Japan pushes for doubling of whale kill
The Guardian, May 27 2005
Japan is likely to provoke the biggest diplomatic clash over whale hunting for years today when it proposes doubling the number it is allowed to kill for "scientific research".
Japanese officials refused to discuss details ahead of the opening of a meeting for the International Whaling Commission in South Korea. But opponents say Tokyo wants to double its annual kill of minke whales to 800, and to kill 50 humpback and 50 fin whales, the first time it has hunted the two species since its research program began in 1987.
The IWC's 57 members are split. Opponents concede that it may take only several years for Japan and its allies to secure the three-quarters of the votes they need to resume full commercial whaling. Tokyo has repeatedly threatened to leave if the IWC continues to block a resumption of even a limited form of commercial whaling.
Scientific hunts are permitted under IWC regulations. But scientific necessity and methods are being questioned. Whalers argue, "we are conducting this research so that we can properly manage whale resources," and “scientists say that the most reliable way of determining a whale's age is by examining wax from its inner ear, a procedure that means killing the animal first.”
Critics question these methods because 2,000 tons of meat from the culls is sold in restaurants and supermarkets.
Scientific arguments aside, many Japanese regard the ban as an attack on their way of life. “All people have the right to decide how to live based on their culture. Eating whale meat is a part of our culture, and we want to protect it.”
"The government talks about our tradition of whaling, but there's nothing traditional about hunting using modern ships and equipment," says Greenpeace of Japan. "Most teenagers and people in their 20s have never eaten whale meat, so I don't think we can say it's a living tradition. Consumption is actually declining here."
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Coastal whale hunting season opens
The Guardian, 25 May 2005
Japan’s coastal whale hunting season in the Sea of Japan has begun, with the first catch of Baird's beaked whale landed in Hakodate port, Hokkaido.
Fishermen from the Taiji Fisheries Association caught the Baird's beaked whale – a male 9m long and weighing 10 tons – off the town of Matsumae in Hokkaido. The whale was taken to a seafood processing factory to be put up for auction.
Baird's beaked whale is found in the North Pacific Ocean, most commonly around Japan, central California and off Vancouver Island in Canada. This species falls outside the jurisdiction of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) as it is assumed that it is not in immediate danger of extinction.
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Plan for marine refuge opposed
Honolulu Advisor, May 23, 2005
U.S. Rep. Ed Case's proposal for a marine refuge around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, where all fishing, lobstering and coral diving would be banned, is frustrating to federal officials who believe the area can easily handle limited use of its resources.
Case, D-Hawai'i, introduced a bill that would establish a 137,000-square-mile zone of federal protection extending 50 miles from the shore of each of the islands and reefs of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, plus an extension to cover seamounts used by Hawaiian monk seals northwest of Kure Atoll.
Most of the proposed region is similar in outline to areas being considered for a national marine sanctuary, but Case said the difference is that a sanctuary could allow some extraction of resources, while a refuge would not.
"Not to have fishing around islands where the resource is healthy is difficult to accept," said the executive director of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. "We're talking about 112,000 square miles of ocean and only a few boats. We in Hawai'i have always been dependent on foreign suppliers, but this means those fish resources will have to be taken from fisheries that don't have the environmental laws that we have here," she said.
A third of the state's bottom fish resources come from the waters of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Only nine boats operate there, and the weights of the fish they are catching have been generally stable over several years.
When the state held public hearings on its proposal to restrict fishing in state waters around the northwestern islands, the overwhelming public sentiment was for total protection.
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Satellite Reveals Secrets of Bermuda's Deep-Diving Dolphins
Forbes, May 27, 2005
Three wild (bottlenose)dolphins living in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Bermuda are surprising scientists and a worldwide audience following the dolphins' daily swims and dives via the Internet.
Named JD, Chip and Bermudiana by field biologists, the three wild dolphins were briefly caught, fitted with satellite tags and released two weeks ago by researchers studying the offshore dolphin group. Their travels are tracked by satellite relay technology and posted daily on the research Web site. Time-depth recorders measure and report the dolphins' diving behavior.
Preliminary data shows Bermudiana, the only female of the three, diving to depths exceeding 600 meters (1,950 feet), by far the deepest dives recorded for the species. And while much of the dolphins' daily movements appear to be meanderings around the island, Chip and Bermudiana have recently raised eyebrows and questions by taking off on a week-long journey to nearly 200 kilometers (124 miles) northeast of Bermuda.
The dolphins may be making regular dives more than one-third mile below the ocean surface to feast on lantern fish, squid, and other mid-level water creatures. The deep dives last for duration of 10 minutes and more.
Another question puzzling researchers is whether the dolphins, observed sporadically by Bermuda fishermen, are a stable, resident population living in proximity to the island year round. While scientists initially thought this to be the case, the more distant travels of two of the recently tagged dolphins may reveal a wider home range and more frequent ocean ramblings.
You can follow the daily movements of the three dolphins of the Bermuda Wild Dolphin Tracking Project online at www.dolphinquest.org.
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Disney Rejects Pleas Against Serving Shark Fin Soup
WTOV9, May 23, 2005
Disney officials have rejected appeals from environmentalists who urged Hong Kong Disneyland not to serve shark fin soup when the park opens in September.
Greenpeace and the Worldwide Fund for Nature asked Hong Kong Disneyland to take shark fin soup off the menu after the theme park announced last week the delicacy would be served at wedding banquets and other special events.
Environmentalists say millions of sharks are killed each year for their fins, driving many species close to extinction. The fins are hacked off and the fish are dumped back into the sea to die.
But Disney says that while it takes the environment very seriously, the company is equally sensitive to local cultures and the dish is a key part of Chinese banquets.
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New invention promises shark protection for surfers
ABC News, May 19, 2005.
A shark deterring device created especially for surfers could be in Western Australian waters by this summer. The device emits an electrical impulse which causes muscle spasms in sharks if they come within 10 metres of a person who is wearing it.
South Australian-based Sea Change Technologies is currently working on three kinds of devices suitable for surfers. The designs include one that will strap around the ankle, one that attaches to a board, and the other is a holster to go around the waist.
"We've had lots of requests from people who fear great whites (sharks), people don't want to surf and risk being attacked by a shark, even though the chances of being attacked by the shark are remote," the company says.
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Five-year ban on black coral recommended
Tallahassee Democrat, May. 21, 2005
An advisory group has recommended a five-year ban on harvesting the gemstone known as black coral in Hawaiian waters because younger populations of the coral are declining.
Black coral is a living organism that attaches itself to rocks in deep water and grows like a plant. People harvest the animal's skeleton after it dies for use in jewelry and other decorative objects.
The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council only has jurisdiction over federal waters, which extend from three miles to 200 miles offshore. The committee said it will urge the state of Hawaii, which oversees waters up to the three-mile mark, to impose a similar restriction. If black coral populations do not recover after the five-year period, the ban should be extended, the committee suggested.
The state's largest retailer of black coral, Maui Divers of Hawaii Ltd., immediately criticized the step as unnecessary and said the resource was not shrinking. "The black coral beds are sustaining," they insist, "the coral is growing at least as fast as it is being harvested."
Black coral sales in Hawaii total about $30 million annually, it is estimated.
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How Safe Is Your Shrimp Dinner?
The Boston Channel, May 18, 2005
Shrimp is the number one seafood choice in the nation. Most of it is farm-raised in other countries (mainly China, India, Malaysia, Peru, Thailand, & Vietnam) and imported to the United States. These countries use antibiotics banned in the United States to ward off viruses in shrimp farms.
Chloramphenicol, widely used in third-world countries because it's so inexpensive, is used on humans only in life-threatening situations due to its strength. The FDA said there's also a potential side effect that comes with chloramphenicol -- a rare blood disease called aplastic anemia that causes damage to bone marrow, rendering the body incapable of producing red blood cells.
Although some experts say the risk of aplastic anemia is low, there are even bigger worries -- the use of antibiotics in general, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can live on shrimp.
Bacteria get into the water where the shrimp is farmed, and that water is treated with antibiotics. Eventually the bacteria get smart and become resistant to the antibiotics. The bacteria continue live and thrive, and if you eat them, they could make you sick.
The FDA inspects only between 1 and 2 percent of imported shrimp. To help consumers make educated choices, the government recently began requiring manufacturers to label shrimp products with their country of origin and to list whether it's wild or farm-raised.
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Zoo tempts gay penguins to go straight
Ananova, February 11, 2005
A German zoo has imported four female penguins from Sweden in an effort to tempt its gay penguins to go straight. The four Swedish females were dispatched to the Bremerhaven Zoo in Bremen after it was found that three of the zoo's five penguin pairs were homosexual.
Keepers at the zoo ordered DNA tests to be carried out on the penguins after they had been mating for years without producing any chicks. It was only then they realized that six of the birds were living in homosexual partnerships.
Director Heike Kueck said that the zoo hoped to see some baby penguins in the coming months. She said that the birds had been mating for years and one couple even adopted a stone that they protected like an egg.
Kueck said that the project has the support of the European Endangered Species Programme because the penguins, which are native to South America, are an endangered species. A biologist will be on hand to monitor the experiment. But introducing the Bremerhaven penguins to their new Swedish friends may not be as successful as hoped after earlier experiments revealed great difficulties in separating homosexual couples.
In case they show no interest, the zoo has also flown in two new male penguins "so that the ladies don't miss out altogether", Kueck added.
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National Geographic Whale Expedition
Join photographer Flip Nicklin on a National Geographic Expedition through Alaska's Inside Passage!
August 21 - 28, 2005. For details, click on the link below:
www.whaletrust.org/new_sub/expeditions_trip_204.html
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