It’s been a busy week in the whale world. High intrigue, political machinations, allegations of scamming, guilt, sorrow and (of course) climate change.
In advance of the International Whaling Commission meeting next week, here’s a worldwide whale watch round up…
Japan: Greenpeace Arrests
Police have arrested two Greenpeace activists over allegations they stole a box of whale meat. It seems these arrests relate to a box of meat the pressure group produced last month, which Greenpeace claimed had been stolen from the controversial ‘scientific whaling’ fleet.
“We’ve uncovered a scandal involving powerful forces in the Japanese government that benefit from whaling, and it’s not surprising they are striking back,” says Jun Hoshikawa, a Greenpeace Executive Director (press release). “What is surprising is that these activists, who are innocent of any crime, would be arrested for returning whale meat that was stolen from Japanese taxpayers.”
Hoshikawa called the arrests “an intimidation tactic by the government agencies responsible for a scandal”.
Japan Police Arrest Greenpeace Activists Over Stolen Whale Meat – Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aeULB9Q5sKlk&refer=japan
Greenpeace activists arrested over whale meat theft – Australia’s ABC
Chile: Don’t use the W word!
The International Whaling Commission is meeting next week in Santiago, Chile.
Japan is anxious any of its citizens holidaying in the country don’t mention whaling. According to Australia’s ABC News it’s issued travel advice advising citizens “refrain from talking carelessly about whaling in front of other people”.
Meanwhile the BBC says that 60 years after it formed there are signs of “a new maturity” at the IWC.
“Some parties in both pro- and anti-whaling camps have had enough of the deadlock which on one side sees up to 2,500 whales hunted each year under what is supposed to be a global moratorium, and on the other sees little appreciation of the argument that whales are just another natural resource that can be hunted sustainably,” writes Environment correspondent Richard Black.
The Fiji Times warms up for the conference with a think piece entitled ‘Whaling breaks our heart’.
Australia: is policy hopelessly beached?
Australia’s foreign minister Stephen Smith has been forced onto the defensive by opposition party attacks on his policy towards Japanese whaling.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Andrew Robb said, “Sending a gunboat after their whaling ships, making very strong pronouncements with very evocative language, giving a cast iron commitment to take Japan to the International Court of Justice and then to throw in the towel after six months, all that has done is to undermine our ability to influence Japan.” (Sidney Morning Herald, with a nice cartoon.)
Smith has denied the claims, as has environment minister, former rock star and Great Beyond favourite Peter ‘Beds Are Burning’ Garrett.
Southern ocean: climate change
Finally, the WWF is warning warming will wallop whales. Climate change, it says, will mean less food and smaller hunting grounds, delivering a double whammy blow to whales in the Southern Ocean (WWF report).
“As frontal zones move southward, they also move closer together, reducing the overall area of foraging habitat available,” says WWF species office Heather Sohl (Daily Telegraph). “As the krill is dependent on sea ice, less sea ice is also expected to reduce the abundance of food for whales in the feeding areas.”
Especially at risk are the blue and humpback whales (Reuters).
Image: Gulf of Maine Cod Project, NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries; Courtesy of National Archives