Featured Image Credit: NOAA
By Jessie Kittel
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has had a rather colorful and sometimes controversial 70 year history. This international body is who we have to thank for the whaling moratorium that will be celebrating its’ 30th anniversary this year.
Whales were tremendously overexploited from around the 1500s until the moratorium was put into to place in 1986.
Whales are long-lived. As with most animals that grow to be large and live to ripe old ages (think elephants) they only give birth to one offspring at a time, often skip years between giving birth, and sometimes don’t start reproducing until they’re pushing 10 years old. Whales aren’t capable of reproducing quickly enough to make up for the rate that individuals were being harvested by whalers. This is a recipe for an extinction disaster if not responsibly managed.
This is where the moratorium comes in. Now, keep in mind, the whaling moratorium is considered a “pause” in whaling activities (for all the countries that decide to comply). The original plan was, once whale populations have rebounded from the brink of extinction that whaling left them, the situation would be reevaluated to decide if whaling should be reopened. While many populations have been on the rise, sometimes surprisingly rapidly, overall, the populations are nowhere near robust enough to allow for “harvest”.
Environment News Service reported on the most recent IWC meeting, which was held in Slovenia, and noted there were some victories as well as some losses for the pro-whale conservation side.
The proposal for a South Atlantic Ocean Sanctuary was, once again, rejected. Brazil has been pushing a proposed sanctuary that would allow complete protection for whales for about 15 years. Maybe next time guys.
There was a bittersweet victory for the critically endangered vaquita dolphin (found in the Northern Gulf of California). At present, there are fewer than 59 individuals that remain of this species. The loss of the vaquita would be the second cetacean to go extinct within the last decade. The IWC was forced to face the facts, and if they were to lose this species, the IWC would also likely lose a lot of credibility as an organization. Fortunately, this meeting led to Mexico announcing a permanent ban on gillnets, the primary perpetrators in vaquita by-catch.
This IWC meeting took on the very controversial topic of scientific whaling. The problem is scientific whaling isn’t actually regulated by the IWC, although technically it is allowed within the moratorium. Each country gets to issue their own scientific whaling permits and certain countries have taken advantage of that caveat. Japan issues itself a special permit to kill hundreds of whales annually, yet have very minimal scientific data to show for it. This year, the IWC decided to tighten up the loose ends on this loophole and are even establishing a separate working group within the IWC to consider the issue. However, the Japanese will continue whaling.
In general, the reports regarding the great whales (such as humpbacks and blue whales) are very encouraging. Most populations are rebounding at a relatively steady pace. The smaller cetaceans (such as the vaquita) aren’t doing quite as well. In fact, in many cases it’s actually pretty devastating. Multiple species and populations number at less than 100, and while it depends on the species, that’s not enough for a viable population unless they start rebounding in the near future.
As CBC news reports, this all comes on the heels of news that the Southern Resident Orca population is possibly facing starvation and reports from the World Wildlife Fund that by 2020 we could lose two thirds of the earth’s wildlife.
Here’s hoping for some good news in the near future!