MINKES OF ALL SIZES GETTING THE CHOP
Crew members on the Australian Government's surveillance ship Oceanic Viking have taken photographs and video
footage of the Japanese whaling fleet hauliing an adult minke and a calf on board the Nisshin Maru.
The Japanese authorities from the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) claim the two whales "are not related to each other" and that their science programme requires random sampling of the minke population, hence whales of all sizes are being killed.
The story is being quite widely reported in the world's media. Here's a link to one report.
Australian Customs Service photograph.
CANON REFUSES TO CONDEMN WHALING
Environmental organisation Greenpeace has written to Mister Fujio Mitarai, the CEO of
Japanese camera manufacturer Canon,
urging the company to sign a statement condemning the Japanese whaling program.
Mister Mtarai has refused to sign the statement.
Canon is one of the world's best-known users of wildlife in their brand marketing. Since 1981 Canon has run full-page advertisements in National Geographic magazine entitled "Wildlife as Canon Sees it", featuring endangered animals around the world, and the company receives much kudos as a Conservation Partner of global environmental organisation WWF.
It's disappointing that Canon won't stand up for the wildlife it uses so publicly to further its market position.
You can send your own letter to Mister Mitari urging him to help save the whales here
Image © Greenpeace
DANGEROUS TIMES AHEAD FOR HUMPBACKS!
NOV 2007 As the Japanase whaling fleet readies for its 2007-08 summer voyage into the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, it is timely to remember this season's hunt will see around
1000 minkes, 10 fins plus (for the first time in recent years) 50 humpback whales, killed by harpoon. The humpbacks under threat are possibly the same indviduals we have been watching migrate along
the coasts of Australia this season, maybe even the ones seen just yesterday (12 Nov) in Sydney Harbour.
Most of these whales are now accustomed to friendly boats, having interacted with the whale watching fleet for the last 20 years or so, which may make them easy pickings.
IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare) has launched a new STOP WHALING web site, with heaps of information about the issue and detailing ways you can help stop the slaughter in the Southern Ocean.
JAN 2007 Confrontation on the high seas is inevitable as Japan once again continues its whaling program deep in the Southern Ocean this Summer. Seashepherd Conservation Society's Captain Paul Watson is there again aiming to put his vessel, the Farley Mowat, between whalers and their targets -- which this season are expected to be up to 935 minke whales and 10 fin whales. Original planning to also take humpbacks, it seems they won't be back on the menu 'til next Summer.Australia's Environment Minister Ian Campbell yesterday announced that he has closed Australian ports to Japanese vessels involved in whaling operations, which is a welcome (albeit long overdue) measure.
May 2006 JAPAN killed over 800 MINKE Whales in the Southern Ocean this past 2005-2006 Austral Summer. Next Summer they plan to increase the kill numbers, and add HUMPBACK and FIN whales to their list of target species. Visit Greenpeace and Seashepherd, where you can add your support to the anti-whaling efforts.
Don't let these guys become next summer's whale-burgers!
ANTI SHARK-FINNING PETITION
The practice of shark finning (where sharks have their fins cut off while still alive and are thrown back in the water to die) is brutal, wasteful, and often, illegal.
You might have read about it here or
a web search for shark finning will show you in mere minutes how terrible the practice is.
Please show your support for the world's dwindling shark populations by signing this petition against Alibaba.com, one of largest online traders of shark fins. Signing the petition takes less than a minute and requires only your name, e-mail address, and geographic location. You can also protect your privacy by showing yourself as "anonymous," if you wish.
I was alerted to the petition by Eric and the folks at Wetpixel.com
A couple of things caught my eye this week, firstly a new feature-length documentary on the plight of the ocean's top predators. Sharkwater has opened in cinemas in Canada, the USA and the UK. As far as I can tell there is no scheduled Australian release, so I've sent off a suggestion to the Dendy Cinema chain suggesting they take up the film here. Why don't you do the same by leaving feedback using Dendy's contact form. You can read the films synopsis here.
While we're talking sharks, if you have a few minutes and a fast connection, you might enjoy viewing Swimming with Great Whites. Definitely not for the faint-hearted. But remember to turn down the volume, the soundtrack detracts somewhat.
SHARKS NEED YOUR HELP / AMAZON.COM PLAYS ITS PART
(Photos Copyright Justin Ebert)
11 JAN 2007 - If you search Amazon.com today, you get no results for shark fin. Fantastic. So it seems Amazon deserves our thanks for listening to their customers and heeding the voices as the ground-swell of support for the sharks grew. Thank you Amazon, you should be congratulated. And thanks to those that first raised the issue, and everyone that contributed.
3 JAN 2007 - Recently I read a report by underwater photographer Justin Ebert about his first-hand exerience with shark-finners in Raja Ampart.
As you can see from Justin's photos, the slaughter of sharks for this trade is barbaric, and incredibly wasteful; sharks are caught, definned and the otherwise complete carcasses are throw into the sea.
If you're wondering, you can see a snapshot of the extent of the market if you look here. Even a company that you think might know better, US-based Amazon.com is carrying shark fin soup and other products through three third-party vendors Roland, Pacific Rim Gourmet, and VitaminLife.
With all the controversy surrounding shark fins and the
horrible practices
used to harvest fins, Amazon should be ashamed to be carrying shark fin products
and should rectify the problem immediately by pulling all shark fin products
from their catalog.
Read on to see what you can do:
Exmouth Gulf - one of Western Australia's richest marine environments - is under threat from a plan to build one of the world's largest salt mines. An important nursery for humpback whales, dugong and turtles (not to mention myriad fish species) the Gulf has already been identified as having World Heritage values. Mangroves and saltmarsh systems on the Gulf's eastern shore are highly productive, feeding and restocking both the Gulf and the famed Ningaloo Marine Park, which is adjacent.
In unusual circumstances, fishermen and conservationists have joined forces in an attempt to stop the development.
Visit the Halt the Salt! website to find out how you can help.
NASA REPORTS ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Global Warming continues to become a mainstream issue as more respected studies support the premise that our Planet is warming at an unprecidented rate.
The latest study, was conducted by scientists from a number of institutions, led by James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
Extinctions are at the forefront of the study's concerns. In previous times, species have adapted to gradual climate changes by migrating toward, and away from, the poles in order to stay in their own climatic niche. But at current warming rates, it is predicted that most species will not be able to move and adapt fast enough to stay ahead of the migrating climate.
You can find more information on climate change from the conservation organisation WWF.
More-frequent bleaching is evidence that corals on Australia's Great Barrier Reef are already experiencing the consequences of higher sea temperatures accelerated by human-induced global warming.
SINGAPORE TELCO PUTS FIN IN MOUTH
Starhub, Singapore's leading(?) telecommunications company has an interesting promotion running at the moment.
On one hand, they are offering a 15% discount voucher for shark fin soup, promoted with the tag "A taste of Thai I can't resist."
Then on the other hand, there's a 15% discount voucher for scuba diving courses, promoted with the tag "I like my fish wild, not on a plate."
So, as Wetpixel editor Eric Chang says "So Starhub -- Which is it? Eat the sharks, or swim with them?"
Why not ask Starhub to "please explain" yourself? Try Philip Tan, Head, Consumer Sales Email: philip_tan@starhub.com or Stevem Terrell (Terry) Clontz, CEO starhub, Email: terry_clontz@starhub.com
Maybe they could offer 15% off their phone services if customers pledge not to eat sharkfin...
You can learn more about the shark fin issue on the ABC Science website.
I received a response to my concerns from Starhub's Customer Care Department. Read it here.
A new resource for information and action on environmental issues has been launched by WWF, the conservation organisation.
Futuremakers is a free service that offers members up-to-date information on issues and actions affecting the planet.
HELP CREATE A CARBON MARKET
You can offset your car's carbon emmissions by having Greenfleet plant trees on your behalf.
Around $40 (Tax deductable) will get 17 trees planted for you -- which will offset a years carbon emmissions from the average family's ride.
AFRICA'S GREATEST WETLAND UNDER THREAT
Consider supporting the growing movement trying to stop the construction of a DAM AT POPPA FALLS in Namibia.
The dam would interrupt the flow of Southern Africa's Okavango River, which annually floods one of the greatest wetlands left on Earth,
the Okavango Delta.
Learn more from the International Rivers Network
SAY NO DAM ON THE MARY RIVER
Q. Is the Queensland Lungfish worth saving?
A.I would have thought so.
Q. Is a Dam on the Mary River the silver bullet to ensure SEQ's future freshwater needs?
A. I would have thought not.
Visit here for more information.
