Whaling // Current TV

YouTube - IFAW Efforts for Whales

Pierce Brosnan on Capitol Hill Asking for Your Support

julesrs007
added this
2 years ago
|
0 comments

Eco Maniac: Finding Nemo

I watched a couple of PBS videos last week about orcas and beluga whales that blew my mind and broke my heart. Of course, I'd just heard and met Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society a few days before, so I was particularly engaged and enraged about whale issues. (Although, did you know that orcas are actually dolphins, not whales?)

Whales are under human attack on more than one front and the results are horrifying. Some experts say that as the oceans go, so go humans, and orcas, in particular, are the best indicator of how the oceans are fairing because they are at the top of the underwater food chain.

Whaling: A hugely controversial and internationally banned practice, whaling is allowed by Norway and Iceland, although Japan also partakes using the guise of scientific research as a means to line their pockets and supply the country's taste for whale meat. The problem is – besides the legal and moral questions – there's been a surplus for the past few years so prices have been dropping precipitously. Yet, the slaughters continue. Iceland just kicked off their annual hunt last week.

Navy Sonars: There have been a couple of instances – as documented in the PBS piece on orcas – of Navy sonars wreaking havoc in the oceans. In the Puget Sound, orcas were the only known victims; but in the Bahamas, both dolphins and whales scurried to the beach to escape the sonic assault. Nevertheless, national security trumps all, or so ruled the Supreme Court last November in a case that would have limited offshore exercises when marine mammals were nearby.

Toxins: Did you know that 27% of the beluga whales in the St. Lawrence Estuary off the coast of Quebec have cancer, including breast cancer? That rate is similar to the rate in humans. The belugas in the Cook Inlet (Alaska) have been a separate subpopulation for about 10,000 years. If they die off, they will not be replaced. Yet, as I've previously covered, Governor Sarah Palin doesn't care too much. She'd rather have her oil and gas exploration projects. Orcas from all over are living with 3-400 times the amount of toxins that appear in our systems. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) stay in their systems for 30 to 50 years and contaminate the meat the whalers are so keen on selling. The Pacific Northwest orcas ingest the PCBs through eating salmon, their favorite snack. But wild salmon are also on the wane due to farm-raised salmon polluting the waters with sea lice that the baby wild salmon can't fight off.

There are other man-made hindrances for whales to battle, such as boats that cause propeller accidents and nets or other debris that cause entanglements. I dare say that all of the ocean critters can survive without us, but I don't think we can survive without them. We need to find a better way.

Orcas - http://www.pbs.org/video/video/1099394282
Belugas - http://www.pbs.org/video/video/1094847767I watched a couple of PBS videos last week about orcas and beluga whales that blew my... more

spandadham
added this
2 years ago
|
0 comments

Current Green Fetaured Community Member: Jefftego

Last week, Stopnoise recommended jefftego for his great and tireless environmental... more

leahl
added this
3 years ago
|
10 comments

Japan to hunt 216 whales in northwestern Pacific for 'research'

The Japanese Fisheries Agency said Friday that a fleet of four whaling vessels will... more

jefftego
added this
3 years ago
|
60 comments

Political Deal Could Overturn Moratorium On Commercial Whaling

Winding up a three-day meeting this week, the International Whaling Commission... more

jefftego
added this
3 years ago
|
0 comments

Iceland increases whaling quota

The United States on Friday denounced Iceland's decision to go ahead with a... more

leahl
added this
3 years ago
|
1 comment

Police Board Vegan Pirate Vessel, Seize Video

Police boarded the ship of a militant anti-whaling group and seized videotapes of... more

leahl
added this
3 years ago
|
2 comments

Videos of Sea Shepherd Ramming Japanese Whaler

It's good that they capture this footage so we can see it. But it's hard to... more

leahl
added this
3 years ago
|
1 comment

Japanese whalers attack anti-whaling activists on the high frozen seas

Japanese whalers blasted conservationists with a water cannon and hurled hunks of metal and golf balls at them in a clash Monday in icy Antarctic waters, an anti-whaling group said.

Two members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society were lightly injured in the early morning fracas in heavy seas about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) southeast of the Australian state of Tasmania, said Paul Watson, the group's leader.

A spokesman for the whalers said he had no information on the claims.

The group — which routinely harasses the Japanese whaling fleet during its annual hunt in the Antarctic Ocean — sent a helicopter and two inflatable boats toward one of the ships in the Japanese fleet.

The whalers began blasting conservationists on one raft with a water cannon, knocking one man off his feet and leaving him with cuts and bruises, Watson told The Associated Press by satellite phone.

Another protester was hit in the face with a large chunk of metal lobbed from a harpoon boat. He was wearing a shield on his helmet, but still suffered bruises, Watson said.

The Japanese also aimed a "military grade" noise weapon that can cause deafness and vomiting at the Sea Shepherd crew, Watson said. Some felt its vibrations but were too far away to be otherwise affected, he said.

Glenn Inwood, the New Zealand-based spokesman for Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research — a Japanese government-affiliated organization that oversees the hunt — said he could not immediately confirm or deny the Sea Shepherd's claims.

"All legal means available will be used to protect the Japanese crew and the scientists," he said.

Japan, which has described the Sea Shepherd protesters as terrorists, plans to harvest up to 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales this season. Under International Whaling Commission rules, the mammals may be killed for research but not for commercial purposes. Opponents say the Japanese research expeditions are simply a cover for commercial whaling, which was banned in 1986.

Protesters aboard the ship, named after the late Australian conservationist and TV personality Steve Irwin, set off from Australia in early December for the remote and icy Antarctic Ocean, chasing the whaling fleet for about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) before stopping two weeks ago in Tasmania to refuel. The group found the whalers again on Sunday and resumed their pursuit.

In December, the protesters lobbed bottles of rancid butter at the Japanese.

"I will not allow them to kill a whale while we're here, and they know that," Watson said. "I'll literally rip their harpoon off their deck if I have to."Japanese whalers blasted conservationists with a water cannon and hurled hunks of... more

SamuraiDave
added this
3 years ago
|
40 comments

Sea Shepherd Calls for a Blanket Boycott of Iceland

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is calling for a boycott of all things... more

hawk5000
added this
3 years ago
|
0 comments

Will Pollution Kill Japanese Whaling?

Whaling in the Antarctic Ocean could be stopped if the Japanese government were to be held accountable for dumping waste and for undertaking hazardous refueling at sea, a panel said Tuesday.

The Canberra Panel, convened by the conservation group International Fund for Animal Welfare, said the new tactic could force Japan out of the whaling business because the activity violates the 46-member Antarctic Treaty System, which Japan belongs to.

"The Canberra Panel concluded that the government of Japan should be held accountable for the environmental impacts of whaling and the ancillary activities, such as refueling at sea and offal discharge, on the highly sensitive Antarctic marine environment," a report by the panel said.

An explosion and fire aboard a whaling factory ship in 2007 led to tons of fuel and chemicals being spilled into the ocean. The incident demonstrated the "substantial environmental risks" connected with Japanese whaling, it said.

The report was made public Tuesday but had been sent in the past week to the Australian and New Zealand governments, which are leading global opposition to Japanese whaling.

The report recommends that either Australia or New Zealand formally notify Japan of concerns about the failure to comply with a strict environmental protocol that has applied to Antarctica since 1991. The issue should then be raised at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in the U.S. in April.

"Over time, sustained pressure through the ATS is likely to increase further the difficulties faced by Japan in operating its whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean and ultimately contribute to the complete cessation of Japanese special-permit whaling in Antarctica," the report says.

The Japanese fleet plans to harvest up to 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales during the current season. Under International Whaling Commission rules, the mammals may be killed for research but not for commercial purposes.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Monday the government prefers to use diplomacy to persuade the Japanese to stop whaling.

"When we come to the conclusion that diplomatic efforts have failed, then we will give consideration to legal action," he said.

Don Rothwell, an Australian National University international law professor who chairs the six-member panel, said Tuesday the environmental approach would complement the government's strategy because it has "a diplomatic focus and also a legal perspective."Whaling in the Antarctic Ocean could be stopped if the Japanese government were to be... more

SamuraiDave
added this
3 years ago
|
0 comments

Whaling Commission Faces Possible Collapse, Japan Official Says

The International Whaling Commission is in danger of collapsing because it has ceased... more

jefftego
added this
3 years ago
|
2 comments

Japan snubbed over anti-whaling ship

Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard says there is no reason to ban an anti-whaling... more

jefftego
added this
3 years ago
|
17 comments

Japanese whaler reported missing

I'm sorry but damn it , its called KARMA! You can't expect to go poaching... more

mindcontrol
added this
3 years ago
|
0 comments

Japanese whalers being chased by Sea Shepherd-- no kills in two days

Environmental activists Monday said they had been pursuing Japanese whalers through... more

jefftego
added this
3 years ago
|
25 comments

Weather interrupts rotten butter-bomb attack on Japanese Whalers

Sea Shepherd is in hot pursuit of Japanese whalers in the Antarctic for the second... more

uroborus8
added this
3 years ago
|
47 comments

Sea Shepherd find Japanese whaling fleet near Antarctica

The anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd said it had found the Japanese fleet and had... more

TheEnvironmentShow
added this
3 years ago
|
3 comments

Stop the Atrocity

This is a quote from an email forwarded by L. Pathirana, one which was forwarded by... more

livejelly
added this
3 years ago
|
21 comments

Japan's whaling fleet sets out for Antarctic

The main ship in Japan's whaling fleet set out for the Antarctic on Monday for... more

jefftego
added this
3 years ago
|
52 comments

Japan's whaling fleet sets out for Antarctic

The butchers are out on the search for SUSHI Meat for their people.

Kepano
added this
3 years ago
|
0 comments

select your country

Community Spotlight

TAGS

tagged w/ Whaling

top videos

find current on tv

find current online

recent comments

© 2012 Current TV, LLC All Rights Reserved

the basics

follow us online

tools

stay in touch

© 2012 Current TV, LLC
All Rights Reserved