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Disaster looms for whales

Whale sanctuary under siege

18 November 2005

Established in 1994, the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is under siege like never before. This year nearly one thousand whales can expect to find no quarter or refuge in the protected waters around the Antarctic. They will be hunted down and killed in the name of science: they will be measured, weighed, cut up and boxed for market, all too often simply remaining on the freezer shelves because so few people relish the taste of whale meat.

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Industrial Whaling Factsheet

18 November 2005

Call me Ishmael...! Whaling folklore speaks of tradition, of the noble hunt, of man pitting his wits against the ferocious sea and against mighty intelligent leviathans. But the history of whaling is far from glamorous, far from something to look back at through rose tinted spectacles. It is bloody tale of persecution, greed and stupidity, nowhere more so than in the waters encircling the Antarctic.

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Tradition, culture & science

18 November 2005

In recent years, Japan’s pro-whaling lobbyists have deployed a series of excuses for continuing the hunt, despite the existence since 1986 of a global commercial whaling moratorium. First comes science: to gather much needed data, they claim, in order to restart commercial whaling on a sustainable basis. Second, comes culture: Japan’s long tradition of whaling and the dietary importance of whale meat. Finally, a new and possibly the silliest, argument has been added: whales eat fish and are threatening fish stocks.

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Whales and Fish

21 June 2005

Briefing issued in Ulsan, Korea for the 57th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission

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Whale Watching

19 July 2004

Briefing prepared for the International Whaling Commission meeting in Sorrento, 2004. The view that whales are worth far more alive than dead is one that is shared by an increasing number of people worldwide, many of whom are directly benefiting from the phenomenal growth of whale watching.

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Rigging the system - How japan is buying control of the IWC

18 May 2002

Rigging the system – How japan is buying control of the IWC

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Buying a Return to Commercial Whaling: How the government of Japan uses fisheries grant aid to secure pro-whaling votes in the IWC

18 April 2002

'They (Japan) make it clear, that if you don't vote for them, they will have to reconsider the aid. They use money crudely to buy influence.' - Atherton Martin, Dominica's past Environment and Fisheries Minister The Observer , May 2001

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Whale watching and Caribbean Island tourism.

01 December 2001

Whale watching is a billion dollar industry, practised in more than 87 different countries and territories world wide, attracting over nine million boat and land based participants per year. In 1998, the value of the global whale watching industry was estimated at 299,509,000 USD and 1,049 million USD was gained from indirect tourism expenditure.

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