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Jaymes Christopher

Ms. Andaluz

English 100

November 14, 2016

Whaling: A Needless Industry

The whale was an essential resource for survival in many societies of the past, not just for

food, but for tools and other necessities. For many indigenous peoples whaling was not an

unethical practice; it was no different than Native Americans hunting deer or wild boar.

However, in modern day society, whale hunting is much less primitive and many people feel that

the current methods of hunting whales are cruel and brutal. And, the reasons for hunting whales

are no longer for primary necessities, but to generate revenue in a disputed industry. The whale

has become a nonessential resource that is more of a luxury product rather than a vital resource

to survive. The materials acquired from whaling are outdated in modern times; they can all be

easily replaced by other products. Whaling has become a pointless and cruel industry that should

be stopped immediately.

To fully understand the situation, knowing a brief history of whaling is necessary.

According to the National Geographic website, there is evidence of whaling tools as far back as

6000 B.C, but nobody knows for sure when whaling was first practiced (Society, National

Geographic). The earliest known method of whaling was to use boats to herd the whales to the

shore, where they were killed and taken back to be picked apart. The valuable meat and oil from

the whales were an important part of the diets of certain native peoples. Whales also appeared on

totems and other ancient pieces of art, which signifies how culturally important they were to their

communities. In the days of early whaling, every part of the whale was used for some purpose.
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The meat of the whale was an important food source that would support families for months, and

the bones were also used to make tools and weapons. The baleen of the whale was used for

weaving baskets, fishing line, building homes, and other necessities. For indigenous peoples like

the Inuits of Alaska, whaling was necessary to survive.

A modern Inuit strips the whale of its meat for eating.

Whaling eventually became a widespread practice. The materials gained from whaling

were also used for cosmetic purposes at the time and certain parts of the whale were considered

valuable delicacies. The oil from whales was also widely used for lamps, which made whaling

even more popular and extremely profitable. According to the National Geographic website, by

the year of 1800, whaling had expanded to new areas and innovations were being made that

resulted in whaling methods becoming quicker and more efficient (Society, National

Geographic). From grenade-tipped harpoons to steam powered ships, whaling technology was

advancing at a very fast rate.

Over time, fossil fuels became much more popular than whale oil and the whaling

industry became much less profitable. Everything that whale bone could be used for was

replaced by new synthetic materials that were stronger and cheaper. The consumption of whale

meat had also greatly declined, and there was little reason left to still continue whaling. Some

species of whales were listed as endangered because they had been overhunted and commercial

whaling was outlawed in 1986 (Society, National Geographic).

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The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was formed in 1946 (IWC | International

Whaling Commission) in order to prevent whales from being hunted too frivolously. When the

IWC voted for a moratorium on commercial whaling, Norway, Japan, and Iceland voted against

it. The global moratorium was implemented thanks to organizations determined to spread the

word about endangered whales and the cruel methods used to kill whales. Even though the

moratorium was implemented, all three of these countries continued to whale illegally or under

shady circumstances and sell the meat on the black market. Japan conducts scientific whaling in

the Northwest Pacific Ocean and the Antarctic Ocean with a quota of 333 whales every year

according to an article on US News (Japan's whaling fleet has returned with 333 whales it caught

in its first Antarctic harvest since an international court ruling stopped its hunt two years ago).

However, many claim that Japan catches too many whales for their intentions to be just for

scientific purposes, and that their whaling program was actually created so that they can sell and

consume the whale meat under a scientific provision. Besides the IWC, there are other

organizations that hope to stop or at least regulate whaling more strictly.

Greenpeace has been fighting whaling in Japan, Norway, and Iceland for 40 years

according to the greenpeace website (@greenpeaceusa). Greenpeace is an organization that

believes in a green and peaceful future for the world. They have been campaigning to save the

Arctic, protect forests and oceans, fight global warming, and promote sustainable agriculture.

They spread awareness of these issues and protest them in various ways. They dont accept

donations from governments or from political figures because they dont want to be obligated to

support a cause that they dont believe in. In defense of the whales, they have spoken with

political leaders and have exposed Japans black market whale meat trade. Their non-violent
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protests and efforts to stop illegal whaling have earned them a lot of support from people around

the world. Greenpeace also played a big part in passing the moratorium on whaling in 1986.

A whale and calf are dragged into the Japanese whaling boat by harpoon.

The Sea Shepherd is another organization that fights illegal whaling. Greenpeace and the

Sea Shepherd have very different opinions about how whaling should be opposed. While

Greenpeace is a protest organization, the Sea Shepherd is an interventionist organization that

hopes to stop Japanese whaling boats from hunting in whale sanctuaries. In the eyes of the Sea

Shepherd, Greenpeace is not directly addressing the issues at hand, so they have decided to take

matters into their own hands. As stated on a Sea Shepherd website, in the Antarctic whale

sanctuary, the Sea Shepherd physically disrupts Japanese attempts to hunt whales by throwing

rotten butter onto their ships (Sea Shepherd Conservation Society). They have also been known

to throw rope into their propellers, causing their boats to be immobile. They also have other

methods of harassing the whalers and stalling their operation. While this organization is radical

in nature, it is important to know that they have forced Japan to take measures in making their

whaling more discreet and their annual quota has since dropped. Greenpeace refers to the Sea

Shepherds as ecoterrorists, (Sea Shepherd Conservation Society) which they deny, but their

actions do seem to adhere to the definition of terrorism.

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Another example of a dispute against whaling occurred on March 31, 2014 (Payne),

when Australia won a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice against Japan and its whaling

program. The Court found Japan guilty of violating some provisions set by the IWC by

participating in large scale whaling under the provision of scientific whaling. As a result of this

ruling, Japan's permits were reviewed and that specific whaling program was halted. However,

Japan found a loophole in the ruling that would allow them to continue whaling. They only had

to make a new whaling program in order to continue their long tradition of hunting whales again.

By revoking that programs whaling permits, the International Court of Justice basically ruled

that Japan needed to start a new whaling program under a different name. Although this suit

didnt stop Japan from whaling, it certainly did make some progress towards some kind of

solution. Japans region where they are able to hunt for whales has dramatically decreased in

size. That means that they can not catch as many whales as fast as they have in the past. Japan

also stopped all of its whaling for one full year after the court case.

Many people were happy that Japan wasnt able to hunt whales as abundantly as they had

in the past, but the Japanese whaling officials claimed that they were victims of emotional

propaganda. They make the argument that whales are like any other form of hunted animals.

They also compare their situation to one where India prevents America from hunting cows

because cows are worshipped in Indian culture. They do not think that whales are special in the

way that a large number of westerners do, and they believe that what they are doing should not

be considered illegal. There are many speculations as to why Japan continues to hunt whales.

Even on the black market, whale meat is not profitable enough to be worth catching, so why do

they continue to support this dying industry?

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There are many theories as to why the Japanese government is so set on continuing their

old tradition of whaling. An article on the animal planet website from the Whale Wars

television show states that the Japanese are very proud of their culture. They also state that any

people who speak out against Japanese culture are viewed as culturally arrogant (Why Do the

Japanese Hunt Whales? Whale Wars). The supposed cultural arrogance of other countries is what

drives Japan to continue whaling according to the article. The next speculation is from a website

featuring Keiko Hirata, a political scientist in California (Philpott). She wrote that Japan

continues to whale because they dont see whales as special animals of the sea that need to be

protected like westerners do. They think that its hypocritical for America to condemn whaling,

but support the factory farming of other animals and killing them in brutal ways. After World

War 2, Japans economy was destroyed. During this period, food was difficult to obtain and so

Japan began to whale more. Whales provided a cheap alternative to normal meat during those

difficult times. Small-scale whaling is traditional in some parts of Japan, but whale meat was

only ever popular in the postwar period. So for older Japanese, this is like nostalgia food, said

Katarzyna Cwiertka (The Japanese Barely Eat Whale. So Why Do They Keep Whaling?), a

Japanese studies professor.

While the Japanese point of view may seem flawed, so is the point of view for activists

against whaling. One can argue that if conservation is a major concern, then why dont they

place their concerns and focus more on bluefin tuna? Bluefin tuna is a much more endangered

species than the whale and it is a major component of a Japanese diet. So why are so many

people trying to save the whales? The main reason why so many people love whales is because

of how intelligent they are. On the WDC website, whales and dolphins are said to be part of the

few animal species that can learn individually and pass the skills that they have learned on to
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their offspring (Brain Power). They can communicate with others of their species in a basic way

and work as a team to accomplish a goal. Whales also like to play by jumping out of the water

and occasionally getting up close and personal with whale watching boats. The intelligence of

whales and their behavior indicate that they have personalities or at least seem to have them.

This makes them relatable and even cute in the eyes of the average whale watcher. This is

probably a huge influence on the amount of people who are against whaling and the amount of

backing that greenpeace has gotten directed toward this cause.

With the decrease of whaling, endangered whale populations have grown back somewhat

from when they were most abundantly hunted. This was possibly thanks to the IWC and the

selective whaling of countries like Japan and Norway. Conserving endangered species is

important in order to keep the worlds ecosystem balanced. Most of the whales being hunted

currently are minke whales, which are plentiful and far from endangered, which is a good thing.

The real issue is about how humans heavily capitalize on whales and have hunted some of them

to the brink of extinction before the danger of the situation was realized. The ecosystem of our

planet is very adaptable, but at the same time, its very fragile. It is dependant upon the food

chain, where animals eat other animals to control populations, and species adapt to new

situations in order to survive. Even killing off one species of animal has its consequences and the

balance of earth's ecosystem can fall apart if too many important and indispensable animals

become extinct. Humans are arguably the largest power on the face of the earth, so its our

responsibility to try and keep our actions from having a considerable negative impact on the rest

of the world. Just as the world constantly evolves, so must we in our efforts to support it instead

of destroying it. Just because there were a lot of whales at one point, doesnt mean that there will

always be a lot of whales. Protecting the whales in our oceans from needless whaling and brutal
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slaughtering is not only for the benefit of the whales, but for the benefit of all endangered

species.

Works Cited

Society, National Geographic. "Big Fish: A Brief History of Whaling." National Geographic

Society. N.p., 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

Japan's whaling fleet has returned with 333 whales it caught in its first Antarctic harvest since an

international court ruling stopped its hunt two years ago. Unnews, 24 Mar. 2016. Web. 12 Dec.

2016.
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@greenpeaceusa. "Save the Whales." Greenpeace USA. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

"Why Do the Japanese Hunt Whales? Whale Wars." Animal Planet. N.p., 02 Oct. 2014. Web. 12

Dec. 2016.

"IWC | International Whaling Commission." IWC | International Whaling Commission. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

Payne, Cymie R. "Australia vs. Japan." Asil. N.p., 8 Apr. 2014. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

"Arguments Against Whaling." Arguments Against Whaling. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

"The Cruelty of Whaling." IFAW - International Fund for Animal Welfare. N.p., n.d. Web. 12

Dec. 2016.

User, Super. "Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - What Is Greenpeace Thinking? |

Commentary Archive | Commentary | News And Commentary." Sea Shepherd Conservation

Society. N.p., 18 Feb. 2009. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

Tom Philpott. "Japan Can't Resist Killing Whales. Here's Why." Mother Jones. N.p., n.d. Web.

12 Dec. 2016.
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"The Japanese Barely Eat Whale. So Why Do They Keep Whaling?" Wired. Conde Nast, n.d.

Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

"Brain Power." WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.