Washington, United States —
Whales and dolphins drowned in fishing nets and killed by ships were laid out in the center of Berlin by Greenpeace activists today as a stark reminder of the range of threats to the mammals, just one week before the annual International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting convenes in Anchorage, Alaska.
“Three hundred thousand whales and dolphins drown in fishing nets each year and it is impossible to calculate how many more fall victim to pollution, ship strikes, the impacts of sonar or climate change,“ said Greenpeace USA whales project leader Karen Sack. “How can pro-whaling nations justify hunting them as well?“
Next week more than seventy nations will gather in Anchorage to determine the fate of the great whales, under increasing pressure from whaling nations such as Japan, Iceland and Norway, for a formal resumption of commercial whaling. Later this year in the Southern Ocean, the Japanese government plans to hunt nearly 900 minke whales, increase the take of endangered fin whales to 50 and add 50 threatened humpback whales to the quota.
“Governments attending the IWC must make a commitment to defend the whales,
not the whaling industry,“ added Sack. “The drive to resume commercial hunting is one of the most extreme examples of governments’ failure to protect our oceans in their entirety. A clear signal needs to be sent that oceans protection is being taken seriously and governments, most especially the U.S. government, can start at the IWC by defending the moratorium on commercial whaling.”
The whales and dolphins where placed in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. They were washed up on European beaches and subsequently collected by Greenpeace activists. The causes of death ranged from drowning in fishing nets, toxic pollution or from underwater noise. Some of them show scars from ship propellers or fishermen’s knifes. One died as it was giving birth.
Whales and dolphins are key components of healthy oceans, but increased pressure from overfishing, climate change and pollution are threatening all the worlds oceans and its diverse marine life. Ironically, tomorrow is the International Day of Biodiversity. Many whale species have still not recovered from the devastation of commercial whaling and population levels for some species, including minke whales in Antarctica, are unknown, making it clear that there in no place for commercial whaling in the 21st century. Strong conservation measures need to be taken to protect them. Most important is the designation of large-scale marine reserves where no fishing or commercial whaling would be allowed.
As public concern for the lost humpback whales in California grows, Greenpeace is calling on the U.S. government to lead pro-conservation countries at the IWC. Meanwhile, whale defenders along the West Coast are in the process of showing support for whale conservation by holding human art events, beginning yesterday in Loreto, on the Baja peninsula of Mexico.
