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Akira Crossler

Mrs. Gardner

ENglish 10 H 4 period

3 May 2017

Over-whale-ming

Did you know that each year around 1,500 whales are hunted and killed by Norway,

Iceland, and Japan alone. Out of the 50 or so species considered whale around 20 of those

species are considered endangered, vulnerable or unaccounted for meaning that there's so few

that they cant attain an accurate population number. All these whales being hunted annually also

raises the some big questions, should commercial whaling be legal or should it be banned? How

many people are really being affected by this? And why should I care? Commercial whaling

should be legalized but only a 0.1% margin of select species should be allowed to be hunted as

well as having a required license in order to hunt them.

Many people believe in commercial whaling and support the cause, others however dont

feel the same. Story Hinckley states that The IWC's moratorium, signed by 88 countries in

1986, prohibits commercial whaling of any kind. yet despite commercial whaling being

officially banned since 1986 countries like Norway, Iceland, and Japan continue to continue the

practice each year. Citizens of Japan often will support their country in hunting whale as Dr.

Keiko Hirata explained "the symbol for whale (pronounced kujira) includes within it a

component that means fish. Considering whales as fish, most Japanese lack any special love of

whales and disagree with Western animal rights activists who insist on whales' rights."(Hinckley)
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Other countries such as Norway and Iceland simply hunt the whales for profit and food. With all

of these collective points of view and motivations the most equally liked solution would be to

legally allow commercial whaling but with laws and consequences preventing the endangerment

or extinction of whale species.

One of the main points to the opposing side of whaling is that overhunting often leads to

extinction. Many people, not only in the marine line of work but in everyday life as well care

about the preservation and protection of animal species such as the whale.While overhunting is

always a fear there are indisputable perks to hunting a creature as big as whales. Not only can

their blubber be used but people can also consume their meat, Japan has just over 1.7 percent of

the world's population but consumes six percent of the world's fish harvest.(Hinckley) overall

making it a gain for society. As well as being able to use the whale as a benefit to our world,

monitored hunting would allow this and also keep our whale populations safe. If fishermen need

whale hunting permits then that would also help to keep people from poaching whales, seeing as

whale is a hard animal to smuggle from the ocean. Obtaining a license for commercial whaling

would also require a written test and past experience in the fishing industry in order to make sure

that only people of the correct status/standing in society would be allowed to responsibly hunt

whales for profit. In total having whaling be monitored and need people to have a license in

order to hunt them would help to prevent overhunting as a whole.

Pro Commercial Whaling countries such as Japan, Norway, and Iceland hunting without

any guidelines or rules can each hunt whales of the same species and over hunt them leading to

drastic consequences such as extinction. For example if Norway hunts 444 Minke Whales and
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Iceland hunts 137 Minke Whales and Japan hunts 333 Minke Whales then total they've killed

914 and thats only if 3 countries accept Commercial Whaling without any rules or proper

guidelines. Professor Brierley states that "Japan does not require the approval of the

International Whaling Commission. All that Japan is required to do--or indeed that any country

is required to do--is to present the proposal for consideration," he said.(Phillips) meaning that

Japan is already on their own agenda. Such a predicament such as unmonitored commercial

whaling could lead to sea territory issues, over hunting, policies on pregnant females, and

disputes about previously existing whale sanctuaries and whether or not they should still be

valid. Licenses and a 0.1% margin would help these possible issues increasingly. It would also

be a more peaceful solution to get non commercial whaling and pro commercial whaling

countries to get along on this subject while saving the majority of the whale populations.

A current problem is getting pro whaling countries to stop hunting whales illegally so

finding a way for them to do it legally while monitoring the number of whales they kill would

help to make most of the countries around the world content if not happy. While certain

countries such as Norway, Japan, and Iceland refuse to give up their whaling rights we can at

least control the number of whales being hunted as well as the loss and growth of the whale

populations and make it safer for the whales as well as the hunters. Again as Professor Brierley

said 'Japan Is at Liberty to Do Whatever They Want', and as long as they want to hunt whales

then they're going to find a way. This type of globally consensual condition would help to not

only make everyone happy but ensure that our whale populations will say happy and healthy. As

a result of these actions whales could live relatively safe lives for the most part as well as satisfy

countries with a hunger for whale without killing them off. The 0.1% margin gives a reasonable
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amount of whales too, for instance if there are 500,000 Minke whales then each year then that

500 whales a year just from that breed, excluding vulnerable and endangered species.

Commercial Whaling should only be allowed within a 1% margin each year and

countries can only hunt non endangered whale species. It would help to feed people and make

products while maintaining a relative population of whale species. Everyone would be satisfied

and the whales while still being killed aren't going to waste and are also being protected from

extinction. As well as having to attain a whaling license these measures would help to satisfy the

majority of the world without starting up an international argument. All of these ideas and

proposals combined would make for a legal and guilt free way of Commercial whaling available

to the world.

Works Cited

Ecott, Tim. "Let them Eat Whales." The Spectator (London), 01 Feb, 2014, SIRS Issues

Researcher,
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Entertainment, SeaWorld Parks &. Endangered Whales. Animals: Explore. Discover.

Connect., Seaworld.com, 2017,

seaworld.org/en/animal-info/animal-bytes/mammals/endangered-whales.

Fifield, Anna. "Opposition to Whaling Called 'Eco-Imperialism'." Washington Post, 27 Nov,

2014, pp. A.10, SIRS Issues Researcher,

Hinckley, Story. "How Japan Justifies its Whaling." Christian Science Monitor, 24 Mar, 2016,

SIRS Issues Researcher,

"Independent Experts Slam Japan's New Whaling Plan and Declare no.."SIRS Issues Researcher,

13 Apr, 2015

Stop Whaling. WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Us.whales.org,

us.whales.org/wdc-in-action/stop-whaling-0.

Phillips, Sara. "Japan Whaling: Renewed Program Slammed by International Whaling.."SIRS

Issues Researcher, 21 Jan, 2016,

Zhai, Yun T. "Whaling Nations Harpoon Brazil's Bid for South Atlantic Sanctuary." Christian

Science Monitor, 25 Oct, 2016, SIRS Issues