Page - December 20, 2006
Expectations for the recovery of whale populations have been based on the assumption that, except for commercial whaling, a whale’s place in the ocean is as secure as it was a hundred years ago. Sadly, this assumption is no longer true.
The ocean holds more threats for whales than just whaling.
Whaling is no longer the only threat to whales.
The oceans, or rather, human impacts on the oceans, have changed dramatically over the half-century since whales have been protected.
Known environmental threats to whales include climate change, pollution, overfishing, ozone depletion, noise such as sonar weaponry, and ship strikes. Industrial fishing threatens the food supply of whales and also puts whales at risk of entanglement in fishing gear.
If you're thinking of eating whale, you might want to think again - the blubber of dead whales in some areas is so highly contaminated with organochlorines such as PCBs and pesticides that it would be classified as toxic waste!
Organochlorines are known to damage development of children and affect reproduction.
Whales are facing more threats than ever before, and therefore need our protection now more than ever.