Are the Japanese still whaling in Antarctica?

Are the Japanese still whaling in Antarctica?

On December 26, 2018, Japan announced that since the IWC failed its duty to promote sustainable hunting, which is one of its stated goals, Japan is withdrawing its membership and will resume commercial hunting in its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone from July 1, 2019, but will cease whaling activities in …

Is The Sea Shepherd still fighting whaling?

Sea Shepherd has been opposing whaling since the 1970s and remains committed to seeing an end to whaling in the world’s oceans. The whale war in the Southern Ocean continued between Sea Shepherd and the Japanese whaling fleet until this year when Japan announced an end to their Antarctic whaling program.

What is whaling and why is it controversial?

It was banned in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) – a group whose job it is to look after whale conservation – after some species became almost extinct. Japan announced it was withdrawing from the IWC, which it has been a member of since 1951.

What is jarpa II?

Research objectives JARPA II will monitor the changes over the years of various environmental variables, prey density and abundance, and abundances and biological parameters of three baleen whales: the Antarctic minke, humpback and fin whales.

Why is whaling a problem?

The future for whales is threatened by countries’ disregarding and working to lift the IWC’s moratorium on commercial whale hunting, as well as vessel strikes, fishing gear entanglement, ocean pollution (including marine debris), habitat loss and human-created, loud noise.

What are the disadvantages of whaling?

This means that they accumulate higher levels of pollutants than many other marine resources. Research shows that in addition to the healthy nutrients in pilot whale meat and blubber, they also contain both mercury and PCBs. How polluted the whales are differs from school to school and from animal to animal.

What is jarpa?

JARPA is the abbreviation for Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Application. To streamline the permitting process for projects near the shoreline, multiple regulatory agencies (Federal, State and Local) joined forces to create one application that people can use to apply for more than one permit at a time.

What was the opposition to the Antarctic whaling?

Opposition to Antarctic whaling includes attempts at the IWC and elsewhere to revoke or alter the exceptions used by Japan and others and direct attempts to interfere with whaling operations. This latter method, particularly the activities of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, has brought Antarctic whaling into the international spotlight.

Why was the International Whaling Commission set up?

The Antarctic whale fishery has been described as being more like mining rather than a sustainable fishery. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was set up to attempt to regulate the industry to a position of sustainability (where catches are balanced by production) but was widely regarded at failing in this.

When was the last whaling season in Antarctica?

Whale catches by year from the 1909-1910 Antarctic whaling season to 2000-2001 by species.

What kind of whale do they catch in Antarctica?

The vast majority of the yearly catch in Antarctica consists of the Antarctic minke whale, also known as the southern minke whale. Some fin whales are also harvested, but in significantly smaller numbers.