The whaling issue: Conservation,confusion, and casuistry

Morishita's “multiple analysis” of the whaling issue [Morishita J. Multiple analysis of the whaling issue: Understanding the dispute by a matrix. Marine Policy 2006;30:802–8] is essentially a restatement of the Government of Japan's whaling policy, which confuses the issue through selective use of data, unsubstantiated facts, and the vilification of opposing perspectives. Here, we deconstruct the major problems with Morishita's article and provide an alternative view of the whaling dispute. For many people in this debate, the issue is not that some whales are not abundant, but that the whaling industry cannot be trusted to regulate itself or to honestly assess the status of potentially exploitable populations. This suspicion has its origin in Japan's poor use of science, its often implausible stock assessments, its insistence that culling is an appropriate way to manage marine mammal populations, and its relatively recent falsification of whaling and fisheries catch data combined with a refusal to accept true transparency in catch and market monitoring. Japanese policy on whaling cannot be viewed in isolation, but is part of a larger framework involving a perceived right to secure unlimited access to global marine resources. Whaling is inextricably tied to the international fisheries agreements on which Japan is strongly dependent; thus, concessions made at the IWC would have potentially serious ramifications in other fora.     

Whale watching, the Buenos Aires Group and the politics of the International Whaling Commission

Whale watching is now reputed to be a $2 billion a year industry. This industry has the potential to impact the politics of whaling, specifically the moratorium on all commercial whaling in three ways: by creating political and economic counterweights to whalers, by countering claims about who may legitimately manage whales and to what end and by transforming views about whales and whaling both within whaling states and beyond. This article examines whale watching in Latin America and the Caribbean and the alliance of Latin American and Caribbean members of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) known as the Buenos Aires Group (BAG). The BAG group has emerged as coherent group opposing the ending of the moratorium and championing the views of whale watchers. The article finds that whale watching creates a politically important interest group in an area lacking whaling operations; it argues that these regional opponents of whaling provide a counter weight to charges that opposition to whaling is exclusively the providence of rich, urban citizens of developed countries and draw upon politically powerful frames in justifying their opposition to the lifting of the moratorium. Finally, it finds limited evidence that whale-watching is associated with a rise in general concern for marine mammals in the region. There remains the question, however, of what the future of whale watching in the region will be over the longer term.     

Analysis of sightings and catches of sperm whales (physeter catodon L.) in the cook strait area of New Zealand in 1963–4

Sighting and catch data on sperm whales accumulated during a whale survey by the New Zealand Marine Department and whaling operations by the Tory Channel whaling company in 1963–4 were examined.

The results showed a unimodal rise and fall in numbers of sperm whales in the Cook Strait region throughout the year. From a peak between December and April whale numbers declined steadily until November, when they rose again sharply.

It is suggested from these results that the best choice for an eight‐month sperm whaling season would be one extending from November to July.

It was concluded that the mean speed of sperm whales in the area was not likely to exceed 1 knot.     

Distribution and seasonal abundance of large cetaceans in the Durban whaling grounds off KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa, 1972–1975

Daily charts of the aerial search effort (432 206 nautical miles) of the Union Whaling Company and 1 099 sightings of 10 497 whales were available from 628 flights off Durban between 1972 and 1975. Densities of whales were analysed by month and water depth distribution over the four-year period. Low observed densities of blue Balaenoptera musculus, right Eubalaena australis, sei B. borealis and humpback Megaptera novaeangliae whales most likely resulted from earlier whaling pressure. Seasonality of blue, sei and humpback whales was bimodal, indicative of winter migrations to the north of the Durban whaling grounds, whereas the unimodal seasonality of fin whales B. physalus and minke whales B. bonaerensis or B. acutorostrata suggest the offshore region as the northern terminus of their migrations. Sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus migrate northwards offshore of the KwaZulu-Natal coast in autumn/early winter and southwards in late winter/spring, with larger males migrating later than the smaller males and females. Killer whale Orcinus orca presence was coincident with that of offshore minke whales and the southward migrations of other baleen whales, whereas densities of animals deemed as bottlenose whale Hyperoodon planifrons suggest strong early and late summer seasonal abundance in the offshore region. Such extensive surveys offshore of the KwaZulu-Natal coast are unlikely to be repeated; hence, data-extraction of whaling records provides a valuable source of seasonal and distributional information for marine management.     

Is Japan's whaling humane?

Video taken by Greenpeace of whaling by the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean provided a unique opportunity to obtain quantitative data relevant to the welfare aspects of the killing of whales. Catches of 16 individual Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) were analysed and in two of these asphyxiation appeared the most likely cause of death. Fewer than one in five whales were killed instantaneously and the average time to death for the remaining whales was around 10 min. The presence of Greenpeace did not result in a reduced accuracy of harpoon shots when compared with previous studies.     

An economic history and analysis of pelagic whaling

Following the introduction of sea-going factory vessels by Norwegian whalers in the 1926 season, the international whaling industry underwent a large expansion which ultimately resulted in depletion of many valuable stocks of whales. Attempts at conservation under the auspices of the International Whaling Commission met with limited but growing success, until a new management policy was adopted in 1975. By 1980 the killing of most species of baleen whales had been prohibited. The authors review the economic history of pelagic whaling during this period, and present a corresponding economic analysis. A brief survey of mathematical models of the whaling industry is given in the Appendix.     

Estimated calving interval for the New Zealand southern right whale (Eubalaena australis)

Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) were widespread in New Zealand waters before commercial whaling in the nineteenth century caused drastic declines in their abundance and distribution. Following the cessation of whaling, the population has been recovering and is now slowly recolonising its former range. Estimates of population demographics, including reproductive output, are essential for predicting the trajectory of this population. We gathered photo-identification data on female southern right whales during annual field trips to the Auckland Islands, the principal calving area in New Zealand waters. Forty-five calving intervals were observed between 2006 and 2013 (mean interval?=?3.31 years, 95% CI?=?3.06–3.57). Incorporating the effects of possible missed calving events produced a plausible range of mean calving intervals from 3.17 to 3.31 years. Our results suggest that the calving interval of New Zealand southern right whales is similar to that found in populations elsewhere.     

The sequential megafaunal collapse hypothesis: Testing with existing data

Springer et al. [Springer, A.M., Estes, J.A., van Vliet, G.B., Williams, T.M., Doak, D.F., Danner, E.M., Forney, K.A., Pfister, B., 2003. Sequential megafaunal collapse in the North Pacific Ocean: an ongoing legacy of industrial whaling? Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100 (21), 12,223–12,228] hypothesized that great whales were an important prey resource for killer whales, and that the removal of fin and sperm whales by commercial whaling in the region of the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) in the late 1960s and 1970s led to cascading trophic interactions that caused the sequential decline of populations of harbor seal, northern fur seal, Steller sea lion and northern sea otter. This hypothesis, referred to as the Sequential Megafaunal Collapse (SMC), has stirred considerable interest because of its implication for ecosystem-based management. The SMC has the following assumptions: (1) fin whales and sperm whales were important as prey species in the Bering Sea; (2) the biomass of all large whale species (i.e., North Pacific right, fin, humpback, gray, sperm, minke and bowhead whales) was in decline in the Bering Sea in the 1960s and early 1970s; and (3) pinniped declines in the 1970s and 1980s were sequential. We concluded that the available data are not consistent with the first two assumptions of the SMC. Statistical tests of the timing of the declines do not support the assumption that pinniped declines were sequential. We propose two alternative hypotheses for the declines that are more consistent with the available data. While it is plausible, from energetic arguments, for predation by killer whales to have been an important factor in the declines of one or more of the three populations of pinnipeds and the sea otter population in the BSAI region over the last 30 years, we hypothesize that the declines in pinniped populations in the BSAI can best be understood by invoking a multiple factor hypothesis that includes both bottom–up forcing (as indicated by evidence of nutritional stress in the western Steller sea lion population) and top–down forcing (e.g., predation by killer whales, mortality incidental to commercial fishing, directed harvests). Our second hypothesis is a modification of the top–down forcing mechanism (i.e., killer whale predation on one or more of the pinniped populations and the sea otter population is mediated via the recovery of the eastern North Pacific population of the gray whale). We remain skeptical about the proposed link between commercial whaling on fin and sperm whales, which ended in the mid-1960s, and the observed decline of populations of northern fur seal, harbor seal, and Steller sea lion some 15 years later.     

The scientific value of scientific whaling

Scientific whaling has polarized opinion for decades, and its scientific value has been intensely debated. Here, the output of scientific whaling programs is examined by comparing it to the scientific output pertaining to whales of countries that do not practice scientific whaling. Between 1986 and 2013, whaling and non-whaling countries produced, on average, similar total numbers of publications that were directly relevant to the goals of the scientific whaling permits issued by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and similar numbers of papers that were relevant to whale ecology and conservation but not directly related to IWC goals. Half of the scientific productivity of scientific whaling countries resulted from non-lethal data collection. One-third of publications by whaling countries were published in peer-reviewed outlets, compared to twice as many for non-whaling countries. Publications by whaling countries were cited ~4 times less often than those of non-whaling countries, with no evidence of citation discrimination against whaling countries since the citation rates of papers that did and did not use lethal sampling were similar. These academic criteria suggest that although the overall volume of science produced by scientific whaling countries is similar to that of non-whaling countries, the quality of the science is not. Arguably, academic criteria are not the best way to assess the usefulness of science for management and conservation, but demonstrating links between the science produced by scientific whaling, its integration in management plans and actions, and shifts towards sustainable exploitation or recovery of whale populations is challenging.     

Abundance,trends and distribution of baleen whales off Western Alaska and the central Aleutian Islands

Large whales were extensively hunted in coastal waters off Alaska, but current distribution, population sizes and trends are poorly known. Line transect surveys were conducted in coastal waters of the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Peninsula in the summer of 2001–2003. Abundances of three species were estimated by conventional and multiple covariate distance sampling (MCDS) methods. Time series of abundance estimates were used to derive rates of increase for fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Fin whales occurred primarily from the Kenai Peninsula to the Shumagin Islands, but were abundant only near the Semidi Islands and Kodiak. Humpback whales were found from the Kenai Peninsula to Umnak Island and were more abundant near Kodiak, the Shumagin Islands and north of Unimak Pass. Minke whales (B. acutorostrata) occurred primarily in the Aleutian Islands, with a few sightings south of the Alaska Peninsula and near Kodiak Island. Humpback whales were observed in large numbers in their former whaling grounds. In contrast, high densities of fin whales were not observed around the eastern Aleutian Islands, where whaling occurred. Average abundance estimates (95% CI) for fin, humpback and minke whales were 1652 (1142–2389), 2644 (1899–3680), and 1233 (656–2315), respectively. Annual rates of increase were estimated at 4.8% (95% CI=4.1–5.4%) for fin and 6.6% (5.2–8.6%) for humpback whales. This study provides the first estimate of the rate of increase of fin whales in the North Pacific Ocean. The estimated trends are consistent with those of other recovering baleen whales. There were no sightings of blue or North Pacific right whales, indicating the continued depleted status of these species.     

Squid mandibles from the stomachs of sperm whales (physeter catodon l.) captured in the cook strait region of New Zealand

The lower mandibles of squid in the stomachs of two sperm whales examined at the Tory Channel whaling station in 1963–4 were separated into 11 types according to a system of grouping devised by the authors and based on a key drawn up by M. R. Clarke.     

Implications of Arctic industrial growth and strategies to mitigate future vessel and fishing gear impacts on bowhead whales

The objective of this paper was to investigate and illustrate how insights gained from experience managing human activities in order to protect North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) along the heavily industrialized east coast of North America might be applied in the Arctic, where bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) face some of the same risks as right whales. The reduced extent and thickness of sea ice and the resultant longer open-water season have major, complex implications for the Arctic marine ecosystem. Increased maritime ship traffic and commercial fishing in the Arctic are bound to affect bowheads and Native (indigenous) hunting communities who depend on whales for subsistence and cultural identity. Bowheads and right whales were greatly depleted by commercial whaling in the 19th and early 20th centuries. While the Western Arctic bowhead population has been recovering steadily in recent decades, North Atlantic right whales remain highly endangered because of persistent lethal and sublethal vessel strikes and frequent entanglement in commercial fishing gear. Entanglement can be transitory or persistent, with debilitation lasting for months before the animal finally succumbs. Vessel strike and fishing gear trauma has been documented in bowheads, but at a much lower rate than in right whales. Initiatives intended to mitigate the impacts of ship traffic on North Atlantic right whales have included speed limits and routing changes. Those meant to reduce the incidence and severity of entanglements include the modification of gear design and gear deployment practices. Management measures need to be considered in advance in the Arctic in order to minimize the risks to bowhead whales as shipping and industrial fishing expand in the Arctic with ice retreat.     

Responses of humpback whales to a changing climate in the Southern Hemisphere: Priorities for research efforts

Globally, baleen whales were severely depleted by historic whaling. Recovering populations have been observed to alter their behaviour. These changes have been attributed to climate change in some cases and raise concerns over the successful recovery of baleen whale populations. Current data-driven statistical habitat and behavioural models have proven useful for addressing questions of whale distribution changes within their limitations. Given observed changes in oceanic conditions, a new approach to managing baleen whale population recovery is necessary. Model predictions of future whale movements and distributions under climate change scenarios are vital to enable adequate conservation management. This paper presents a new perspective on understanding the impacts of climate change on humpback whales, arguing the need for a system-based multidisciplinary research approach. Our approach includes coupled, mechanistic models based upon robust ecological principles, and integrates key physical, biogeochemical, biological and ecological modules to address long-term changes associated with climate change. To illustrate the need for this system-based multidisciplinary approach, we focus on Southern Hemisphere humpback whales, the recovery of which may be impacted by rapid changes in habitat conditions brought about by anthropogenic climate change.     

Killer whales in South African waters—a review of their biology

The distribution, seasonality and schooling behaviour of killer whales Orcinus orca in South African waters have been investigated from 785 records compiled between 1963 and 2009, and their size, morphometrics, growth, reproduction, food and feeding behaviour described from the examination of 54 individuals, 36 of which were landed at the Durban whaling station between 1971 and 1975. Qualitatively, the species appears to be more frequently encountered offshore, where it forms small schools of generally less than six animals. Seasonality of occurrence is not marked, although circumstantial evidence indicates that some individuals migrate from higher latitudes. Males reach 8.81 m and females 7.9 m, with 16.2% of males exceeding the size of the largest female. Stomach content and observational data suggest that the species can be characterised locally as an opportunistic predator of megavertebrates, rather than as the fish-feeding ecotype previously described. A stranded adult male with extreme tooth wear that was 1.5–2 m shorter than other males of equivalent age may be representative of a separate ‘offshore’ ecotype. Apparent differences between features of the popu lation's life history and those of resident killer whales in the north-eastern Pacific might be attributed to either uncertainties in age determination using dentinal growth layer groups or sampling bias. The basis for the suggestion that killer whales in South African waters should be reclassified as Vulnerable (rather than Data Deficient) is challenged.     

Characteristics of the hepatic microsomal cytochrome P-450 system of the minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)

The whales are an interesting group in several aspects of science, including evolutionary biology, marine ecology and toxicology. Some of the whale species, including the minke whale, graze at the top of the food chains, where they become susceptible to the accumulation of marine pollutants ingested by organisms at lower levels. The northern stock of the minke whale grazes in Arctic waters in the summer, an area of increasing interest in the development of new oil fields. Studies on the metabolism, disposition and effects of xenobiotics in marine mammals are few. The only reports in the open literature so far have dealt with these questions in seals.^1–3 Although the marine mammals comprise a particularly interesting group in marine ecology and toxicology, no data have to our knowledge been presented on the xenobiotic metabolising enzyme systems of the whales. In this study, components of the microsomal cytochrome P-450 system were measured in liver samples from several females, one male, and two foetal minke whales, caught in the Norwegian whaling season of 1983. Because of the limited number of samples studied we have treated the samples individually and not performed any statistical analysis of the data. The trends discussed below must therefore be considered with this background.     

Transfer of60Co from midwater squid to sperm whales

Sperm whales are notable squid-eaters. They feed mainly on medium to large-sized cephalopods at midwater levels and defecate near the surface. This suggests the existence of an upward transport of⁶⁰Co by sperm whales from the mesopelagic zone (150–1,200 m). To elucidate this squid-whale route for this artificial radionuclide,⁶⁰Co content was determined in squid and in predator whales captured by commercial whaling. In the Cephalopoda livers⁶⁰Co levels of 30–500 mBq kg^–1 wet were found and in the viscera of Odontoceti (toothed whales) 15–40 mBq kg^–1 wet. About 0.3% of⁸⁰Co ingested was estimated to be retained in a 23-year-old male sperm whale. In the livers of Bryde's whales,⁶⁰Co levels of 40–80 mBq kg^–1 wet were detected, but not in euphausiids and sardines, their possible prey. The level of Co in sperm whales was nearly the same as in Bryde's whales. Specific radioactivity⁶⁰Co/⁵⁹Co in mBq µg^–1 was several times higher in sperm whale (1.1–1.6) than in cephalopods (0.19–0.77). Eating prey with a high content of⁶⁰Co in the 1960's may have contributed to the present body burden in sperm whales with a long-life span. However, the origin of⁶⁰Co in Bryde's whales is unknown.     

Japan׳s whaling following the International Court of Justice ruling: Brave New World – Or business as usual?

Since 1987, Japan has conducted extensive special permit whaling (“scientific whaling”) in the Antarctic and North Pacific. This has been viewed by many as a way to circumvent the International Whaling Commission׳s (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling, which was implemented in 1985. Recently, Australia took Japan to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over this issue. Using various criteria, the Court ruled that Japan׳s whaling was not “for purposes of scientific research” as required by Article VIII of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, and ordered Japan to immediately cease its JARPA II whaling program in the Antarctic. Despite optimism that the Court׳s ruling might spell the end of Japanese whaling in the Antarctic and even elsewhere, Japan has indicated that it will redesign its whaling programs and continue operations. Based upon Japan׳s history at the IWC, I argue here that this was an expected outcome; I predict the course of events over the next months, and suggest that the ICJ ruling, while satisfying as an independent vindication of Japan׳s critics, represents little more than a temporary setback for that nation׳s whaling enterprise.     

Can bargaining resolve the international conflict over whaling?

As the International Whaling Commission has failed to establish a consensus on the interpretation and enforcement of a moratorium on commercial whaling, the disagreement between Australia and Japan over whaling has recently escalated. Australia, a leading opponent of whaling, questioned Japan's scientific whaling program in the Antarctic at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ICJ ruled in 2014 that the Japanese whaling program is unscientific, but Japan revised the program and implemented it after the court ruling. To overcome the current international stalemate regarding whaling, this paper examines the possibility of a bargaining solution to this conflict, particularly through voluntary monetary compensation from Australia to Japan to halt whaling activities. The results of nationwide surveys indicate that Australia's total willingness to pay for the discontinuation of whaling by Japan is significantly greater than Japan's willingness to accept to abandon whaling in the high seas despite a substantial population difference between the two countries. The results suggest that a financial transfer could be a win-win strategy to resolve this long-standing international conflict.     

Whaling and its controversies: Examining the attitudes of Japan's youth

This article presents the results of a survey examining the attitudes of young Japanese people towards whaling and its controversies. Using an online and paper-based questionnaire, 529 useable surveys were completed by Japanese students (between 15 and 26 years old) from May to December 2007. Factorial analysis, correlation and regression models were used to identify relational predictors underlying the attitudes of young Japanese people on whaling issues. An approval of whaling exists amongst the participating students, with two constructs standing out as contributing the most to this affirmation; firstly, an approval of the consumption of whalemeat by Japanese children; and secondly, an acceptance of the pro-whaling rhetoric commonly produced by the Government of Japan (GOJ) and associated media. This research represents an initial exploration into the attitudinal structures of Japanese students on whaling issues, contributing to a deeper understanding of the complexities that surround the debate.     

Assessing the competitive effects of marine mammal predation on commercial fisheries

Commercial fishermen in many parts of the world perceive marine mammals as competitors for a scarce resource: fish. The importance of predation by marine mammals can be evaluated crudely by considering the marine mammal as a rival fishery whose operation is constrained by physiology and energetic requirements, rather than by catch limits and gear restrictions. Evidence collected from grey seals Halichoerus grypus in the United Kingdom, southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina and beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas shows that published information on distribution, based on the location of breeding sites and sightings in shallow water, may give an unrealistic picture of foraging distribution. Studies of diet and distribution can give an impression of the static nature of the inter-action between a marine mammal and the fishery. However, it is the dynamics of the interaction which are important. A critical question to be posed is how will the consumption of a particular prey species vary with its availability to the predator?