tagged w/ Cetaceans
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Japan has suspended its annual Antarctic whale hunt following protests from a campaign group.
Activists from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a US-based environmental group, have been chasing the Japanese fleet's mother ship.
An official at the country's fisheries agency said whaling had been halted "for now" because of safety concerns.
Japan says it suspended its hunt on 10 February. It is unclear whether the expedition, which would usually end mid-March, will be called off permanently.
"Putting safety as a priority, the fleet has halted scientific whaling for now. We are currently considering what to do hereafter," Tatsuya Nakaoku, an official at the fisheries agency, told Reuters news agency.
But he said nothing had been decided yet.
Activists' ships have been harrying the fleet for weeks in the icy seas of Antarctica.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society says one of its boats has been blocking the main ship's stern loading ramp, preventing any harpooned whales from being loaded on to the ship.
"If that's true then it demonstrates that our tactics, our strategies, have been successful," Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson told the AFP news agency by satellite phone from the Steve Irwin ship.
"I don't think they've gotten more than 30 whales... certainly they haven't got many whales at all."
Japan's fleet involves 180 people on four ships, with the aim to kill up to 945 whales in Antarctic waters during the southern winter season.
Japan says it continues to hunt for scientific research, while not concealing the fact that much of the meat ends up on dinner plates, the BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo reports.
Few Japanese eat whale regularly, but many object to what they see as unjustified foreign interference in a cultural tradition, our correspondent adds.
Anti-whaling nations, led by Australia and New Zealand, and environmental groups say the hunts are cruel and unnecessary. Australia is taking legal action in the International Court of Justice against Tokyo over whaling.Japan has suspended its annual Antarctic whale hunt following protests from a campaign... more
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Latest Complete News Updates Snooki things the water in the ocean is salty because of whale sperm. “Everybody google it.” This drama between Mr. Jeff and Snooki is lameass. Ok, so maybe not, but Miss. Snooki told us all to Google it and so we are googling it.Latest Complete News Updates Snooki things the water in the ocean is salty because of... more
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Whales suffering from 'dramatic' sunburn
By Matthew Knight for CNN
November 10, 2010 2:23 p.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Whales in Gulf of California suffering from sunburn, according to new report
* Paler-skinned blue whale has experienced the most blisters and damage
* Scientists think higher levels of ultraviolet radiation due to ozone depletion could be to blame
London, England (CNN) -- Whales in Mexico's Gulf of California are showing worsening signs of sunburn according to new report published Wednesday.
Photos and skin samples gathered by scientists from the UK's Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Mexico's Interdisciplinary Marine Science Center revealed blisters and changes in skin pigmentation in blue whales, fin whales and sperm whales.
The most badly-affected species was the blue whale -- which has paler skin -- and whales which spend most time on the surface exposing their skin to the sun.
"Whales need to come to the surface to breathe air, to socialize and to feed their young, meaning that they are frequently exposed to the full force of the sun," lead author Laura Martinez-Levasseur said in a statement.
Martinez-Levasseur says the rises in skin damage in the blue whale were "a matter of concern," but it isn't clear yet why they were happening.
....."A likely candidate is rising UVR (ultra-violet radiation) as a result of either ozone depletion or a change in the level of cloud cover
--Laura Martinez-Levasseur, Zoological Society of London, UK
Ultra-violet levels in the Gulf of California generally remain high or very high on the UV index (the international standard measurement of the strength of the ultraviolet radiation) throughout the year.
Edel O'Toole, professor of molecular dermatology at Queen Mary, University of London and co-author said the changes in the whales' skin were "dramatic" and "significant."
"In the cells of the epidermis there were blisters which we could observe under the microscope, as well as the ones you can see on the skin. We also observed sunburn like you would see in humans," O'Toole told CNN.
The damage appears to be getting worse, but there is no evidence yet that whales are developing more skin cancers, O'Toole says.
Now they have established that exposure to strong sun is damaging to whales' skin, scientists will now look at the knock-on effects and monitor if the whales are able to respond to increasing radiation, and enhance their natural sun protection mechanisms.
The research, which was conducted between 2007 and 2009, appears online in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.Whales suffering from 'dramatic' sunburn
By Matthew Knight for CNN... more
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It would seem Japan is sneaking around to make a deal with the IWC which would make it lawful for them hunt whales commercially. NOT okay. Please sign this online petition against that? Thanks!It would seem Japan is sneaking around to make a deal with the IWC which would make it... more
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Whales are a symbol of world environmentalism. They were brought to near extinction by the indiscriminate hunting of 1800 and 1900, banned in 1986 with a moratorium respected by almost every country in the world, except Iceland, Norway and Japan. The latter country in particular has often been criticized by environmentalists because it is the world's largest market for whale meat.
http://www.inaltreparole.net/en/nature/balenegiappone180210.htmlWhales are a symbol of world environmentalism. They were brought to near extinction by... more
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In the midst of our turmoil, a six minute video of touching beauty - albeit sad - it is beautiful!
May we all find some moments of peace and calm, as well as love for our brothers and sisters of the ocean, respect for our natural world and each other.
From the Oceania Project
"In the final years of 'Yankee Whaling', the Captain of a whaling vessel wrote an article entitled 'A Polar Whale's Appeal'. This article, which is a first person narrative spoken by a Bowhead Whale, is a plea on behalf of the 'Whale Nation' to put an end to the killing of his species. It was published in 'The Honolulu Friend' on October 15, 1850.
We came across this article in the archives of the New Bedford Whaling Museum in Massachusetts while conducting research for the establishment of 'The Oceania Project' in 1987."
The Oceania Project's
19th Whale Research Expedition
August 2008:
http://oceania.org.au/expedition/expe...
In the midst of our turmoil, a six minute video of touching beauty - albeit sad - it... more
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The latest global assessment of cetaceans shows that the marine mammals throughout the world's oceans have experienced mixed fortunes.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species reveals that some large species, like humpbacks, have seen numbers increase. However, it warns that smaller species, including river dolphins, have declined as a result of human actions. The IUCN added that it was unable to assess more than half of the world's cetaceans because of a lack of data. "It shows that if you protect these animals then they can recover," said Randall Reeves, chairman of Cetacean Specialist Group for the IUCN, the global conservation body.
"I'm encouraged by the fact that several of the large whale species that had been in trouble for a long time have shown steady increases over recent decades." The latest assessment has down-listed the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) from Vulnerable to Least Concern. The southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) was another species that was deemed no longer at risk of extinction.
Both animals had recorded increased numbers across much of their range, primarily because they had been protected from commercial whaling, Dr Reeves explained. "Humpbacks have really shown an ability to recover strongly from extremely intensive hunting," he added.
(continued at link)The latest global assessment of cetaceans shows that the marine mammals throughout the... more
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