International Whaling Commission

Report: Toxins Found in Whales Bad News for Humans

Posted on Jul 21, 2010 by Zachary Shahan.

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Bad news and bad news for whales these days — endangered baby whales are dying from the BP oil spill and the toxic dispersants used to “clean it up” and the International Whaling Committee has been discussing whether or not to legalize whaling of endangered whale species.

Now, a new study finds that sperm whales in even the most remote areas of the Earth’s oceans contain extremely high levels of toxins and heavy metals.

Of course, this is not only bad news for the whales, but also for humans
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Japanese Whalers Making Big Money on Illegal Whale Meat

Posted on Jul 06, 2010 by Zachary Shahan.

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The BP oil spill may have killed a baby whale, but there are much bigger problems for endangered whales around the world.

Japanese, Norwegian and Icelandic whalers have been whaling unsustainably and illegally for years despite an international moratorium on whaling. Rather than address this problem with stronger laws and enforcement, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) is discussing lifting the moratorium and replacing it with a whaling quota this week.
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Whales Caught as Incidental Bycatch Threaten Coastal Populations

Posted on Jul 08, 2009 by Derek Markham.

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The number of whales killed and sold as ‘incidental bycatch’ along the coasts of Japan and South Korea may equal the amount of whales caught through legal whaling, threatening populations of minke, western gray, humpbacks, fin whales, and Bryde’s whales.
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Japan Kills Large Numbers of Pregnant Whales in Antarctic Hunt

Posted on Jun 29, 2009 by Jennifer Lance.

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Hunting whales is part of the Japanese culture that comes under heavy criticism from environmentalists. Due to “disruptions by anti-whaling activists,” Japanese whale hunters killed fewer whales during their 2008-2009 Antarctic hunting season. 679 minke whales were killed short of the target of 850.Â Nearly one-third of those whales were pregnant.Â
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