Whaling: Right or Wrong?

[Captain CaveMan]

Im sorry that i got off topic

i just got upset that people are fighting hunting and i took it to that topic.

 

[tangfish]

there is no more hunting of endangered whales going on; hasn't for
a while now.

whales are not in danger of over-hunting for the simple reason that no one
except for the Japanese, the Icelanders, and the Norwegians is going
after them, and then only after the minke, for about 2,200 specimens to be
taken. that out of a total population of (a conservative) 700,000 does not
constitute "over hunting."

as to habitat destruction, global warming is a big issue, yes. in fact, it's
the real issue.

this "whale hunting" is a p.r. thing... it sounds good, a noble cause, stop
the slaughter of the whales... it's just p.r. you're being played.

now, even for a good cause, i don't like to be played.

Ok, though I might not agree with him, at least these are the words of an intelligent person who has thought through his opinion and is not an imbecile. H2Andy, I'll have to look into the stats you cited. Just makes me sad. Even if these whales are not endangered, can't we think of another, less-magnificent animal to hunt? What would those people be using if they weren't using whale carcass?

 

[H2Andy]

They are also taking Fin whales and next year plan to take Humpbacks.

they are taking 10 fins this year. Out of a total population of over 100,000,
i don't see this as a problem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fin_whale

as to the humpbacks, i don't know what their plans are, but i would oppose any
taking, as there are only about 35,000 humpbacks left, from a low of 20,000
in 1966. this is much too slow of a "rebound" to justify any taking, in my book.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humpback_Whale

 

[Captain CaveMan]

To stay on topic-- how do they know or find these numbers. the oceans are so big that were find things out every day.

 

[H2Andy]

well.... they're really guesstimates... but the IWC says that they are 95%
accurate... so...

i guess you really have to take them with a grain of salt, but i imagine
they're in the ballpark

 

[gangrel441]

Ok, though I might not agree with him, at least these are the words of an intelligent person who has thought through his opinion and is not an imbecile. H2Andy, I'll have to look into the stats you cited. Just makes me sad. Even if these whales are not endangered, can't we think of another, less-magnificent animal to hunt? What would those people be using if they weren't using whale carcass?

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=122740&page=2

Post #14, 2:07 pm today...

"MINKES AREN'T ENDANGERED."

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

they are taking 10 fins this year. Out of a total population of over 100,000,
i don't see this as a problem.

OK, but you were being disingenuous when you said they were only taking Minkes. I feel the slope getting slipperier.

If 10 whales isn't a problem, then why not 20 next year? How about 50? Where is the line?

Why must we always wait for a problem to become wildly apparent before we do something about it? I'll say it again. I can't think of any industrialized harvest of a natural resource that didn't, in the end, result in massive overharvest of the resource.

After all, that's why there are only 100,000 Fin whales now...they aren't recovered yet, but you're OK with starting to hunt them...dangerous precedent in my book, especially if Japanese jobs start counting on it, and then we just can't take away people's livelihoods by stopping whaling, and so we have to let it continue, and maybe increase just a little...

Slippery...I don't like the precedent, and I think history has shown us that mankind, in the end, has no restraint.

 

[Captain CaveMan]

will they ever start to tag the whales that they think are in danger? thats a good way to keep the fisherman to write down the numers they take. and to get a good count.
like they do to cows and pigs

 

[H2Andy]

OK, but you were being disingenuous when you said they were only taking Minkes.

well, here you're reading my mind and telling me what my motives are for
making a statment.

but even so, you're wrong factually. i clearly stated that they were taking Minkes
and Fin:

yessir... i know that "stop whaling" sounds sexy, but the Japanese are killing
940 minke a year (and minke are not endangered anyway) and 10 finback whales

http://www.scubaboard.com/showpost.php?p=1423641&postcount=16

 

[Kim]

Here we are again with another - 'Oooo...bad Japanese they eat whales' thread. I'd find it easier to listen to if everyone involved was vegetarian and didn't make false distinctions between which animals it's OK to eat and which aren't. I'd also find it easier to listen to if I didn't know that many of the anti whale hunting lobby are quite prepared to jump into their gas-guzzling 4X4s and rush off to kill deer any chance they get, or as someone already pointed out, spear massive groupers that actually are endangered, or decimate North Atlantic tuna stocks etc etc etc.
If you live in Japan it's quite easy to understand why whaling is an integral part of their culture. They don't have vast roaming grasslands which they can husband other animals on - they have sea - and lots of it. Consequently they eat almost anything that comes from the sea - including whales. It's a similar reason to why the Norwegians, Icelanders, and Inuit do exactly the same - and have done for centuries. At least it's not something like clubbing baby seals to death so their fur can be sold on 5th Avenue, the Champs Elysee, or Bond street while their bodies are left behind staining the ice with a pretty red colour.
As for the - 'but it's our seas' argument. Which countries fishing fleet confines itself to fishing only in it's own territorial waters? That's a laugh.
But still many criticize from their own moral standpoint while totally ignoring that other people have different morals - Jews and Muslems abhor the eating of pork - Hindus abhor the eating of beef. It's their culture and simply because it differs from yours doesn't give an automatic right to slam it. That was the rationale behind colonial conquests and slavery. The world has moved on since then (mostly).
I don't usually quote religious stuff but I always liked;
"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
or more secularly:
"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" (funny how they both involve slinging rocks around)
I don't know anyone who is personally without fault, or any culture without traits abhorrent to others, or any country with the moral authority to tell others what to do (often when it doesn't even reflect how they act themselves)