Commercial whaling: For/Against/Indifferent?

[GScholz]

Gyrenere, are you also against commercial fishing?

500,000 whales is really "abundant" for such a large animal. The minke whale population is so large that they are having trouble finding enough food. There are ongoing discussions in scientific circles whether the minke whale population should be culled to create a better/more healthy stock. Harvesting one in 500 animals each year is very sustainable.

[gyrene81]

Gyrenere, are you also against commercial fishing?

yes i am. especially when it's uncontrolled to the point of endangering species or wiping them out. for some species it's not an issue due to their reproductive numbers. but check history and it will show where like nearly everything we humans have done throughout history, commercial fishing has brought many species of fish to the brink of extinction.

500,000 whales is really "abundant" for such a large animal. The minke whale population is so large that they are having trouble finding enough food. There are ongoing discussions in scientific circles whether the minke whale population should be culled to create a better/more healthy stock. Harvesting one in 500 animals each year is very sustainable.

that may be "abundant" in your neck of the ocean, but not elsewhere. and we all know the main reason they are having trouble finding enough food is because of commercial fishing.

i wouldn't be against whale hunting, or commercial fishing if it wasn't for the fact that other countries (including the u.s.) have proven they don't care whether they destroy a species as long as there is a profit to be made while they exist.

[GScholz]

That's one of the reasons Norway didn't enter the EU. We wanted stricter regulation of fisheries than what the EU was willing to accept. Whether the animals are "free grazing" or herded in enclosed areas cannot be much of an issue as long as the resource is harvested responsibly? Minke whale is hardly an endangered species, it has never been an endangered species, and the population is in fact increasing (which is why we're considering culling).

Btw. we've been doing this for more than 1,200 years now. As whale-shepherds we're as good as the Irish are with sheep.

[VonMessa]

yes i am. especially when it's uncontrolled to the point of endangering species or wiping them out. for some species it's not an issue due to their reproductive numbers. but check history and it will show where like nearly everything we humans have done throughout history, commercial fishing has brought many species of fish to the brink of extinction.

that may be "abundant" in your neck of the ocean, but not elsewhere. and we all know the main reason they are having trouble finding enough food is because of commercial fishing.

i wouldn't be against whale hunting, or commercial fishing if it wasn't for the fact that other countries (including the u.s.) have proven they don't care whether they destroy a species as long as there is a profit to be made while they exist.

Has there been a sudden drop in the plankton population?

Sponge Bob making too many Crabby Patties these days?

[VonMessa]

If the whale is used for all it's worth, fat rendered for fuel, meat for for food, etc. I have no problem with it.  Hunting rhino and elephant for ivory or sex toys only bothers me.  

I have a whale foreskin that I got as a gift.

I can pull it out of my pocket, give it a shake and use it for a duffel bag...

[danny76]

Commercial whaling is a bit different than that Danny. Today we use cannon with explosive shells that kill the animal instantly. It is then winched aboard a factory ship which turns it into food that is sold in the supermarket alongside beef products from other animals. It is a regulated industry were the number of whales that can be harvested is determined by state employed scientists.

(Image removed from quote.)

Really? So the annual "festival" on Faroe slaughtering hundreds of pilot whales is humane and instant slaughter? Utter crap. Its brutality for the sake of it disguised as tradition. Its no different from fox hunting, badger baiting, or dog/cock fighting!

[gyrene81]

Has there been a sudden drop in the plankton population?

Sponge Bob making too many Crabby Patties these days?

well, considering the makeup of plankton and the general decline of some species included in the term plankton, yes...but minke whales don't feed exclusively on plankton.

In the Northeast Pacific, minke whales feed on variety of small schooling fish such as herring, capelin and sandlance in addition to a variety of zooplankton. In general, they feed on whatever is locally abundant at the time. In the Southern Hemisphere krill forms a major part of the minke whale diet.

Minke whales are known for eating a variety of small fish, krill, copepods, cod, herring, capelin, and pollock among other small sea creatures.

[GScholz]

Really? So the annual "festival" on Faroe slaughtering hundreds of pilot whales is humane and instant slaughter? Utter crap. Its brutality for the sake of it disguised as tradition. Its no different from fox hunting, badger baiting, or dog/cock fighting!

Danny, that's a local ritualistic tradition, not commercial whaling. Note that the title of this thread and the question I asked is about commercial whaling.

[VonMessa]

well, considering the makeup of plankton and the general decline of some species included in the term plankton, yes...but minke whales don't feed exclusively on plankton.

It was a jest.

They are baleen whales.  Basically a swimming kitty litter scooper with a diet just about the same as Blue whales.

[SPKmes]

The problem with the whaling the OP is on about is that it is carried out under the premise of scientific research by the Japanese in a supposedly marine protected area.
  The sea Shepard guys are actually stupid and do more to complicate things than fix things...yes they bring the subject to light but they do so in a way that goes against rules, much like the Japanese whalers make rules to do their thing...the sea Shepard make rules for themselves also...but both argue the actual rules when it suits their case....

The biggest thing it brings to light is the no nuts Govt. (sorry if this breaks a rule) NZ has...not no nuts...just money focused....


Where scholz is from is a totally different thing.... and totally different whales .... they are as he says...a sea cow

[gyrene81]

It was a jest.

They are baleen whales.  Basically a swimming kitty litter scooper with a diet just about the same as Blue whales.

lol, ok but you forgot the    

kitty litter scooper <snicker> 

[Gman]

I think that Shark finning is a much larger problem than whaling right now.  There is absolutely no nutritional value in a shark fin, and to boot they usually have a lot of harmful other things contained in them, such as mercury etc.  It's just a silly cultural thing to eat it, and hundreds of millions of sharks are killed for absolutely nothing, which is really messing up the food chain apparently.  I'd be all for hunting and eating whales if it is properly controlled as it is say with the cattle we eat by the millions, when compared to the sharks which aren't used at all other than for the fins, which again, have no value being consumed by humans other than cultural/religious/etc reasons.

At least the Japanese/Norwegians/whoever that still hunt whales are using the product of the hunts for commercial sale and food - the countries that do all the shark finning can't even say that.

[GScholz]

Gyrene, there are not many species of fish that minke whale compete with humans for. Perhaps sardines and a few small codfish.

[Vudu15]

Heck if they use what they kill and its regulated which it is I dont care just like us hunting any other animal. I know I use a lot less of a deer then Im sure these guys do with whales.

[mbailey]

I think if its part of your culture then by all means do it. That said, im sure that your country does more to protect these animals than most, being that you want that part of your culture to last a long time. Im fairly certain, that the permits and such required to harvest these animals is directly reinvested into the resource.
I know that here in the US, any item sold that has to do with hunting or fishing ( guns, ammo, rods, lures, bait, clothing,boots,knives,calls,scents,boats.....you get the jist) is subject to the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, which requires the manufacturer of said items to pay a special excise tax, that goes directly into Wildlife Restoration and Conservation. Sportsman, and Fisherman are the largest contributers (money wise) to wildlife restoration and conservation here in the states.

I have a whale foreskin that I got as a gift.

I can pull it out of my pocket, give it a shake and use it for a duffel bag...

And if he rubs it just right, it grows and he can use it to cover his Jeep