Posts Tagged ‘Whaling’
West Coast Humpback Whales Face “Perfect Storm” as Risk of Accidental Entanglements Increase
Accidental entanglement in fishing gear is one of the biggest global threats to whales and dolphins. Off all coasts of the U.S., entanglement is growing issue, especially for endangered populations of whales. In the Pacific Ocean off the West Coast, entanglements have increased significantly since 2013 and reached record levels compared to the historic average. …
Read MoreWhalers turn whale watchers
WDC and the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Environment Fund are celebrating the launch of two boats that will be dedicated to whale and wildlife watching tours. The two vessels will operate out of Barrouallie, a place that had been known for the taking of pilot whales, orcas and some species of dolphins. However, since 2014,…
Read MoreNo change in Norway as number of whales to be killed remains high
Norway’s Minister of Fisheries has announced today that the country has set itself the same number of whales that it will seek to kill in 2019 as were slaughtered in 2018. The quota level will be 1278 minke whales, a very high figure given the lack of demand for the meat in Norway. Some of…
Read MoreIcelandic whaling report raises concerns
A long-anticipated report into the economic impact of Icelandic whaling has been released and raises a number of concerns. Commissioned by the Icelandic government’s Ministry of Industries and Innovation, which includes the pro-whaling Fisheries Ministry, the report is authored by the University of Iceland’s Institute of Economic Studies, and concludes that whaling is of overall benefit to the…
Read MoreJapan officially announces intention to start commercial whaling again
Today the Japanese government confirmed its withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission (IWC – the international body that regulates whale hunting) in order to officially resume commercial whaling. Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, said in a statement the hunts would start in July 2019. In 1982, the IWC introduced a ban on all commercial…
Read MoreJapan to withdraw from International Whaling Commission and start hunting whales for commercial profit
The Japanese government has decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC – the international body that regulates whale hunting) so that it can begin hunting whales for commercial profit. In doing so, Japan has effectively turned its back on international co-operation around the regulation of whale hunting. In 1982, the IWC introduced a…
Read MoreA new opportunity to stop Japan’s whaling?
Last Wednesday, the European Parliament voted ‘yes’ to the EU-Japan free trade agreement (or Economic Partnership Agreement). It also agreed to a closely related strategic partnership agreement with Japan. This marked the end of our campaign to use these trade talks to get better protection for whales from the harpoons of Japanese whalers. Our aim…
Read MoreWill Japan leave the International Whaling Commission?
Every now and again whaling interests in Japan call on their government to leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC, the body that regulates whaling). ‘JEXIT’ as one commentator noted, trying to be clever. This is not the first time that Japan has threatened to leave the IWC. Seemingly used as a negotiating tool, it has…
Read MoreNo EU-Japan trade agreement unless Japan stops whaling!
When we launched our campaign in March 2016, calling on the EU to make whaling a deal breaker in the negotiations with Japan on a free trade agreement, we had a clear goal: to get the EU to use the trade talks as a powerful tool and put pressure on Japan to stop its whaling…
Read MoreNorwegian government minister donates huge sum to help increase falling whale meat sales
Norwegian fisheries minister, Harald Nesvik, has donated half a million kroner (around £46k) to support marketing of minke whale meat in Norway in an attempt to increase flagging sales. He exclaims that ‘whale tastes good! It’s excellent meat, it’s healthy and we should just eat more of it’ and that ‘Norwegian whaling is sustainable and…
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