Environmentalists have been all over Japan’s “scientific” whaling for years, with some organizations saying the program is unnecessary or little more than commercial whale hunting in disguise. But now Japanese scientists have published new research in Popular Polar Biology, and their findings aren’t good: whales are getting skinnier, and global warming might be at fault.
The scientists measured the amount of blubber in minke whales captured since the 1980s and found that the level has dropped off precipitously since then. Why are they pointing the finger at global warming? Because krill, the tiny crustacean at the base of the food chain, have declined in Antarctic areas by 80 percent since the 1970s. Part of the problem is warming waters, but over-fishing for krill to use at fish farms and the ozone layer hole have contributed to the drop as well.
Intuitively, one might think that eating less and losing a little fat might make it easier for whales to survive in a warming world. But not so, the scientists say—the whales’ 9 percent loss of blubber has outpaced any rise in ocean temperature. And with less protection for the cold waters of the Antarctic, researchers say, the whales could have more trouble reproducing.
Despite the troubling finding, this study’s methods have garnered attention, too—the scientists studied more than 4,500 whales slaughtered in the last two-plus decades. The paper itself spells out how vicious whaling can be—many of the whales killed didn’t die instantly, and others couldn’t be studied because the harpoons or rifles had simply caused them too much damage. Two journals passed on the research before Polar Biology picked it up, perhaps because of the grisly manner in which the science was obtained.
Minke whales (understandably) don’t care to be approached by humans, so it’s hard to study their blubber level in any other way, says Lars Walloe, a Norwegian researcher who helped the Japanese team. But 4,500 whales is a lot to kill, even for a potentially important scientific finding. The U.S. State Department and others have said that slaughtering whales for science is unnecessary, so let’s just hope we figure out non-lethal ways to learn more about them.
Image: flickr/wili_hybrid
August 26th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Wow that information is so damn important, it was really worth all 4,500 whales’ lives to gather that shocking information. What a load of lies. Why dont we all just leave the whales alone to live out their lives, why do we need to know all this pointless information about them? Whales were existing just fine before humans started trying to profit off them. The human race has got so much to answer for. We think we are all knowing and all seeing, but what these profiteering fools can’t see is that they are destroying the environment for everyone. Absolutely…there are no words to describe my disgust!
August 26th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
It is not surprising that the predators (whales) of the Antarctic food web are getting thinner - especially when there is already evidence showing that the main prey item (krill)of the food web has declined.
Hmm…why did the Japanese whalers need to kill 4500 whales to figure this out?
True scientific research must abide by ethics. These include that the research is necessary and carried out in a humane manner. Japan’s use of the term Scientific Research insults it reputation.
As for the last sentence of this article “let’s hope we figure out non-lethal ways to learn more about them” If you read any reputable marine science publications, you will learn that researchers around the world been learning all about these animals for the last 30 years without killing them.
I recently heard a researcher at an international conference state that the Blue Whales she was studying were also getting thinner…how did she figure this out? She used her EYES! She took photos…I would imagine that a country like Japan would have access to the finest, state of the art camera equipment. Other non-lethal methods of verifying these observations include collecting blubber biopsys.
Good luck, Japan, in getting your next unethical research article published!
August 26th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
And yet they still see no reason to stop killing these beautiful and highly intelligent creatures - let’s expose it for what it is, A SHAM!
August 26th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Thats horribly sad.
So your saying that basically 4,500 whales had to die to figure out that there isnt as much food available for them in the oceans and they are getting less healthy. GREAT! Glad we got that major discovery completed, now we can move on to real science??? Give me a break!
So do you think this will affect japans idea to harvest tons of plankton from the southern oceans each summer!!!!
PROBABLY NOT! Who needs whales anyway!?
Angered,
Fern
August 26th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
If “slaughtering whales for science is unnecessary”, why would it be the case that anyone is hoping “we figure out non-lethal ways to learn more about them”?
Good use is made of the whale carcasses after study anyway, as food. 4,500 minke whales eaten means how many cows, pigs or chickens saved from slaughter? You try the maths.
August 26th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
“Environmentalists have been all over Japan’s “scientific” whaling for years, with some organizations saying the program is unnecessary or little more than commercial whale hunting in disguise. (…) The U.S. State Department and others have said that slaughtering whales for science is unnecessary, so let’s just hope we figure out non-lethal ways to learn more about them.”
Well, I think this tells everything about the issue.
The oponents to whaling continue to say the same thing again and again, but did they ever sent any vessel with scientists onboard to study minke whales in the Southern Ocean ? The answer is NO !
Even, Greenpeace who sends a ship almost every year to obstruct the Japanese research and to take footage of themselves for fundraising activities don’t do anything for studying these animals. Well, they actually pretend to be taking pictures of the whales they may encounter in their pursuit of the Nisshinmaru fleet, but this is well secondary to their main objective… fundraising.
Journalists should learn to be more professional and impartial in their dealing of this issue.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Its POLAR BIOLOGY NOT POPULAR BIOLOGY….makes it kind of hard to find if the journal does not exist for those who want to read more!
August 27th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
so to learn that whales populations are being threatened by environmental factors, we have to reduce those populations even more? How much sense does that make?
August 27th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
After 4,500 Whale Killings, Japanese Publish Their Research stating that whale populations are in danger.
haha, sounds like the onion
August 27th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
blhmanatee: Thanks for correcting the typo. I linked to their study where it says “published new research.” Unfortunately, they require you to have a subscription to read the full paper.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
4,500 minke whales over 18 years is not a significant number.
The IWC’s scientific committee estimate of minke whale abundance for 1990 was 95% confidence that the number was between 510,000 - 1,140,000 whales:
http://www.iwcoffice.org/conservation/estimate.htm
People who have a genuine interest in the conservation and management of Antarctic minke whales will be pleased that someone has been bothering to monitor the Antarctic minke whale population.
People who wish to make complaints about the methods should produce the same sorts of results or better with their own time and funding if they want to be taken seriously, rather than regarded as a bunch of unconstructive whiners.
August 28th, 2008 at 5:56 am
To Malcolm, who provides a population estimate of minke whales from 510,000 to 1,140,000 saying that 4,500 dead minke whales is not ’significant’ - your quote from the IWC is out of date and it clearly says on the IWC website that you quote from that the Scientific Committee is unable to provide a reliable estimate at this time. It is, however, likely to be much lower than the previous estimate.
Secondly, to Malcolm and Emilio, if you actually read the IWC website you would see that there has been a great deal of non-lethal research in the Antarctic focused on minkes and blue whales, supported by many anti-whaling nations including the UK, Australia, US etc. - it says “the collaborative nature of the programme is highlighted by the participation of 69 international researchers from 14 nations in the programme.”http://www.iwcoffice.org/conservation/environment.htm#sower
After Japan’s first ’scientific’ programme which took 18 years, they met none of the research objectives despite killing 6,800 whales. With that many dead whales to look at they’re bound to find something out I suppose - but their findings merely highlight the fact that they should be abiding by the moratorium on commercial whaling and the designation of the Antarctic ocean as a sanctuary where hunting is banned.
August 28th, 2008 at 8:42 am
While it’s taken an extended amount of time and effort to publish this paper at least they are conducting some work on antarctic whales. Seems like there is disagreement on the number of antactic minke whales, but nonetheless whaling shouldn’t be up for debate purly as a animal wefare issue. If that was the case we’d all be vegans grazing on grass and sea weed. Whaling is not a conservation issue, it’s an animal welfare issue, and welfare can not be an arguement against sustainable use.
Point is, groups like Greenpeace, IFAW, and others don’t have a scientific leg to stand on and would make the world a safer place for whales if they worked on the real threats to extinction like entanglements with endangered right whales or NZ humpbacks. Instead harpooned whales make for more dramatic footage and an easier subject to raise funds on despite the fact that far fewer whales die by harpoon that by entanglements alone.
August 29th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP TO JUSTIFY THIS CRIME!!!! HUMANS JUST SUCK &I JUST HATE THEM-SIMPLE AS THAT.
August 29th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
I think it is time to start “scientifically” kill for money (I mean study) the Japanese to find out WHY they need to kill the whales. May be their brains do not work if they just eat other protein sources. Is this the reason they continue to kill these animal, just to see if they are affected by Japanese raping of the oceans , Were they not satisfied with Naking?
August 30th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
This is appalling and makes me sick. These creatures are intelligent, and actually ’sing’ and communicate with each other, making their brains one of the largest in the animal kingdom. But, for some reason, we humans, think we are superior and have a ‘right’ to do just about anything we want to, provided there’s a good explanation. Please leave these gentle creatures alone…how have they ever wronged you?!! Eat a vegetable…
August 30th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Anyone who can justify this barbaric act in the name of science… well…there are no words to describe your ignorance. I totally agree with Daphne D… human’s do suck and thankfully mother nature will take care of the problem.
September 1st, 2008 at 1:11 am
The Japanese are just trying to justify their whaling by publishing this research. This isn’t even important research. I could have told you that whales are getting skinnier just by how humans are overfishing and creating dead zones through pollution. Science is the study of trying to understand something because we care and it is important. The Japanese don’t care about their findings at all, they are one of the main countries harvesting antarctic Krill ( the main food source of whales) for get this… animal feed! Greedy hypocrites.
September 3rd, 2008 at 8:54 am
Will you kill a dog to learn about canine science?
Will you kill a man to study human problems?
Better learn from ELEPHANT SEALS fitted with antenas and which are better researchers in the ANTARCTICA than NIPPONS.
Please, try to be a vegetarian for GOD sake!!!!!
September 3rd, 2008 at 8:21 pm
To Clare,
The estimate on the IWC homepage is the best estimate for 1990. This is likely to be revised shortly at the same time as an updated estimate is agreed (perhaps finally next year) but as I noted the IWC/SC has 95% confidence that the population was at least 510,000 as of 1990. The fact that there is no current estimate doesn’t change the 1990 estimate being what it was. 4,500 minkes over 18 years is an average of 250 a year, or 0.04% of the minimum number of whales that the IWC/SC believes were present in the Antarctic at that time. The whales were taken from only a certain sector of the Antarctic ocean, but it doesn’t take a cetacean biologist to recognise that there is no conservation issue here from such .
The latest estimate, even if it is lower, is not going to be so low that those numbers of whales would suddenly be a cause for concern about unexpected depletion of the population.
You mention the SOWER research programme. In fact, Japan provides the research vessel and crew for this programme, and has always done so without any assistance from others. It’s evident from the documents available at the IWC home page that other nations have been requested to help support the programme through provision of vessels, but to date no such support - other than from Japan - has been forthcoming.
Furthermore, the SOWER programme hasn’t resulted in any research that suggests than minke whales are losing blubber.
Finally, it’s hard to see how their findings could suggest to a rational objective person that they should “abide by the moratorium”, and the Antarctic ocean sanctuary was only established 7 years after the Japanese had already commenced the research programme that provided the data that was used in this study.
October 6th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
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