Eating Willy
No, you sick bastards.
Iceland has recommenced commercial whaling. Greenies and animal-lovers are in uproar.
Having tried whale, I can't really say its worth the trouble. Especially for 39 whales a year:
"Icelandic ships will take nine fin whales, an endangered species, and 30 minke whales each year."Killing endangered species is a shitty idea, and on top of that, will 30 minke whales (okay they are big) really support an entire industry?
Labels: animals, eating, ecology, environment, iceland, industry, whaling
posted by ZayZayEM @ 11:50 am
2 comments
2 Comments:
Iceland's hunting 9 fin whales is hardly going to have an effect on the population at all.
The IWC Secretariat notes on their homepage that the International Whaling Commission's Scientific Committee recently agreed to estimates for the fin whale in the Central and Eastern North Atlantic, putting the rough number at around 25,800 whales, with 95% confidence limits of about 20,000 and 32,000 (off the top of my head - around about that). Also, in their 2006 report to the IWC, the Scientific Committee also agreed that the population grew at a rate of 10% each year between 1987 and 2001. Estimates for 1987 - 1989 put the number at around 10,000 whales, which have thus increased by around 2.6 times. This reconciles with the newly agreed estimate of 25,800.
9 whales out of 25,800 is just 0.036%, and given the population has been growing at 10% a year, there is really no scientific grounds on which Iceland can seriously be criticised.
From a legal point of view, the IWC was set up to manage whaling, but since the 1980's and the moratorium, has failed to act in accordance with this responsibility. Iceland obviously realized that the anti-whaling nations won't agree to commercial whaling under any conditions, so has taken matters into it's own hands, and why wouldn't they after having been run around the bush for so long? So long as they are whaling on a sustainble basis, which I think is the real reason that they've set such low quotas (below the quotas of the USA, Russia and Greenland for example), no one else has the right to tell them to do otherwise. They don't even need to belong to the IWC at all - Canada quit years ago because of the same kinds of problems as what Iceland sees, and today remains unlikely to rejoin unless things change.
I've read that Iceland hopes to eventually set commercial quotas of around 100 fin whales and 200 minke whales each year, this year is really just re-oiling all their gear. They've already caught about 6 or 7 of their 9 fin whale quota.
"They've already caught about 6 or 7 of their 9 fin whale quota."
My point exactly - 39 whales a year is not going to support an industry. it's stupid and pointless.
My thing againts killing endangered species is that they are on an endangered species list for a reason. AFAIK International Law means you don't kill endangered species - and people who break that, well they're terrorists aren't they. does Iceland want to be a terrorist-state (well, they used to be Vikings...)
MAIN POINT RESTATED: 39 whales is not an industry. It's most likely going to run at a loss, won't it?
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