Thursday, September 21, 2017

Wildlife Conservation: Whaling may have all-but ended, but threats to the world’s whales remain

Whaling may have all-but ended, but threats to the world’s whales remain

After more than a decade harassing Japanese whaling vessels in the Southern Ocean, marine conservation organisation Sea Shepherd announced this summer that it would no longer be obstructing the seasonal hunt for minke whale. The group said the cost of sending their vessels south to the waters around the Antarctic had grown in recent years and their activities have been further disrupted due to the alleged use of military tracking technology targeting their ships and new anti-terrorism laws passed by Japan.

In March this year, 333 minke whales were caught by Japanese whaling companies. Japan's government insists the hunting of minke whale is for research purposes, a claim that is widely contested by conservation groups.

Having started out as small hunting expeditions using spears and primitive harpoons launched from rowing boats, whaling rapidly expanded into an industrialised business in the 19th and 20th centuries. The advent of steam power and projectile or exploding harpoons meant that by the 1930s, 50,000 whales were being killed every year.

As whale numbers diminished, concerns that whole species may become extinct eventually led to most whaling being banned by the International Whaling Commission in 1986. Although some populations have been able to bounce back, many species remain depleted and some are still in decline.


Full story at http://ind.pn/2w9cGK1


Source: Independent


Tweet This Story

 

 

 

Donation:
If you appreciate the things I share, consider making a contribution
no matter how small via PayPal or with TransferWise (EUR).
If you use Waves my wallet address is: 3PPeCnXEDAiRVzvsuGRycrNDHhWgDq68uVt
If you use Bitcoin my wallet address is: 12pAsyMdZoTHPvkiRAZiuQhC8bF4DLbYpQ

Bitcoin QR-Code

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Copy and paste this code into your pages.