Japan to expand whale hunt to include new species
ABC News Online, Tuesday, April 12, 2005. 7:42pm (AEST)
Japan is set to expand its annual whale hunt to take two new species as well as nearly doubling its planned catch of minke whales, according to the Kyodo news agency. The move would almost certainly spark a global outcry if true.
Kyodo quotes unnamed sources as saying that under a new plan for what Tokyo calls its research whaling program, Japan would take humpback whales and fin whales in addition to the four whale species it currently hunts.
Japan, where whale meat is a delicacy, abandoned commercial whaling in 1986 in line with an international ban, but began a program to hunt whales in what it calls scientific research whaling the next year. The meat ends up on store shelves and on the tables of gourmet restaurants.
Tokyo maintains that eating whale is an important part of its cultural heritage despite the protests of environmentalists determined to prevent the killing of the marine mammals, some species of which are endangered. The plan is to be submitted to the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) this summer.
It calls for Japan initially to hunt around 10 humpbacks and 10 fin whales, Kyodo said, and to sharply increase the number of minkes it takes each year from the 440 it took in the Antarctic in the past whaling season.
Japan last expanded its hunt in 2002, when it added sei whales to the list, setting off an international furore. It also takes sperm whales and Bryde's whales in addition to minkes. It says it supports protection of endangered species but argues that others, such as the minke, are numerous enough to be hunted within limits.
A Fisheries Agency official declined to comment, saying that under IWC rules, no details of the plan can be revealed until it has been presented at the meeting.
"However, it has been recorded that the populations of the humpback and fin whales in Antarctica are increasing," he said. "Nobody disputes this."
Japanese officials have said they will continue whaling even if the plan is rejected at the IWC meeting in South Korea this summer.
"We always maintain that we will discuss these things scientifically," the official said. "But with whales, it quickly grows emotional."
Japan blames whales for declining fish catches, saying the mammoth mammals consume such vast quantities of fish that they have contributed to a huge drop in fish landings.
Japan and other pro-whaling nations have become increasingly frustrated by what they see as a growing anti-whaling slant to the IWC's annual meetings, especially after the 2004 meeting ended with a small but significant victory for countries that want to maintain the whaling ban.
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Dolphin beaching puts Navy on defensive about sonar
Knight Ridder Newspapers, May 1, 2005
More than 70 rough-toothed dolphins beached themselves in the Middle Keys in March, leaving over half their number dead. There was one immediate suspect: a U.S. Navy submarine conducting exercises off the Keys in the days before the marine mammals came to shore.
The USS Philadelphia used mid- and high-frequency sonar at least some of that time to navigate - a fact that piqued the interest of scientists who believe that powerful sonar transmissions from Navy submarines and ships may harm dolphins and whales in ways not yet understood.
What remains are tantalizing questions - and another high-profile incident that has raised awareness about sonar technology and placed its patron, the Navy, on the defensive.
The Navy is the largest sponsor of studies on marine mammal responses to sonar, spending about $10 million a year on the topic.
The most conclusive link between the use of military sonar and injury to marine mammals was observed from a stranding of beaked whales in 2000 in the Bahamas. The Navy later acknowledged that sonar likely contributed to the stranding of the extremely shy species.
Military sonar has also been alleged as a factor in the strandings of porpoises off the coast of Washington state and of melon-headed whales off the coast of Hawaii, while other potentially sonar-related strandings have occurred in Greece and the Canary Islands.
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It's a girl: Baby born to wholphin in Hawaii in December
CNN, April 15, 2005 3:51 PM EDT)
The only whale-dolphin mix in captivity has given birth to a playful female calf at Sea Life Park in Hawaii.
The calf was born on December 23 to Kekaimalu, a mix of a false killer whale and an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. The young as-yet unnamed wholphin is one-fourth false killer whale and three-fourths Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. She is jumbo-sized compared with purebred dolphins, and is already the size of a one-year-old bottlenose.
Kekaimalu has given birth to two other calves. One lived for nine years and the other, born when Kekaimalu was very young, died a few days after birth. Park researchers suspect the wholphin's father is a 8-foot long Atlantic bottlenose dolphin named Mikioi.
Sea Life Park officials said they hope to decide on a name for the baby wholphin soon and move her to a large display tank in a few months. Mother and calf are said to be doing very well.
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Marine parks ignore plights of whales as number of deaths rise
WDCS/NBC, April 08, 2005
The recent death of an orca known as "Splash" at a SeaWorld park in
California, has brought the total death toll for orcas in captivity to a
shocking 8 in the past year alone.
In captivity, the lives of whales and dolphins are often dramatically
shortened through illness, stress, or injury. At only 15 years old, Splash
was a youngster and his death highlights the huge concerns about the welfare
of whales and dolphins held in marine parks around the world.
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US Senate resolution condemns violent slaughter of dolphins
WDCS, April 08, 2005
A US Senator has condemned the hunting of dolphins and small whales for slaughter as meat and fertilizer or for eventual sale to theme parks and aquaria. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced a senate resolution on April 7th to help end the practice known as "drive hunts" and urged participating countries to stop the brutal treatment of these animals.
Drive hunts are run by fishers who use scare tactics to herd, chase, and corral the animals into shallow waters where they are trapped and then killed or hauled off live to be sold into captivity. Both WDCS and the Humane Society oppose all killing of marine mammals in commercial hunts.
The cruelty endured by dolphins and whales caught in drive hunts is immense. On board motorized boats, drive hunt fishers loudly bang metal pipes over the side of their boats to disorient the animals and drive them toward shore where they are trapped by nets and stabbed with long knives.
The resolution introduced by Sen. Lautenberg also calls on the United States government to take affirmative steps to expand the scope of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), an international convention which was formed to regulate whaling, to allow it to protect dolphins and small whales. The IWC is also urged to make full use of all appropriate diplomatic mechanisms and laws, including trade measures, to put an end to the drive hunts in Japan and other countries.
Fishers have killed small cetaceans along the coastlines of Japan for centuries with no regard for the humaneness or sustainability of the hunt. Currently, up to 20,000 small cetaceans of several species are killed in Japanese drive and harpoon hunts each year. In the last two decades, more than 400,000 have been slaughtered in Japan alone.
Today, some dolphins caught during Japanese drive hunts are kept alive and set aside for sale to theme parks and aquaria, fetching tens of thousands of dollars each. The high pay off by theme park officials for these animals provides fishers with motivation and justification to continue the drives.
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Toxic Warning: Dolphin Meat is Poisoning the Japanese People
Elsa Nature Conservancy of Japan, One Voice, Earth Island Institute, May 03, 2005
The Japanese government provides no warning to its people that eating dolphin meat is a serious health hazard.
Three international environmental organizations — the Elsa Nature Conservancy (ENC) of Japan, the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute (EII), and One Voice of France, warned today that dolphin meat sold to the Japanese people is highly contaminated with mercury, methylmercury, cadmium, DDT, and PCBs. Despite the scientific evidence of dangerous contamination, the Japanese government provides no warning to its people that eating dolphin meat is a serious health hazard.
Dolphin meat on the market in Japan can be mislabeled as “whale” meat. Fishermen drive dolphins into shallow bays and nets, where some are harpooned and butchered in blood-filled waters. Other dolphins are sold for high profits to aquariums around the world.
ENC acquired a slice of meat from a bottlenose dolphin that was 48 times higher than the maximum advisory level set by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry of Japan.
Mercury can cause severe damage to the brain and nervous system in adults, and is particularly dangerous for young children and pregnant women. To avoid contamination, consumers in Japan are advised to avoid buying dolphin or “whale” meat.
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Crown of Thorns Starfish Threaten Manta’s Coral
Inquirer News Service, Mar 31, 2005
Six to seven hectares of a coral reef in the Philippines, home to the world's largest manta rays, are facing extinction if authorities do not move fast. A large colony of crown of thorns, a kind of starfish, has invaded the Tacdugan Reef.
The colony of starfish have been eating the polyps out of the corals. A big part of the reef is already bleaching, indicating that this portion is already dead. Authorities say damaged corals could no longer be rehabilitated and the death of the corals would cut the food chain in the reef and endanger the plankton-eating manta rays.
The manta ray has been declared an endangered species- catching it is prohibited by law. The situation calls for immediate action to save the reef and with it, the mantas.
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Shark attack closes north shore beach
Maui News, Tuesday, May 03, 2005 12:50 PM
While paddling out to catch a wave at a north shore surf spot on Monday morning, Scott Hoyt felt something hit his surfboard from below.
Hoyt, 47, was uninjured but “pretty shaken” following the confirmed shark attack at about 10:30 a.m. “The impact was so hard,” said Hoyt who was knocked off his board, “I looked back. I saw a gray head at the end of the board.”
While witnesses’ descriptions and bite marks on Hoyt’s surfboard confirmed the attack, the type and size of the shark couldn’t be determined. Luckily, Hoyt’s legs were on the surfboard. “There’s maybe five teeth marks and a little bit of damage to one of the fins,” he said.
The incident occurred about 300 yards offshore in 2- to 4-foot waves. The water was very clean and clear.
Noriega’s, which is between Mama’s Fish House and Tavares Bay, is a popular windsurfing and surfing spot. There has been no recollection of a previous shark attack at the location. The beach was closed between Tavares Bay and Mama’s Fish House after the attack.
DLNR enforcement officers on a personal watercraft in area waters Monday hadn’t seen anything – such as large schools of fish or dead animals – that would be attracting sharks to the attack site.
Hoyt said the attack wouldn’t stop him from surfing. “Maybe on the south shore later this week,” he said.
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Increased shark activity prompts a study to assess risk
Associated Press, Monday, April 11, 2005
There are at least 40 different species of sharks swimming in Hawaii's waters.
Most people never see them, but Leeward Oahu residents say they have seen more of the large, toothy predators hanging around since a fish farm growing moi took up residence about two miles offshore at Ewa Beach almost six years ago.
With plans for new aquaculture farms off their coast, residents want to find out if they should be concerned. On Friday, state lawmakers approved a state-funded study of sharks off Oahu's Leeward Coast to learn if the fish farm is bringing the much-maligned creatures closer to shore.
Sharks have been spotted around the Ewa Beach farm's four pens, which are each about the size of a small house and anchored in 150 feet of water.
The sharks have never caused trouble for workers at the facility, are seen only occasionally, and are exclusively the sandbar shark, a species not known to be aggressive to humans.
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President Bush defends environmental policies on Earth Day
Planet Ark, April 26, 2005
"We didn't create this earth, but we have an obligation to protect it," Bush said in an airport hangar at nearby Knoxville's McGhee Tyson Airport.
Many environmentalists consider the Bush administration to be the most anti-environmental in the modern era, dismantling the framework of environmental laws, standards, and enforcement that underpins environmental protection in the United States.
"This administration, in catering to industries that put America's health and natural heritage at risk, threatens to do more damage to our environmental protections than any other in US history," the National Resources Defense Council said on its Web site.
But Bush said his administration had moved to protect the environment while encouraging economic growth. He cited a rule aimed at cutting pollution from diesel engines by 90 percent, and said 90 percent of Americans have water that meets stringent health standards. He also cited moves he has taken to expand wetlands and guard against forest fires by removing downed trees.
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Murkowski introduces legislation banning federal fish farming
Mirror Washington Bureau, April 15th, 2005
Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduced legislation today to ban fish farming in federal waters offshore nationwide.
The legislation, if passed, would declare that no aquaculture shall occur in waters beyond the three-mile state boundaries until federal agencies study diseases, pollution, genetic mixing risks and economic effects, among other issues.
Once the studies are completed, Congress would not have to act again to lift the ban, said Murkowski’s spokesman Elliott Bundy. The decision to issue acquaculture permits or not could be made administratively, though the decision would be subject to congressional oversight.
The legislation also requires that each federal agency must consult with the governor of the nearest state before approving a permit. Also, if a permit is issued, it must be approved by the regional fisheries management council.
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No butter for Bubba, the 22-pound lobster
Pittsburg Associated Press, April 06, 2005
According to a necropsy, a bacterial infection killed "Bubba the Lobster," the giant lobster who died just a day after being spared from the dinner table.
Tipping the scales at about 23-pounds, the three-foot long Bubba grabbed national headlines. Based on how long it typically takes a lobster to reach eating size (five to seven years to grow to a pound) some estimate Bubba is 100 years old.
That would make the crustacean older than Warner Bros. (1907), the Boy Scouts (1910) and the states of Arizona and New Mexico (1912), not to mention the first commercial radio station (1920), television (1927) and computers (1943).
Bob Bayer, executive director of the University of Maine's Lobster Institute, is skeptical and estimates that Bubba is likely 50 years old. Warm water and plenty of food may have more to do with a lobster's size than how long it's been alive.
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