Baleen whales (e.g. Bowhead): 8 species Toothed whales (1 species: Sperm whale) Spermaceti (liquid wax – candles and lubricants) Meat (rendered into oil) Baleen (like plastic) Meat (for food or oil) Chapter 7: Whales and Whaling No species hunted to extinction; BUT: many hunted to commercial extinction; and many stocks extirpated The “Great” Whales:

Baleen Corsets

Krill (Baleen whale food) Giant Squid (Sperm whale food) Amphipod (Gray whale food)

Baleen

Baleen Whales -hunted for meat (for oil) and baleen Right Whale (Northern and Southern) Bowhead Whale Gray Whale Humpback Whale Blue Whale Fin Whale Sei Whale Minke Whale “Rorquals”

Early Whaling (“thousands of years”): Eskimos First few centuries A.D.: Japan A.D.: Norway, Basque 17th Century: British, Dutch, American

The Right Whale (to hunt) Main target of early whalers Listed as Endangered since the ESA was established Listed as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act No longer hunted; but not recovering Now divided into 3 species, ALL endangered

Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis: 7,500 North Pacific Right Whale: Eubalaena japonicus: ~100 left North Atlantic Right Whale: Eubalaena glacialis: ~300 left

North Atlantic Right Whale: Eubalaena glacialis: VERY few calves reported Critical Habitat designated

North Pacific Right Whale: Eubalaena japonicus Critical Habitat designated 2006 Now threatened by oil and gas development in their critical habitat

Bowhead Whale Atlantic: extinct Pacific: about 7500, hunted (67 / year) by Alaskan Eskimos

Eskimos carving muktuk from a Bowhead Whale

Harpooning Sperm Whales In the Atlantic from New England; In the Pacific from Hawaii

Bad end to a “Nantucket Sleigh Ride”

Sperm Whale and Giant Squid (Architeuthis, up to 57 feet long!) 23MagnapinnidaeQ04.mpg 23MagnapinnidaeQ03.mpg 50MagnapinnidaeQ01.mpg

Feeding method Amphipods California Gray Whale

Winter Whale watching from Newport Beach: Davey’s Locker

WINTER

Gray whales hunted from 16 shore stations in California, and in Baja Lagoons

Harpoon Gun

Early Whaling Modern Whaling

“Modern” Whaling - Explosive Harpoon INVENTED 1868

Harpoon guns on fast steam-driven vessels - made it possible to catch the faster-swimming rorquals (blue, fin, Sei, and Minke whales).

Factory Ship

Sustaining Harvest by Serial Depletion: The History of Commercial Whaling Fin Blue Fin Sperm Minke Sei Humpback Fin War

Blue Whale: Was ~250,000; Now ~14,000 Rorquals Largest animal ever to have lived on earth. Largest: 108 feet long Can weigh up to 150 tons

Common Dolphin: Off Dana Point 8/12/07

Fin Whale: Was ~470,000; Now ~111,000

Sei Whale: Was ~200,000; Now ~25,000

Minke Whale: Was ~140,000; Now ~940,000

Humpback Whale: Was down to a few thousand at the time of the moratorium Now ~60,000, growing at 5% per year in North Pacific

Humpback Whale (baby) completely airborne - the only existing photograph showing a whale voluntarily flying

International Whaling Commission (IWC) : Established by the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling – 1946 “The purpose of the Convention is to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry” Originally 14, now 72 member nations Purpose is NOT “to protect all whales irrespective of their abundance”

1986: Commercial Moratorium

Every year Norway violates the IWC moratorium Kills ~ 600 North Atlantic Minke Whales 1997; IWC passed a Resolution calling on Norway to halt all whaling activities under its jurisdiction. Annually since 1998: Self-imposed quota of whales Iceland plans to take 100 minke, 100 fin, and 50 sei whales within Iceland’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone. Moratorium Loophole #1: Compliance is voluntary

Since the moratorium

Limits for Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas stock of bowhead whales (taken by Alaskan Eskimos and native peoples of Chukotka):~67 / year West Greenland fin whales (taken by Greenlanders):19 / year West Greenland minke whales (taken by Greenlanders): 200 / year West Greenland bowhead whales: 2 / year East Greenland minke whales (taken by Greenlanders):12 / year Humpback whales (taken by St Vincent and The Grenadines): 20 / year Eastern North Pacific gray whales (taken by native peoples of the USA and the Russian Federation): ~140 / year Moratorium Loophole #2: Aboriginal / Subsistence Whaling allows subsistence quotas for groups whose “traditional aboriginal subsistence and cultural needs have been recognized”

: “JARPA II” program Annual kill of 850 Minke, 50 humpback and 50 fin whales within the Southern Ocean Sanctuary Objectives: –Monitor the Antarctic Ecosystem –Monitor competition among whale species –Elucidate temporal and spatial changes in stock structure –Improve management procedure for Antarctic minke whale stocks Whale meat is sold to wholesalers The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources has questioned Japan’s lethal research methods and has called for a special review of the program. Japan’s “research whaling” in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary Moratorium Loophole #3: Exceptions for “Research”

Japanese Minke whale harvest

Emotional Anti-Whaling Battle Escalates in Southern Ocean CANBERRA, Australia, January 16, 2007 (ENS) - Australian Environment Minister Ian Campbell says Japanese whalers will not be allowed to dock in Australia as long as he is minister.

The Sea Shepherd vessel strikes the Japanese supply tanker Oriental Bluebird and deploys a sharp blade Captain Paul Watson calls "the can opener." The bow of the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise was damaged by the Japanese factory whaler Nissin Maru Whalers use water cannons against Greenpeace

The U.S. at IWC will not consider lifting the moratorium on commercial whaling until Revised Management Scheme (RMS) is in place. Opposes Iceland’s reservation to the moratorium on commercial whaling. strongly questions Japan’s and Iceland’s claims that lethal scientific whaling is necessary to evaluate the impact of whale predation on fish stocks. strongly supports proposals to establish whale sanctuaries in the South Pacific Ocean and in the South Atlantic Ocean

U. S. laws Supporting IWC Decisions (In addition to ESA; MMPA) Packwood/Magnuson and Pelly Amendments to the Fishermen's Protective Act: –U.S. Government must invoke sanctions against any nation that undermines the authority of the IWC. –But: Inconsistent with free-trade principles of World Trade Organization (WTO)

Low Frequency Active Sonar Deafeningly loud sonar is a proven danger to marine life, but its use throughout the world's oceans is spreading. This powerful movie makes plain what sonar does to whalesmovie Thanks to a ruling by the U.S. Department of Commerce on January 23, 2007, the U.S. Navy will be able to test its powerful new SONAR system. Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England permitted the U.S. Navy a two-year grace period, until January 2009, to test the new High-Power, Mid-Frequency SONAR system. Several lawsuits have been filed The American Cetacean Society asks you to write to your congressman to protest the two-year exemption.