Issue Type: Whaling

Animal protection & conservation NGOs unveil plaque in Brighton’s Hilton Metropole Hotel where historic whaling ban was agreed in 1982

Humane Society International / United Kingdom

Dwarf minke whale
Nature Picture Library/Alamy

United Kingdom—The 40th anniversary of the global ban on commercial whaling has been marked today, with a plaque unveiled to hail one of the most significant conservation victories of all time.

Almost three million whales were killed for their oil and meat in the 20th century, bringing many species and populations to the brink of extinction. In July 1982, member countries of the IWC held an historic meeting at the Metropole Hotel in Brighton and agreed a global ban on commercial whaling, which remains in place today.

A recent £300,000 funding award to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) from the UK Government is supporting its vital whale conservation and welfare work around the world, addressing significant threats such as bycatch and climate change. This funding is also supporting the participation of developing countries in IWC meetings, ensuring that decisions are representative of all members. This financial support will help to enable the IWC to continue with its excellent work providing an international framework for the conservation and management of cetaceans.  

To commemorate the anniversary a permanent memorial plaque was unveiled at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, at a reception attended by past and present members of the IWC, dignitaries and local Members of Parliament. Caroline Lucas MP opened speeches, pledging her ongoing commitment to vital conservation efforts. The event was co-hosted by leading animal protection charities working on the IWC, including the UK representatives of the Animal Welfare Institute, Born Free Foundation, Environmental Investigation Agency, Greenpeace, Humane Society International/UK, IFAW, OceanCare, ORCA, and Whale and Dolphin Conservation.

International Environment Minister Zac Goldsmith said: “The moratorium on commercial whaling led the way four decades ago and remains one of the clearest demonstrations that conservation action works, moving from a bleak outlook where nearly 3 million whales were killed in the 20th century, to one where whale populations are coming back from the brink of extinction. The work of the IWC has been instrumental, bringing together global partners to deliver the science, conservation and management to support these majestic marine mammals, and the UK is proud to lend our full support to this work, including to uphold this vital moratorium.”

Without doubt the ban on commercial whaling has spared the lives of hundreds of thousands of whales and been instrumental in pulling many species and populations back from the brink of extinction — although some have never recovered.

Beyond whaling, whales still face many threats caused by human activities including fisheries bycatch; chemical, plastic and noise pollution; ship strikes; habitat loss and the urgent climate crisis. Of the 90 species, 12 subspecies and 28 subpopulations of cetaceans that have been identified and assessed to date, 22 are listed as ‘Critically Endangered’, 22 as ‘Endangered’ and 16 as ‘Vulnerable’.

Originally established in 1946 to conserve whales in order to manage whaling, the IWC has since evolved to address myriad anthropogenic threats, such as fisheries bycatch, that are estimated to kill hundreds of thousands of cetaceans a year. The IWC is now central to global cetacean conservation and welfare efforts, including overseeing regional efforts to prevent entanglement and vessel strikes, and advancing the scientific understanding of cetacean sentience and suffering. The UK’s funding therefore comes as a huge boost to global efforts to protect these ocean giants for generations to come.

Sue Fisher, acting marine policy director for the Animal Welfare Institute, observed: “Forty years ago, members of the public protesting outside this hotel and around the world convinced their governments to ‘save the whales’. Today they face new perils from our degraded oceans. We commend the United Kingdom for its commitment to ensuring that the IWC can do its vital work to save the whales again.”

Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK, said: “Whales face an uncertain future in our degraded oceans, but there can be no doubt that the global ban on commercial whaling has saved many species from the brink of extinction. The ban’s 40-year anniversary is therefore a timely reminder of what can be achieved and should serve to strengthen our resolve to strive for even greater action against threats such as entanglements and pollution. The UK government’s funding for and renewed commitment to the vital work of the International Whaling Commission is a very welcome boost that will support international efforts for years to come to ensure the recovery of cetacean populations and the welfare of these astonishing ocean giants.”

Lucy Babey, ORCA’s head of science & conservation, and marine mammal chair at Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “The IWC moratorium on commercial whaling was one of the biggest single conservation measures ever introduced, and its legacy resonates even today. To celebrate this milestone is a privilege that I know everyone involved feels lucky to be a part of, and we are delighted that the UK Government has decided to reaffirm its commitment to the IWC to ensure the legacy of this momentous decision is safeguarded for years to come. Future generations can look back on this watershed moment and see a time when people who cared about the ocean came together and did something special, and in that spirit we are proud to have been a part of marking this occasion.”

Sharon Livermore, IFAW marine conservation director, commented: “To this day, the global commercial whaling ban remains one of the most iconic and important conservation achievements of all time. But there is still much work to do to protect whales and dolphins from the many other threats they face; the International Whaling Commission is central to that work, so this new UK government funding is very timely.”

Mark Simmonds OBE, director of science for OceanCare, said: “Historically, the whales had been viewed as huge swimming barrels of oil, blubber and meat, ripe for the plundering. By 1982, when the moratorium was agreed, they were much better known, the grace and grandeur of these social mammals had been revealed by ground-breaking underwater cinematography, and we were increasingly concerned about the cruelty of whaling.  And now, forty years on, we know so much more! New species and populations have been discovered and we also recognize cultural units with unique behaviours, and we are also busy exploring the contributions that the whales make to keeping our essential marine ecosystems healthy. Now is the time to make the moratorium complete and for all commercial whaling to end.”

Vanessa Tossenberger, Whale and Dolphin Conservation policy director, commented: “Working towards the recovery of whale populations is part of a nature-based solution to the climate and biodiversity crises. We appreciate that the IWC is leading efforts to better understand whales and their impact on ecosystem functioning. For this work to be successful, the IWC must urgently strengthen protections for cetaceans from the many risks they are facing and ensure the moratorium on commercial whaling stays firmly in place and is fully adhered to by all IWC members.”

Clare Perry, Environmental Investigation Agency UK senior advisor on ocean campaign said: “The ban on whaling has already saved the great whales from certain extinction and today it has an even more important role to play in securing the future of all whales, dolphins and porpoises from mounting threats including hunting, pollution, climate change and bycatch.”

Fast facts: 

  • In the 20th century, commercial whalers killed 2,894,094 whales, including 874,068 fin whales and 761,523 sperm whales. At the peak of their operations, commercial whalers were killing an average of 70,000 whales a year.  
  • The IWC’s commercial whaling ban was agreed in 1982 in a 25:7 vote, and came into effect worldwide in 1986. Catches fell to 6,361 that year. There are three countries that currently conduct commercial whaling: Norway, Iceland and Japan.  
  • The degradation of the ocean has accelerated rapidly in recent years, with ocean temperatures warming up to 40% faster on average than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change previously estimated.  
  • Science estimates that the amount of plastic entering the ocean will increase three-fold between 2016—2040 if urgent action isn’t taken. 
  • Ocean acidification has increased by 26% since pre-industrial times, and global maritime traffic as well as underwater noise levels from shipping, seismic surveys, exploration and military activities, have also significantly intensified. 
  • An estimated 300,000 cetaceans are killed annually as bycatch in fisheries.    

ENDS 

Media contact: Sally Ivens, Humane Society International/UK: sivens@hsi.org

Animal protection and conservation NGOs, policy makers, IWC commissioners gather for launch event with messages of support also from Dame Judi Dench, Leona Lewis, Chris Packham and Tracy Edwards MBE

Humane Society International / United Kingdom

Minke whales
Adrian Baddele/istock

LONDON–Dr Jane Goodall DBE, UN Messenger of Peace, joined with many of the world’s leading animal protection and conservation organisations, to urge the 88 member countries of the International Whaling Commission to adopt a new 50-Year Vision to save whales, dolphins and porpoises from extinction in the face of increasing ocean threats. are Many species are facing an increased threat of extinction because of fisheries bycatch; chemical, plastic and noise pollution; marine debris; ship strikes; habitat loss; the urgent climate crisis as well as continued direct persecution from commercial killing and dolphin drive hunts.

The coalition of NGOs, including the Animal Welfare Institute, Humane Society International, Born Free Foundation, OceanCare, IFAW and Environmental Investigation Agency, launched the 50-Year Vision at a virtual event, to mark the 75th anniversary of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Originally established in 1946 to conserve whales in order to maximise hunting quotas, the IWC has since evolved to address myriad anthropogenic threats that pose an immediate danger for many populations of cetaceans. Of the 90 species, 12 subspecies and 28 subpopulations of cetaceans that have been identified and assessed to date, 22 are listed as ‘Critically Endangered’, 22 as ‘Endangered’ and 16 as ‘Vulnerable’. Without globally co-ordinated conservation actions, many species and populations will go extinct within our lifetimes, the NGOs warn.

Giving the keynote speech, Dr Jane Goodall DBE said: “Some 80% of the world’s oxygen comes from the ocean. Our seas, along with our forests, are literally the lungs of our planet. Tragically, the vast marine habitat is increasingly threatened by our human actions. We are polluting it with toxic substances, large areas become acidified, the water is warming, commercial fishing has endangered many species, and its biggest and so loved residents – whales, dolphins and porpoises – are suffering. 

Unbelievably, despite a 40 year ban, many still suffer the cruelty of commercial whaling. Then around 300,000 cetaceans die when they’re accidentally captured in fishing gear. They drown.  A number of species and some populations are now facing extinction. There are solutions, but our governments must prioritise them and also recognise and support the International Whaling Commission as the organisation to coordinate these global priorities.” 

The 50-Year Vision (supported by more than 50 NGOs worldwide) calls on the IWC and its 88 member countries to ensure that conservation urgency is at the centre of global efforts to save cetacean species from decline. It warns that the degradation of the oceans has accelerated rapidly in recent years, with ocean temperatures warming up to 40% faster on average than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change previously estimated, and more than 150 million tonnes of plastics have accumulated in the oceans since the 1950s. Ocean acidification has also increased by 26% since pre-industrial times, global maritime traffic has vastly increased, as have ambient noise levels from shipping, seismic surveys, exploration and military activities. An estimated 300,000 cetaceans are killed annually as bycatch in fisheries. These challenges are compounded by the loss of critical habitat to climate change.

A host of celebrities supported the 50-Year Vision at its launch event, with video messages from naturalist and campaigner Chris Packham, actress Dame Judi Dench, Singer Leona Lewis and world-renowned sailor Tracy Edwards MBE. Download the celebrity videos here.

The NGOs believe the IWC’s 75th anniversary provides the perfect opportunity ahead of its 68th meeting in October 2022 to define a clear 50-year Vision that goes beyond managing whaling and establishes the IWC at the centre of global efforts to conserve all cetaceans.

The 50-Year Vision outlines that, looking forward, the IWC’s priorities must be focused on conservation, and recommends specifically that the IWC:

Maintain the ban on commercial whaling which is not a viable industry in the 21st century. Demand for whale meat has fallen to unprecedented levels in the remaining nations conducting commercial whaling, and the industry is now dependent on significant government subsidies. The very nature of cetaceans – long lived, slow breeding, depleted and vulnerable to growing environmental threats – means that commercial whaling is inherently ill-suited to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals such as providing food security, and ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Manage Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling. The IWC’s most important whaling management responsibility is the regulation of Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling (ASW). It is vital that the IWC maintain a clear distinction between ASW and commercial and special permit whaling, to ensure the integrity of the moratorium and meet the genuine nutritional, cultural and subsistence needs of indigenous peoples

Ensure whale watching is effectively managed. Whale watching is an industry worth more than US$2 billion, enjoyed by over 13 million people in 119 countries each year. However, as the success of whale watching continues to grow, the IWC must ensure it is conducted responsibly and is biologically sustainable.

Implement IWC Sanctuaries as Effective Marine Protected Areas. The IWC took the visionary step of designating two massive protected areas at a time (1979 and 1994) when marine reserves were a relatively new concept. Today, there are more than 900 marine protected areas providing habitat for cetaceans globally but not all have conservation goals or management plans to mitigate threats to cetaceans.

Consolidate the IWC’s welfare mandate. The IWC is uniquely positioned to ensure that the pain and suffering of cetaceans in both hunting and non-hunting situations is understood and minimised. It is already building a global response to entanglement but must expand its work and its collaboration with other organisations to better understand, measure and address other non-hunting welfare threats to cetaceans.

Increase collaboration, skills-sharing and capacity building in member governments, on ocean conservation, global biodiversity, sustainable development goals, harmonised research and mitigation efforts, to reverse the trifecta of the climate, pollution and biodiversity crises.

Ensure that decision-making reflects that the ecological contributions of cetaceans are a public good. Cetaceans make vital ecological contributions to the health and productivity of the oceans, including enhancing fish populations by increasing primary productivity, sequestering carbon, and promoting biodiversity. The IWC’s growing expertise in this area will enable it to leverage funding for cetacean conservation from new sources, including international institutions that fund climate mitigation and other conservation efforts.

Kitty Block, CEO of Humane Society International says: “As the health of the world’s oceans dramatically declines, cetaceans are in trouble, and that’s a tragedy not just because they are magnificent and sentient animals but because they also play a vital ecological role. Our 50-Year Vision offers a vital strategic plan for the IWC to help save whales, dolphins and porpoises in these most perilous of times.” 

ENDS 

Download photos of cetaceans here.

Media contact: Wendy Higgins, HSI director of international media: whiggins@hsi.org

Background on the IWC 

Almost three million great whales were killed in commercial whaling operations in the 20th century. As whale populations declined but competition for the remaining whales increased, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), which established the International Whaling Commission (IWC), was agreed in 1946 to conserve whale populations and regulate the whaling industry. Since then, the IWC has been the primary international organisation for the management and conservation of whales and is recognised in international law as such.

In 1982, the IWC made the visionary decision to ban commercial whaling worldwide, preventing the extinction of several populations and species. Almost 40 years later, despite recovery in some whale populations, many are nowhere near their pre-exploitation levels. Maintaining the ban on commercial whaling remains critical to ensuring that whales have the best chance of survival and recovery in what is now an increasingly degraded and rapidly changing marine environment.

Humane Society International / Japan

Minke whale
Alamy Minke whale

LONDON—Ahead of the Tokyo Summer Games starting this week, promoted by the Japanese government as the “greenest games ever”, animal protection groups have written to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to say that Japan can’t win gold for the environment until it stops the cruel and unsustainable practice of commercial whaling.

In a letter to Japan’s Prime Minister, Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa and Ambassador to the UK, Hajime Hayashi, the Humane Society International/UK, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, ORCA, Environmental Investigation Agency, Four Paws, Animal Welfare Institute and Cetacean Society International commend Japan for its environmental achievements for the Games such as plastic waste podiums and recycled metal medals but say that slaughtering whales not only causes immense animal suffering, it also kills some of our planet’s most important environmental guardians.

The letter explains that whales not only circulate nutrients that encourage the growth of carbon dioxide-absorbing phytoplankton by feeding in deep water and defecating at the surface, but their immense bodies also safely lock away tons of the greenhouse gas for hundreds of years when they die and their bodies sink to the sea bed.

The letter reads: “We are at a pivotal moment in our global efforts to avert catastrophic climate breakdown, and high-profile, international events like the Olympics provide a vital platform to promote environmental protection. However, as Olympic hosts, Japan’s commitments on planetary protection need to extend beyond the National Stadium, beyond plastic waste podiums, recycled metal medals and sustainable athletic apparel… Whales play a key role in capturing and storing harmful carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that is the main contributor to climate change. One way they do this is when they feed at depth and then defecate nearer the water surface, they provide vital nutrients to the plant plankton, or phytoplankton, which grow in the sunlit upper waters. Globally, phytoplankton absorbs up to 35% of all anthropogenic carbon dioxide produced. Whales also store tons of carbon in their bodies, and so when they die their carcasses sink to the seabed safely locking away 33 tons of CO2 on average for hundreds of years.”

Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK which initiated the letter, says: “This week the Japanese government will be proudly launching the Summer Games in Tokyo and celebrating its green credentials. But looking beyond the podiums made of recycled mobile phones, we find a nation flying in the face of world opinion in its grim persistence to maintain cruel and outdated commercial whaling. These ocean leviathans play a vital role in maintaining healthy oceans and climate, and instead of blasting them with exploding harpoons Japan should join the nations united in efforts to safeguard their populations and habitats.”

The International Whaling Commission’s moratorium on commercial whaling, agreed in 1982, has helped great whale populations increase, likely saving several species from extinction. Yet many whale populations remain low or endangered—and all whales face the huge threats of fishing-related deaths, ship collisions, climate change, and chemical, litter and noise pollution.  Since 1987, Japan killed more than 15,000 whales under the ‘special permit’ guise of scientific research which it used as a loophole to kill whales for profit. The legitimacy of Japan’s use of the ‘scientific whaling clause’ was rejected in the International Court of Justice in 2014. In June 2019, Japan formally left the IWC and continued to kill whales without any pretence of science but openly as commercial whaling. Although it has ceased whaling in the Southern Ocean, it continues whaling in the North Pacific. There remains an international ban on commercial whaling which applies to both the high seas and countries’ territorial waters. By walking away from the IWC and continuing to kill whales, Japan is defying international law.

The groups’ letter concludes: “Scientists estimate that in the years before industrial whaling began, baleen whale populations sank up to 1.9 million tonnes of carbon per year to the ocean bed. It has been suggested that this is equivalent to removing up to 410,000 cars from our roads each year. By contrast, killing and processing whales releases carbon back into the atmosphere… We urge the Japanese government to take this opportunity to consign whale killing to the history books and demonstrate a commitment to cetacean and planetary protection.

Read the Letter

ENDS

Media Contact: Leozette Roode: lroode@hsi.org

Notes:  

The status of the three species of whale killed by Japan in the North Pacific is a complex issue. The minke whale species found here (which is different to the minke species in the Southern Ocean), has a complex population structure and there has long been concerns about the vulnerability of the population known as the J-stock. The different populations cannot be told apart at sea. The sei whales is an endangered species. Sei whales in the North Pacific were heavily exploited by commercial whaling after the larger fin and blue whales were depleted. Whilst the Bryde’s whale is not regarded as endangered, its taxonomy is not yet settled; an inshore and an offshore form are widely recognized but other populations may also exist.

Humane Society International / Japan

Dwarf minke whale

WASHINGTON – Responding to Japan’s announcement of a self-awarded commercial whaling quota of 227 whales for 2019, in defiance of the International Whaling Commission’s conservation authority, Humane Society International’s President Kitty Block said: “This is a monstrous violation of global norms. In direct violation of international standards and law, Japan has opened a new and infamous era of pirate whaling. Abandoning its decades-long charade of harpooning whales under the guise of science, it has revealed a terrible truth – that these gentle ocean giants are being slaughtered for no legitimate reason at all.”

Japan’s proposed take is for 150 Bryde’s whales, 52 minke whales, and 25 sei whales.

The international ban on commercial whaling imposed by the IWC, the recognized international authority governing commercial whaling, applies to both the high seas and countries’ territorial waters.

Japan claims to have developed the current whaling program using IWC-approved methods. However, if commercial whaling were ever to be approved by the IWC, it would require independent oversight, including observer regimes, to monitor the catch and assess the development of any quotas.

The new quota sizes approximate to Japan’s recent ‘research’ takes in the North Pacific. The latest figures published by the IWC show 153 whales from the same three species taken in 2016 and 263 in 2017.

Whaling is neither sustainable nor humane. As long-lived, slow breeding marine mammals, whales are extremely vulnerable to overexploitation. There is no guaranteed humane way to kill a whale at sea.

 

Media contact: Wendy Higgins, HSI Director of International Media: whiggins@hsi.org

Ricky Gervais, Stephen Fry, and Dr Jane Goodall, among stars urging G20 to act for whales

Humane Society International / Global

Sperm whale

LONDON — Celebrities and animal conservation and welfare NGOs from across the globe are calling for an ‘international whaling intervention’ to be staged at the G20 summit in Osaka as summit hosts Japan prepare to launch a renewed commercial whaling programme.[1] The programme will see Japan openly killing sei, Bryde’s and minke whales for consumption with no pretence of science. [2]

Letters have been sent to all G20 leaders calling on them to publicly object at the summit to Japan’s commercial whaling intentions, and to deliver a joint declaration calling for the end to all commercial whaling globally. See the full letter here.

Celebrities Stephen Fry, Ricky Gervais, Dr Jane Goodall, Liz Bonnin, Steve Backshall, Virginia McKenna and Nicky Campbell, alongside more than 100 conservation charities and champions[3] within almost all the countries in the G20,[4] are backing pleas for international anti-whaling pressure to be placed on Japan.

BAFTA-winning English naturalist, writer and TV presenter, Steve Backshall, said: ‘It has taken the combined efforts of every nation on earth to bring whale conservation to the fore. At the G20 summit, our leaders need to talk to our friends in Japan, and let them know that – on this issue – they are deeply at odds with the rest of the world.’

Kitty Block, president of Humane Society International, said: ‘This week while one part of the Japanese government is proudly facilitating international cooperation by hosting the G20 meeting, another is quietly extricating itself from the obligation for global collaboration on the protection and management of the world’s whales.

‘Japan leaving the IWC and defying international law to pursue its commercial whaling ambitions is renegade, retrograde and myopic, it is undermining its international reputation for an industry whose days are so clearly numbered, to produce a product for which demand has plummeted. The IWC is maintaining its ban on commercial whaling for very good reasons and world leaders meeting in Japan this week should not turn a blind eye to the cruel assault planned on whales of the North Pacific.’

Dominic Dyer of Born Free Foundation, said: ‘The fight to protect whales gave birth to the modern environment movement 50 years ago. Yet during a year where Extinction Rebellion, Greta Thurnberg and school children worldwide are challenging our leaders to tackle environmental decline, Japan is sending its whaling ships back to sea, within days of the hosting the G20 Summit.

‘There is no justification for whaling on scientific or economic grounds. World leaders should call on Japan to halt its commercial whaling plans and return to supporting global efforts to protect whales and their ocean habitats. If we fail to protect whales, the future for mankind and our planet will be very bleak indeed.’

There is no commercial or other pressing need for Japan to relaunch its whaling activity, with whale meat consumption in Japan down almost 99% from 1962 to 2017, when less than 4,000 tonnes were eaten.[5] But there is a huge need to prevent a further decline in whale numbers. The IWC international ban on commercial whaling, agreed in 1982, has helped great whale populations increase, saving several from extinction. Yet many whale populations remain low or endangered – and all whales face the huge threats of fishing-related deaths, ship collisions, climate change, and chemical, litter and noise pollution.[6]

With whales playing a key role in our marine ecosystems (including locking up carbon and providing nourishment for phytoplankton essential to ocean food chains) it is vital that Governments around the world help to protect them to keep our seas healthy.[7] G20 leaders have the ideal opportunity at the Osaka summit to echo public opinion on the need for Japan to end this cruel and unnecessary practice. Peaceful anti-whaling protest events will also be taking place in London, Edinburgh and other cities around the world on Saturday to draw attention to this issue.

 

 

Media contact:

Wendy Higgins, Humane Society International, Tel +44 (0)7989 972 423 whiggins@hsi.org

Emma Adler, Wildlife and Countryside Link, Tel + 44 (0) 20 7820 8600

 

Notes to editors:

 

  1. Japan is leaving the International Whaling Commission (IWC), effective 30th June 2019, and will be conducting commercial whaling in its own waters. It will take three species in its new hunts – sei, Bryde’s and minke whales.
  2. Japan claims that its previous whaling programmes were scientific research and allowed under the convention that established the IWC, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. In a landmark case at the International Court of Justice in 2014, Japan’s scientific whaling was put on trial and the court found that it was not in conformity with the convention. Therefore, Japan’s new whaling programme in the North Pacific can be seen as a continuation of its previous activities and not the start of new commercial hunts.
  3. Organisations supporting these calls in the UK include: Animal Defenders, Born Free Foundation, Campaign Whale, Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Humane Society International, IFAW, Marine Conservation Society, MARINELife, ORCA, RSPCA, Whale and Dolphin Conservation
  4. For a full list of the more than 100 organisations supporting the letter to G20 leaders, see the letter here
  5. The members of the G20 are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, UK, and USA.
  6. See p7-9 of IFAW’s 2017 Economics of Japanese Whaling Report
  7. Whale populations which have shown good signs of recovery since the moratorium has been in place include some of those of the humpback whale and the Southern Right whale. Whale species which have populations still severely at risk include the North Atlantic Right Whale and the North Pacific Right Whale. See the IWC Intersessional report 2016-2018 for more.
  8. More information about the positive and important roles that whales play in marine ecosystems can be found here.

 

A Humane World: Kitty Block's Blog

Humane Society International / Europe

Good news in our work means animals thrive and we therefore celebrate it. That’s how it was for me this morning when I woke up to the report that there will be no whaling in Iceland this summer. Something my colleagues at Humane Society International and I have fought since Iceland resumed whaling in 2003.

That’s right. For the first time in 16 years, no whales—not endangered fin whales, not minkes, no whales at all—will die at the point of a whaler’s harpoon in Icelandic waters. That just makes my day.

Hvalur hf., the single Icelandic company that hunts great whales, decided not to carry out any whaling. In 2018, another firm, IP Útgerð, that takes minke whales, also halted whaling.

We’ll have to stay vigilant, however, because public policy in Iceland has not been of much help to us, despite the presence of elected officials who deplore the whaling industry and know what a smirch it is on Iceland’s reputation.

In February, Fisheries minister Kristján Þór Júlíusson authorized a continuation of fin and minke whale hunts until 2023, and Iceland’s Marine Research Institute has set a maximum yearly catch quota between 2018 and 2025 of 209 fin whales and 217 minke whales.

Iceland decided to resume whaling in 2003 in opposition to the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) 1986 commercial whaling ban. In 2018, Icelandic whalers harpooned 145 fin whales and six minke whales.

In our book, even one whale killed for high-end sushi is one too many, and the respite gives us some time and space to rev up our public outreach and our work not merely to limit whaling’s political and commercial influence in Iceland, but to drive it into the history books where it truly belongs.

Humane Society International / Europe

Minke whale
Kevin Schafer/Alamy

STRASBOURG (16 April 2019)—At the European Parliament’s final plenary session before the EU elections, MEPs voted in favour of a new Regulation on the conservation of fishery resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures, following many months of difficult negotiations between the European Parliament, Council and Commission. The proposed Regulation is intended to merge and simplify 33 different pieces of EU legislation, including the existing rules on cetacean bycatch. While some positive advances were made, the legislation adopted misses important opportunities to improve the protection of marine species and their habitats.

Dr Joanna Swabe, senior director of public affairs for Humane Society International/Europe, issued the following statement after the vote:

“The revision of bycatch rules had great potential to significantly increase protections for European cetacean populations and prevent the horrific and needless deaths of porpoises, dolphins and whales accidentally entangled in fishing gear. Unfortunately, the legislation that passed will only marginally improve the status quo.

“In the past few weeks alone, the mutilated corpses of hundreds of dolphins have washed up on French beaches; these poor animals represent only a fraction of the thousands who are accidentally killed by the fishing industry in the EU each year. Sadly, the legislation adopted today will likely continue to fail these sensitive species since the measures adopted for marine mammals are not sufficient to mitigate bycatch effectively.”

Swabe faulted MEPs and Member States for ignoring key information during the legislative process, saying, “They turned a blind eye to the recommendations of scientific experts, such as the ICES1 Bycatch Working Group, ASCOBANS2 and ACCOBAMS3. They also failed to take up the Commission’s proposal to require the use of Acoustic Deterrent Devices in specific marine areas where they are much needed.”

The legislation did include minor improvements to existing cetacean bycatch rules:

  1. The adoption of overarching objectives for technical measures adopted under the new framework, and a mechanism for monitoring and reporting on their effectiveness;
  2. A new requirement for EU Member States to provide information on the effectiveness of existing mitigation measures and monitoring arrangements with respect to bycatch of sensitive species, including cetaceans, seabirds and sea turtles;
  3. A requirement that Member States submit joint recommendations for additional mitigation measures for the reduction of incidental catches of these species;
  4. The inclusion of sea turtles in the technical conservation measures regulation – a species that had been overlooked in the Commission’s original proposal.

“So much more could have been achieved if the politicians had been more concerned with protecting marine species and their habitats, rather than the interests of the fishing industry,” said Swabe.

Facts

  • The current EU cetacean bycatch legislation (Council Regulation (EC) No 812/2004) has been found to have significant weaknesses and is being repealed and incorporated into the proposed regulation on the conservation of fishery resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures (2016/0074).
  • Technical measures are the rules for where, when and how fishing may take place. These measures are fundamental to regulating the impact of fishing on stocks and marine ecosystems, and they will play a key role in achieving some of the main objectives of the EU Common Fisheries Policy, such as implementing an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management, minimising the impacts of fisheries on the wider environment and avoiding unwanted catches and gradual elimination of discards.
  • The Commission proposal to require the use of Acoustic Deterrent Devices in the following fishing areas, where there is documented evidence of negative impacts on cetacean populations, was disregarded: VIa (west of Scotland), ICES sub-areas VIII and IXa (southwest waters), the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

 

END

 

Media contact: Jo Swabe, jswabe@hsi.org

 

1 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea

2 Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas

3 Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area

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