"Beluga Whale." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
The issue has raised a lot of awareness throughout the world, and many countries have banned the practice of the slaughtering because of Japan’s display of animal cruelty. Due to increasing negative health effects on human health, inhumane mass slaughtering, and the negative impact it has on other species, the fight to end whaling has become a widely recognized issue throughout the world. On the southern end of Japan, there is a small fishing town called Taiji. Although the population peaks just over 3,000 people, this place holds a very dark secret that most of the Japanese population, until recently, is unaware of. It is home to “the cove.” Every year between the months of September to March, approximately 20,000 dolphins are slaughtered in the cove and sold for their meat or into captivity.
In 1986, The International Whaling Commission (IWC) implemented a moratorium to stop commercial whaling. Many people believe that this would save the whales and end forever the industrial slaughter that had decimated the many different species. Being an animal lover and just getting back from Florida for over a year, I realized how beautiful and important the ocean and the animals that live in it are. In Florida I saw many different types of ocean species, but I have never seen a whale in real life. And that made me think.
Commercial Whaling was banned back in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission (MadMermaids Scuba Ltd.). The reason it was banned back in 1986, was because in 1950, whales were consider threatened, then endangered in 1963. Some countries still continue to harpoon whales and it is currently aiming to hunt a total of 1,035 whales (MadMermaids Scuba Ltd.). After 12 years of business a sushi “Hump” restaurant has been closed for serving illegal whale meat (Barboza). The meat from endangered species cannot be sold legally or served in the United States.
Native Languages of the Americas Website. “Native American Whale Mythololgy.” Web. 2013. April 1, 2014. Native Languages of the Americas Website.
“The Japanese and other countries have been hunting whales since the 1800’s”, studies that were recorded in 1986 have shown that over 30,000 Minke whales have been killed.4 People should pay attention to this because an animal is being hunted and is near extinction. According to Sea Shepherd, “The taxonomy of Minke whales is currently in question, and soon there may be three species of Minke whales.”1 The Antarctic Sanctuary or the Southern Ocean Sanctuary was established in 1994 devoting 19 million square miles of waters is dedicated to the whales for feeding,” ABC News2 . Minke Whale Hunting is a global, national, regional, and local problem because the earth will have another animal that is extinct. By reducing the demand for sushi, by preventing the Japanese from hunting the whale, and enforcing the Antarctic Sanctuary Law, marine biologist and Oceanic Conservation can protect the Minke Whales before they are extinct. The Antarctic Minke Whale is the largest of the Minke whales family.
However, Japanese government is yet comment on these bribery allegations. The issue of Japan’s whaling has existed for a long time in the world. McCurry (2010 ) maintains that according to the IWC’s 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling, Japan is allowed to kill about 1,000 whales from Antarctic waters every winter for scientific research (McCurry, 2010). However, today’s Japan bribes small nations for their support on the success of the proposal of limited commercial whaling. Japan not only maintains that it has the right of scientific whaling but also proposes that they should have the right of commercial whaling at the Morocco meeting.
Web. 04 Jan. 2014. . "Our Mission: To save Sharks and Mantas." Shark Savers. N.p., n.d.
Conservation and sustainability of whale populations has been ignored for a long period of time, leading to possible extinction for many species. Whaling ... ... middle of paper ... ...eo retrieved November 20, 2004, from the following website: http://www.orcaconservancy.org/captivity Horvath, Beth. Gray whales. Lecture given on July 27, 2004 during a Marine Mammals class through AuSable Institute. International Whaling Commission (2004).
In 2004 the European parliament ceases all active sonar. Works Cited "Bad News for Whales and Dolphins: Navy to Expand Sonar Testing - NBC News." NBC News. N.p., n.d. Web.