaty that allow whaling under objection to management decisions (Norway) and scientific whaling for research purposes (Japan).

The research points out that killing more whales is likely to hurt the
whale-watching and tourism trade, and the international image of Norway and Japan - impacts which would far outweigh any economic benefits of whaling.

Sue Fisher, US Policy Director at WDCS says: "Norway and Japan are hurting tourism, a potential growth industry in both countries in order to spend millions of dollars obtaining whale meat, the sale of which makes no profit. How much longer are they going to keep wasting their taxpayers money?"

Noise Pollution

Noise pollution has become a major threat to whales and dolphins in recent years. Of all their senses, sound is the one on which they rely on most. An increasing amount of noise pollution in their environment can have a major, and even fatal, impact on the animals.

WDCS conducts research into the impacts of pollution, raising awareness of the threat though inter-governmental agreements and treaties.

http://www.wdcs.org/stop/pollution/index.php

A dead humpback whale found beached on Saturday near Dartford Bridge. It is believed that the 28ft j

ZEN PUNK called my attention!

A juvenile male humpback whale has been found dead in the Thames near Dartford Bridge, Kent, the first ever to be stranded in the river.

The 9.5m (28ft) carcass of the humpback had been spotted by members of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) off Gravesend on Thursday, who had initially guessed it was a minke whale, but no further sightings were reported until the animal was found dead on Saturday. It was subsequently recovered by a Port of London Authority (PLA) patrol boat.

A postmortem examination indicated the whale had died of starvation, and was estimated to be about two years old. Rob Deaville, zoologist at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) said: "Once [whales] get into the river system it is very difficult for them to get out again. Further tests are still pending and may provide additional information about what happened to this whale."

Humpback whales, which are found in seas around the world, usually grow to 12-15m. The shorter length of the Thames whale plus postmortem findings led the scientists to conclude it was a young animal.

Deaville said the whale may have been confused by the topography of the Thames and ambient noise, or because it was sick or because climate change caused shift of the routes - vast migrations.

In January 2006 a bottlenose whale died while being rescued from the Thames but this was the first time a humpback whale had been found in the river. Deaville said: "We were slapping ourselves in astonishment. There have only been 12 strandings of humpback whales in the UK in the past 20 years. This is an incredibly unusual event." The last humpback whale found stranded around the UK coastline was in 2007 at Port Talbot in Wales.

"Although it's obviously a sad outcome in this instance, the postmortem examination has given us a rare opportunity to examine a truly extraordinary animal at close quarters," said Deaville. "Information gathered through examinations like these will hopefully help further our understanding of such animals and also help contribute to improving their conservation status."

Strandings can also provide an insight into diseases, environmental contaminant levels, reproductive patterns, diet and other aspects of the health of cetacean populations in the seas around the UK's coasts.

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about wdcs-campaign

Our campaign
Our campaign is urgent!
The ban on commercial whaling is one of the greatest conservation victories of all time. Before it came into effect in 1986, whaling had brought entire species to the brink of extinction. Today, shocking developments are threatening its existence.
Many governments represented at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) are poised to vote for a deal that will allow Japan to slaughter whales legally in its coastal waters in return for reductions in its so called ‘scientific’ whaling in Antarctica. This coastal whaling deal would not only mark the end of the ban on commercial whaling, but offers no guarantee of stopping ‘scientific’ whaling, and it does nothing to stop Norway and Iceland’s expanding hunts.
Meanwhile, South Korea has announced that it is ready to start whaling too and is looking to the IWC to tell it how many whales it can kill.
We can only stop whaling with your help.
We rely almost entirely on the generosity of individuals like you to enable us to continue our vital work to keep the ban in place. Your donation will help us to:
Lobby the US Government to reassert its leadership role in the conservation of whales. We have already met White House advisors and they want WDCS’s advice
Persuade the other governments which are members of the IWC to oppose the deal that would spell the end of the commercial whaling ban.
Continue to investigate and expose the use of whale products in goods such as pet foods, and growing levels of international trade.
Continue to raise awareness about the cruelty inflicted on these intelligent mammals.
We campaign to stop commercial whaling at every level
We campaign in international meetings; in the press; through public protests and by encouraging governments to take stronger actions against whaling nations.
We use our scientific and legal expertise to influence votes at international meetings where decisions about whaling and trade are made.
We help smaller conservation groups around the world to mobilise their governments’ opposition to whaling.
We lead international coalitions of conservation groups, to create a powerful force against whaling.
We research where whales are hunted and how; what whalers are doing with the products; who is selling them and the impacts on the animals.
We counter publicly the misleading arguments made in favour of whaling.
Whaling cannot be viewed in isolation of the other threats facing whales, such as ship-strikes, climate change, entanglement in fishing nets and more. We press for better protection for whales from all the threats they face.

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‘We Sail for the Whale’ is an international programme from WDCS involving whale watch operators, sailors and sailing organizations around the world, working together to raise awareness of the need for Homes for Whales and Dolphins. We invite you to join in and support our campaign. Sign our call to create safe homes for whales and dolphins today.

Saving the seas for marine mammals - an article on the BBC website explaining why vast protected areas are needed to ensure the long term survival of marine mammals such as whales and dolphins. Written by WDCS Research Fellow, Erich Hoyt in June 2009.

Killer whales visit 'social clubs'

Killer whales create and visit social clubs just like people do, scientists have discovered.
Up to 100 fish-eating killer whales come together in the Avacha Gulf, off the coast of Russia.
But no-one knew why these orcas form these huge superpods, when they normally live in smaller groups.
Now scientists report in the Journal of Ethology that these groups act as clubs in which the killer whales form and maintain social ties.
Fish-eating killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Avacha Gulf live in stable groups called pods that contain an average of ten individuals and up to 20 in the largest pods.
But researchers have seen up to eight of these pods coming together to form large groups of up to 100 animals.

"As far as the eye can see, in every direction you see killer whales surfacing"
Erich Hoyt, WDCS

These large aggregations of pods are seen in numerous places around the world where large numbers of killer whales occur such as British Columbia, Alaska, Iceland and Antarctica.
It is unlikely that the whales gather for protection as they have no natural predators.
In the past researchers have suggested that the killer whales meet to increase their foraging success or to breed.
But the behaviour has not been quantified before.
To investigate, Olga Filatova of the Moscow State University and colleagues from the Far East Russia Orca project observed and photographed whales in the Avacha Gulf from a 4m long boat.
"At first we might see just a few spouts on the horizon. Then quickly we move among them, keeping a distance of a hundred metres so as not to bother them," explained project co-director Erich Hoyt of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), which provided the majority of funding for the project.
"As far as the eye can see, in every direction you see groupings of two to six killer whales surfacing, spouting then dipping below the surface."
"Each grouping has a focal mother figure surrounded by her offspring, some of whom may be full grown males with up to 2m dorsal fins that tower over the females," he says.

They also used a special underwater directional microphone called a hydrophone to record the sound of the killer whale vocalisations.
Each pod of fish-eating killer whales in the Avacha Gulf has a specific vocal dialect which could be pinpointed by the hydrophone, while individual killer whales can also be identified by the shape of their dorsal fins and markings.
That allowed the scientists to analyse the killer whales' behaviour.
The whales rarely forage and feed when they gather into a much larger superpod, the scientists found.
That suggests they do not gather to herd fish or increase their foraging success. In fact, say the scientists, depending on the type of prey, a superpod might have the effect of decreasing the feeding success of each whale making it unproductive to feed in large groups.
However, the killer whales did interact much more during these large gatherings that lasted from a few hours to almost half a day.
When meeting killer whales from other family pods, they made contact with each other, swam in synchrony and rubbed flippers much more often, the researchers found.
Sexual activity also increased, suggesting that these big aggregations provide a chance to assess potential breeding partners.
However, these behaviours likely have a greater function beyond reproduction, the scientists believe.
Club life
They enable the killer whales to establish and maintain social bonds and it is for that reason that the killer whales gather in core meeting areas and form large aggregations.
"The superpods are like big social clubs," says Hoyt. "These clubs could help them stay acquainted, could be part of the courting process but could have other functions that we need to learn about."
Maintaining social bonds is crucial for many social mammals which live and hunt together.

Looking for a mate?
But maintaining connections with the wider community may be especially important for killer whales, which tend to live long lives in relatively small communities with low birth rates.
Killer whales also face challenges with high calf mortality rates which may be as high as 50% in the first six months.
"Understanding more about their social lives, including their reproduction, will be crucial to our future understanding of them and our ability to keep their population healthy," Hoyt says.
The team has also recently extended the study outside of the Avacha Gulf further north and south along the Kamchatka coast and to the offshore Commander Islands to learn more about other killer whale groups, including the mammal-eating type of killer whale that feeds on porpoises, seals and sea otters.

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