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Wanted Alive: Whales in The Wild



Whales Deaths Mount Despite Moratorium

May 12th, 1998
(En Français)

Blue whale

GLAND, Switzerland --Over 18,000 whales, the gentle giants of the sea,  have been killed mainly by Russia, Japan and Norway since the international moratorium on whaling came into effect in 1985-1986, according to a new report "Great Whales in the Wild" released today by WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature.

The latest in WWF's Wanted Alive! series of species status reports, the new report is in preparation for this year's meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to be held in Oman,  16-20 May. It is co-authored by Elizabeth Kemf and Cassandra Phillips.

Whales are still dying despite a number of conservation victories - including the moratorium on commercial whaling (1985-86) and the declaration of virtually the whole of the Southern Ocean  as a whale sanctuary in 1994. All whales face a wide range of new and increasing threats in addition to being hunted directly.

Today, six out of the eleven great whales species are considered to be endangered or vulnerable. For example, the northern right whale is now the most endangered of the large whales, with no evidence of recovery. The blue whale, the largest mammal to have ever lived on earth, shows no recovery at all in the Southern Hemisphere (perhaps around 500 left). The beluga whales of the St Lawrence river in Canada is so contaminated that dead carcasses have to be disposed off as toxic waste.

Whale meat for sale in South Korean market

Japan has killed over 3,600 minke whales for so-called scientific purposes since the declaration of the whaling moratorium. However, the whale meat subsequently ends up on the Japanese market.  Japan hunts for whales mainly in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.



Norway has caught 2,368 minke whales from a depleted population and started hunting a further 671 whales at midnight on May 3rd -- in spite of resolutions passed in the IWC urging them to stop. Norway lodged an objection to the moratorium and has also killed 146 whales under the guise of science.

In 1996, South Korea reported that it had accidentally killed 128 minke whales as a bycatch in its fishery operations.

"The IWC must regain control over the management of whaling," said Elizabeth Kemf, co-author of the report. "Other urgent priority actions that can help save the whales include a strict ban on international trade in whale meat, creation of more whale sanctuaries and marine protected areas, significant reduction of  marine pollution and making the existing Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary safer for the whales."

WWF is encouraging carefully controlled whale-watching which in 1997 attracted some seven million enthusiasts -- and in 1994 generated over US$500 million revenue. This industry is growing at a rate of 10 per cent a year.

Contact:
Elizabeth Kemf at
+41 22 364 94 24 or
Someshwar Singh at
+41 22 364 95 53 or
Cassandra Phillips in Oman at
+ 968 713 142 (upto 15 May) or
+ 968 799 666 (upto 20 May, 1998)