Whaling is to hunt and kill whales done by humans for their resources. These giant mammals are hunted for their bone, meat, oil and blubber however, these aren't new. They have been carried put since many centuaries ago. (3000BC to be exact!) But the methods have dramatically changed over time. Japan started whaling in the 12th century.
When did Japan begin whaling?
Whaling in Japan has started around the 12th century. Japan harpooned by hand back in those days but in 1868, Norway made harpoon guns, so Japan began whaling Norwegian style and continued upgrading supplies and methods to catch the Whales through time as technology became more of use.
Where does whaling take place?
Whaling can be anywhere depending on the speices they are targeting. The Whales that get hunted most are Minke Whales, Hump Back Whales, Grey Whales, Bryde whales and sperm whales. The main location of them are around the Antartic. That is where the whales are mainly fished up and brought back to port.
Who is involved in this?
Of course fishermen who does whaling, IWC (International Whaling Commission)The Sea sheperds-Green Peace Society (Australia), other anti whaling organizations and possibly people that sells whale meat to make a living/making business. From Japan and the fishermens point of view it may seem to them as a cultural tradition to eat whale meat, so it may not have any affect towards them. On the other hand, the anti whaling organizations are completely against it. They claim whaling to be completely banned and illegal but the IWC is loosening the standards and not yet going banning whaling fullt.
What is being done about it?
To save the whale species and to prevent them from decreasing, the international communtiy took action to save the whales. The international regulation of whaling were to make sure the whales weren't over hunted.That was when the IWC banned whaling to think of a more ethical method of whaling without getting the whale population dangerously low.
What is the future of whaling?
As long as there are still whaling ships in the open waters, there will be groups out there attempting to stop them. Anti-whaling activists and organizations don't like the fact that Iceland, Japan and Norway still continue to hunt the sea creatures. The Japanese don't want to be told what to do about a tradition they say is deeply rooted in culture and tradition. So it is more likely for whaling not to ever stop but the number of whales captured, are to be decreased by more rules and better ideas to help the people and the whales.
Why is it important for people to know about this?
People should know about whaling because we need to understand about what really is going on around the world and judge whether that is an ethical or dissruptive thing for the world. Whales are getting extinct and whaling is like another word for animal cruelty therefore people need to realise not just from medias, but really understand what is going on behind that "scientific research"...
Extra Information
Since Japan could not continue commercial whaling, they stated " It is for a scientific research basis." Australia - Green Peace the Sea Sheperd Conservation Society disputed it is a cover up to illegally continue commercial whaling. They stated the purpose of the research program is for establishing size and dynamics of whale population. Anti - whaling organizations claim that the research program is a font for commercial whaling, that the sample size is needlessly large and the equivalent information can be easily obtained by non - lethal means (like studying the tissues of the whales skin). But Japan objected against it.
Comments from parents about whale meat
My mum, grandparents, dad and their relatives in Japan have actually tasted the meat of Whales. "It was part of the menu on our school lunch. But I only had it when I was in year 2 or 3 at primary school. The meat was a bit hard and chewy but the taste was good." -Mum "Whale meat at my school at primary was cooked as smoked bacon and it looked pinky and bits of orange and white for the fat. So it was oily but I didn't mind the taste." - Dad
Diagram of food products made by Whales
The diagram below shows how many ways the whale is made into other products. Overall they make at least 32 types of product's to sell from the whale's body parts.
This is a picture of Whale Bacon. This is something similar to what my dad had for his lunch at school.
This Link below is a video of a whale being harpooned and killed and taken to the ship. http://http//www.youtube.com/watch
Reference: http://www.actnow.co.au/, http://www.whaling.jp/, http://www.knowswhy.com/, http://www.blurit.com/ My mum & dad, http://www.greenpeace.org/, www.howstuffworks/science
