Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Positive And Negative Impacts Of Whaling
International whaling commission
Positive And Negative Impacts Of Whaling
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Positive And Negative Impacts Of Whaling
Introduction
Whaling has become a global environmental issue as vast numbers of whales are killed commercially and scientifically every year. Intense debate on the necessity of whaling has been stirred but failed to be resolved due to the lacking of pragmatic measures employed by the responsible parties. Whaling nations continue to defend their whaling right for cultural and research purposes. Yet, ethical and humanity issues are among the controversial disputes raised by concerned public. In February 2010, International Whaling Commission (IWC) proposed a plan of lifting whaling ban by limiting scientific whaling activities with the intention of reducing overall number of whales killed besides solving the current impasse between pro and anti-whaling nations (Yamaguchi 2010). Statistics has revealed that 31,000 whales have been killed for commercial purposes while 12, 000 whales hunted lethally under scientific research since 1986. This leads to a critical extinction faced by Antarctic blue whales and Pacific gray whales (Tinch 2009). After series of negotiations, Japanese government finally decides to compromise by reducing the whale catch quota for annual research hunts with the condition of resuming commercial whaling (Yamaguchi 2010). However, one of the anti-whaling nations, Australia, has voiced out a strong disagreement and planned to take international legal action to cease whaling research (Yamaguchi 2010). Consequently, all the arguments above eventually lead to the investigation question:
“Should whaling ban be lifted?”
The three basic areas of investigation include
• Background of whaling
• Arguments for the lifting of whaling ban
• Arguments against the lifting of whaling ban
Sources in this inves...
... middle of paper ...
...re well preserved in future.
(1996 words)
Works Cited
Morishita J, 2006, Multiple Analysis of the Whaling Issue: Understanding the Dispute by A Matrix, Marine Policy, 30:802-808.
Gales N., 2007, Is Japan’s Whaling Humane?, Marine Policy, doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2007.08.004.
Papastavrou V., 2006, In the Name of Science? A Review of Scientific Whaling, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Bristol, UK, pp1-16.
Tinch R., 2009, Sink or Swim: The Economics of Whaling Today, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), viewed 30 April 2010 .
World Wildlife Fund – International, 2006, Japanese Scientific Whaling: Irresponsible Science, Irresponsible Whaling, World Wildlife Fund – International, Switzerland, viewed 1 June 2010, .
Should killer whales be kept in captivity? Killer whales are mammals that travel in schools. These mammals eat large fish, seals, and even other whales. Killer whales can be dangerous, and are really big animals. When looking at all the evidence about killer whales in SeaWorld, laws and actions need to be enforced with this dangerous activity.
Robert L. Pitman. "Whalewatcher: Killer Whale: The top, top Predator ." Journal of the American Cetacean Society (2011): 2. Journal.
The most effective piece of this documentary, however, was neither the structure of the film nor the specific questions that one is forced to answer regarding the ethical treatment of these killer whales, but the overall questions of whether or not these corporations should be allowed to continue their cycle of abuse toward the animals and whether or not we, as patrons, should encourage their behavior by giving them a monetary profit every day, every month, and every year. Ignorance is forgivable, but with the knowledge given in this documentary: the final two questions raised should be able to answer themselves.
“An open letter to the public from the President of the Makah Whaling Commission.” www.Conbio.rice.edu/nae/docs/makaheditorial.html
In the past twenty years a large amount of bottlenose dolphin have been killed due to the tuna fishery. In the Eastern Pacific swim large schools of tuna, these shoals tend to be under herds of dolphins, for some unexplained reason. Because of this, fishermen can easily find schools of tuna. The tuna are being caught under purse seine nets, which encircles the shoals of tuna and then is pulled back on board the fishing vessel, catching both tuna and dolphin. Initially the mortality rate was 500,000 each year for dolphins alone. Although some efforts are made to encourage the dolphins to leave the net by backing down part of the net, which allows the dolphins to escape, there are still a large number of mortalities (Bryant). On the other hand, in the last few years there has been dramatic progress in stopping the fishing industries from using purse sine nets. It has been found that dolphins are in immediate danger of extinction if these fishing techniques don’t stop.
“… building a tank the size of Rhode Island wouldn’t be large enough for a six-ton male killer whale such as Tilikum, an animal capable of swimming 100 miles a day,” states an anonymous whale expert. Whales have been in captivity since 1861 when P.T. Barnum displayed the first live whale that was captured in Canada. However, Barnum had no idea how to care for the mammal and it died after only a week in captivity. (Animal Legal and Historical Center, 2014) Being up close with killer whales could give us some clues about how they interact with each other, including physical behavior, their dialect, and how their pods work together as a family unit. However, what we are finding is that whales who belong in the wild are suffering in captivity. Killer whales have no record of ever harming a human being in the wild. In captivity, there have been many incidents of killer whales harming or even killing their trainers. What would cause them to do this in captivity, but not in the wild? They have been known to resort to aggression toward themselves and each other, in what scientist believe to be a stress induced behavior. (Animal Legal and Historical Center, 2014) Evidence against having these wild animals in captivity is increasing and we need reevaluate the value of capturing and holding killer whales for our educational purposes, enjoyment, and profit.
In this research report I will discuss the Killer Whales unique characteristics; complex migratory patterns, how and why it is endangered, and most importantly how we can help them.
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.
Currently, live whale performances have become well liked for tourists to visit. When they are there, they only see what they want to see and do not care or want to know all about the complications the whales go through just to make people smile. The documentary “Blackfish” exposes the truth about the whales, their habits, and why they act the manner they do when in captivity. The inhumane treatment of whales in captivity causes negative effects on the animals which, in turn, affects the humans who care for 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.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society "The Makah Whale Hunt" 02 Online. Internet 3 Febuary 2003. Available www:seashepherd.org/media_info/asp.
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.
Francis, David R. “Communities of Killer Whales.” The Christian Science Monitor. National Newspapers Core, 15
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 ...
Riley, M. J., A. Harman., and R. G. Rees. 2009. Evidence of continued hunting of whale sharks Rhincodon typus in the Maldives. Environ. Biol. Fish. 86:371-374. (DOI:10.1007/s10641-009-9541-0).