PlanetArk 14 Jul 10;
A worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling remains in place after talks to replace it with a controlled cull of some species collapsed at the IWC's annual meeting in the Moroccan port city of Agadir.
The moratorium has been in place for 24 years but Japan, Norway and Iceland have kept up whaling and some indigenous communities can also hunt for small numbers of whales.
Here are some facts about whales and whaling:
* THE BAN
-- Commercial whaling was prohibited under a 1986 moratorium but Japan culls whales for what it says is scientific research, while Norway and Iceland carry out full commercial whaling. Much of the whale meat ends up in restaurants and on dinner tables.
-- The three nations have been pushing for a formal end to the moratorium, saying stocks of some species have recovered. Their catches have strained diplomatic ties with many of their usual allies. Countries including the United States, members of the European Union, Australia and New Zealand oppose the hunts. -- Australia filed a complaint against Japan at the world court in The Hague in May to stop Southern Ocean scientific whaling. In the filing, Australia said Japan was violating the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling by killing whales for research purposes.
* OVERALL PICTURE -- Blue whales of the Antarctic, the biggest creature ever to live on Earth, are at less than 1 percent of their original abundance despite 40 years of complete protection. Some populations of whales are recovering but some are not.
-- Whaling nations say that stocks of the small minke whale, the main species caught, are big enough to withstand their hunts.
-- The West Pacific grey whale population is the most endangered in the world. It hovers on the edge of extinction with just over 100 remaining.
-- According to the WWF, 31,984 whales have been killed by whaling between 1986 and 2008.
* SOME WHALE NUMBERS
-- Humpback whales currently number around 20,000.
-- Blue whales number up to 12,000. Before the era of industrial whaling, it was 200,000-300,000.
-- Fin whales are the second largest animal in the world after the blue whale, the fastest swimming of all the large whales. Their numbers are 85,000; pre-whaling -- 400,000.
-- Minke whales - There is no estimate of total global population size, but estimates from parts of the range in the Northern Hemisphere (totaling in excess of 100,000) show that it is well above the thresholds for a threatened category.
-- While declines have been detected or inferred in some areas, there is no indication that the global population has dwindled to an extent that would qualify for a threatened category.
* SOME IWC QUOTAS
-- Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas stock of bowhead whales (taken by native people of Alaska and Chukotka) - a total of up to 280 bowhead whales can be landed in the period 2008-2012, with no more than 67 whales struck in any year.
-- Eastern North Pacific gray whales (taken by native people of Chukotka and Washington State ) - total catch of 620 whales is allowed for the years 2008-2012.
-- West Greenland fin whales (taken by Greenlanders) - total catch of 19 whales is allowed for 2008-2012.
-- West Greenland common minke whales - taken by Greenlanders. Total limit of 200 whales is allowed for the years 2008-2012 with an annual review by the Scientific Committee.
-- West Greenland bowhead whales - taken by Greenlanders. An annual strike limit of 2 whales is allowed for the years 2008-2012 with an annual review by the Scientific Committee.
-- East Greenland common minke whales (taken by Greenlanders) - total catch limit of 12 whales is allowed for the years 2008-2012.
-- Humpback whales taken by St Vincent and The Grenadines - For the seasons 2008-2012 the number of humpback whales to be taken shall not exceed 20.
NATIONAL QUOTAS
-- JAPANESE whalers caught about 500 whales in the Antarctic this season, little more than half the target of 900 after clashes with environmentalists. It says this is part of research which is needed to understand the life cycles of whales.
-- NORWAY - It has set a quota of 1,286 minke whales for the current summer season, the highest since Oslo resumed commercial hunts in 1993. But whalers only caught 484 whales in 2009, well below a quota of 885. Environmentalists say that demand has shrivelled.
-- ICELAND - Resumed commercial hunts in 2006 after a 20-year break. It set a quota of 100 minke whales and 150 fin whales for 2009.
Sources: Reuters/www.greenpeace.com/www.coolantarctica.com/iwc/ www.iucnredlist.org
(Editing by Mark Heinrich)
