Humans have such potential, and yet they do things like this. Whatever we think is important to us, it's life and death for the whale right NOW
Iceland to Resume Whale Hunting, Defying Global Ban
By Tasneem Brogger
(Bloomberg) -- Iceland will resume commercial whale hunting for the first time in two decades, disregarding a global effort to outlaw the practice.
Iceland issued a permit to hunt 30 minke whales and nine fin whales, the Ministry of Fisheries said on its Web site yesterday. Finance Minister Arni Mathiesen in an interview said whaling is ``part of what Iceland is about'' and will help the economy.
Commercial whale hunting was outlawed by the International Whaling Commission in 1986 as populations dwindled, and Iceland ceased commercial whaling in 1989. At the same time, the country continued to hunt whales for research purposes, a practice permitted by the IWC. Countries including Japan and Norway have also killed whales for research reasons.
``The decision makes no economic sense and should be retracted immediately,'' Greenpeace spokeswoman Sarah Duthie said in an e- mailed statement. ``Iceland has no market for whale meat, but they do have a huge and far more valuable market for whale watching.''
Iceland is a stunning, pristine land that attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists each year, many of them to go whale watching in the clear arctic waters. Greenpeace has launched a "Whale tourism pledge" which nearly 70,000 people have signed: promising to visit Iceland if the government stops whaling.
That represents more than 80 million USD in potential tourist revenue for Iceland -- against a commercial whaling programme which was worth less than 4 million USD per annum in its heyday.
Help convince Iceland that whales are worth more alive than dead: take the pledge. If you've already taken the pledge, send this message to Tourism officials in Iceland.
Wherever whaling has been practised it has devastated populations of whales. When the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was formed in 1946, its preamble noted that 'the history of whaling has seen overfishing of one area after another and of one species of whale after another to such a degree that it is essential to protect all species of whales from further overfishing'. But despite this clear recognition of the problem the IWC was unable to stop it, instead presiding over the decimation of species after species. It is still not known if some species will ever recover, even after decades of protection.
This devastation happened because the reproductive rate of whales is low and the monetary value of individual whales was high. Given this, it might seem sensible to you and me for whalers to strictly limit their catches in order to secure a future for their industry, but a short-sighted economic reality meant that whalers tended to catch as much as they could, as quickly as they could.
We oppose all commercial whaling and have done so since 1975 when we carried out a direct action at sea against Soviet whalers. Since then we have done actions against whalers from Australia, Brazil, Iceland, Peru, Japan, Norway and Spain. Many of these countries now oppose whaling, only Iceland, Japan and Norway continue.
The blue whales of the Antarctic are still at less than 1 percent of their original abundance despite 40 years of complete protection. Some populations of whales are recovering but some are not. Only one population, the East Pacific grey whale, is thought to be near its original abundance but the closely related West Pacific grey whale population is the most endangered in the world hovering on the edge of extinction with just over 100 remaining. The number of Antarctic whales is less than 10 percent of what it was before whaling began.
Consumption and contamination
Whaling is no longer the only threat to whales. The oceans have changed dramatically over the half century in which the IWC has been attempting to manage whale populations. Known environmental threats to whales include global climate change, pollution, overfishing, ozone depletion, noise and ship strikes. Overfishing threatens the food supply of whales and, in addition, whales are at risk as a result of entanglement in fishing gear.
Whale blubber is now contaminated with organochlorines including PCBs, substances known to damage development of the young and affect reproduction. The blubber of dead toothed whales found in some areas contain such high levels of organochlorines that they would be classified as toxic waste.
Despite all of these threats an increasing number of nations in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) are voting for an immediate resumption of commercial whaling. This is not because of a change in world opinion; it is because the Fisheries Agency of Japan is operating what it calls a 'vote consolidation program' which gives fisheries aid to developing countries in return for their vote at the IWC. When the IWC agreed the moratorium on whaling in 1982 it had 37 active members, 7 of which supported continued whaling. At its most recent meeting in Ulsan, Korea it had 66 active members and 23 of them voted for an immediate resumption of commercial whaling.
Expectations for the recovery of whale populations have been based on the assumption that, except for commercial whaling, their place in the oceans is as secure as it was a hundred years ago. Sadly, this assumption is no longer valid.
From Greenpeace Website http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/visit-iceland-save-whales
Please help Greenpeace or any other organisation that is fighting these barbaric acts.
For other sites see below
http://www.animalsagenda.org/articledetail.asp?menu=News&NewsID=589
http://www.captivitystinks.org/kill.html
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/171642723?ltl=1161274192
http://www.animalrights.net/archives/year/2004/000189.html
http://weblog.greenpeace.org/cgi-bin/mv/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=718
By Tasneem Brogger
(Bloomberg) -- Iceland will resume commercial whale hunting for the first time in two decades, disregarding a global effort to outlaw the practice.
Iceland issued a permit to hunt 30 minke whales and nine fin whales, the Ministry of Fisheries said on its Web site yesterday. Finance Minister Arni Mathiesen in an interview said whaling is ``part of what Iceland is about'' and will help the economy.
Commercial whale hunting was outlawed by the International Whaling Commission in 1986 as populations dwindled, and Iceland ceased commercial whaling in 1989. At the same time, the country continued to hunt whales for research purposes, a practice permitted by the IWC. Countries including Japan and Norway have also killed whales for research reasons.
``The decision makes no economic sense and should be retracted immediately,'' Greenpeace spokeswoman Sarah Duthie said in an e- mailed statement. ``Iceland has no market for whale meat, but they do have a huge and far more valuable market for whale watching.''
Iceland is a stunning, pristine land that attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists each year, many of them to go whale watching in the clear arctic waters. Greenpeace has launched a "Whale tourism pledge" which nearly 70,000 people have signed: promising to visit Iceland if the government stops whaling.
That represents more than 80 million USD in potential tourist revenue for Iceland -- against a commercial whaling programme which was worth less than 4 million USD per annum in its heyday.
Help convince Iceland that whales are worth more alive than dead: take the pledge. If you've already taken the pledge, send this message to Tourism officials in Iceland.
Wherever whaling has been practised it has devastated populations of whales. When the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was formed in 1946, its preamble noted that 'the history of whaling has seen overfishing of one area after another and of one species of whale after another to such a degree that it is essential to protect all species of whales from further overfishing'. But despite this clear recognition of the problem the IWC was unable to stop it, instead presiding over the decimation of species after species. It is still not known if some species will ever recover, even after decades of protection.
This devastation happened because the reproductive rate of whales is low and the monetary value of individual whales was high. Given this, it might seem sensible to you and me for whalers to strictly limit their catches in order to secure a future for their industry, but a short-sighted economic reality meant that whalers tended to catch as much as they could, as quickly as they could.
We oppose all commercial whaling and have done so since 1975 when we carried out a direct action at sea against Soviet whalers. Since then we have done actions against whalers from Australia, Brazil, Iceland, Peru, Japan, Norway and Spain. Many of these countries now oppose whaling, only Iceland, Japan and Norway continue.
The blue whales of the Antarctic are still at less than 1 percent of their original abundance despite 40 years of complete protection. Some populations of whales are recovering but some are not. Only one population, the East Pacific grey whale, is thought to be near its original abundance but the closely related West Pacific grey whale population is the most endangered in the world hovering on the edge of extinction with just over 100 remaining. The number of Antarctic whales is less than 10 percent of what it was before whaling began.
Consumption and contamination
Whaling is no longer the only threat to whales. The oceans have changed dramatically over the half century in which the IWC has been attempting to manage whale populations. Known environmental threats to whales include global climate change, pollution, overfishing, ozone depletion, noise and ship strikes. Overfishing threatens the food supply of whales and, in addition, whales are at risk as a result of entanglement in fishing gear.
Whale blubber is now contaminated with organochlorines including PCBs, substances known to damage development of the young and affect reproduction. The blubber of dead toothed whales found in some areas contain such high levels of organochlorines that they would be classified as toxic waste.
Despite all of these threats an increasing number of nations in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) are voting for an immediate resumption of commercial whaling. This is not because of a change in world opinion; it is because the Fisheries Agency of Japan is operating what it calls a 'vote consolidation program' which gives fisheries aid to developing countries in return for their vote at the IWC. When the IWC agreed the moratorium on whaling in 1982 it had 37 active members, 7 of which supported continued whaling. At its most recent meeting in Ulsan, Korea it had 66 active members and 23 of them voted for an immediate resumption of commercial whaling.
Expectations for the recovery of whale populations have been based on the assumption that, except for commercial whaling, their place in the oceans is as secure as it was a hundred years ago. Sadly, this assumption is no longer valid.
From Greenpeace Website http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/visit-iceland-save-whales
Please help Greenpeace or any other organisation that is fighting these barbaric acts.
For other sites see below
http://www.animalsagenda.org/articledetail.asp?menu=News&NewsID=589
http://www.captivitystinks.org/kill.html
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/171642723?ltl=1161274192
http://www.animalrights.net/archives/year/2004/000189.html
http://weblog.greenpeace.org/cgi-bin/mv/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=718
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home