HUNTING WHALES

Hunting Whales

Hunting Whales

Objective 1: Introduction and self Evaluation

Whaling carries out an image of timelessness, of people trapped in the past, living in poverty and risking their lives in order to survive by hunting whales with primitive tools. The truth is that we have moved a long way since whaling by aborigines was first given a special status in 1931 by the whaling convention that preceded the IWC. The aim of this document is to give an overview of the hunting for large whales in Greenland as it is done today.

The document includes:

A brief review of our long whaling history

An update of the current status of the stocks of large whales found around Greenland

A summary of our legislation and monitoring system regarding hunting of large whales

An explanation of our work aimed at improving the welfare aspects of the hunt, with updated statistics

A discussion of our current need of whale meat and our motivation for whaling

A mention to our future plans regarding hunting of large whales.



Objective 2

Which countries are still hunting whales?

Japan and European countries has a long history of whaling. Half a dozen towns can trace their whaling history back hundreds of years, to when whales were driven into nets, harpooned repeatedly and then dispatched with either a long sword or a wooden plug driven into the blowhole. Hand harpoons dating as far back as 10,000 B.C. indicate an even longer tradition of whaling in Japan.

At the turn of the 20th century, Japanese coastal whaling received a boost with the introduction of steam ships and grenade-tipped harpoon guns. However, it wasn't until 1934 that Japan expanded its whaling to Antarctica. Whales helped keep Japanese citizens fed both during and after World War 2. In 1947 whale meat made up almost half of all animal protein consumed by the country. Nearly 20 years later, whales continued to make up nearly one-quarter of the Japanese diet.

Besides Japan, Norway and Iceland is another major country which is still hunting whales and currently Europe plans to hunt more whales than Japan for the first time in many years, dividing EU countries and dismaying conservationists who say that whaling is escalating in response to the worldwide recession.

Figures seen by the Guardian before a meeting of more than 80 countries next week, show that Norway, Denmark and Iceland propose to hunt 1,478 whales compared to Japan's 1,280 in 2009. This would be an increase of nearly 20% by Europe on last year.

"Norway and Iceland likes to point the finger at Japan as a rogue whaling nation but Europeans are killing whales in increasing numbers in their own waters. Europe has become whale enemy number one", said Kate O'Connell, campaigner for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS).

Iceland - which today began its 2009 hunt by killing the first two of 150 fin whales - and Norway, are the only two countries to hunt whales commercially. This breaches a 23-year-old worldwide moratorium introduced to preserve critically endangered whale ...