Pushing for whale conservation

International non-government organizations pushing for whale conservation are optimistic that a deal to regulate whale hunting for 10 years will be achieved soon. This despite growing protests from more militant environmental groups who propose to simply end whaling by Iceland, Japan and Norway instead of talking about any deal.

In its online report, the BBC said Cristian Maquieira, who heads the International Whaling Commission (IWC), has released a draft proposal reducing Japan’s whale hunting quota from 935 in previous years to 400 this year and down to 200 by 2015.

The BBC report quoted IWC Commissioner Akira Nakamae saying Japan would "like to respect this great effort for the future of the IWC" even if other interest groups find the numbers too low.

The IWC was organized in 1946 to "provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry.” A number of species of whales have been reported to be in danger of extinction. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), seven out of 13 of the great whale species are endangered, “even after decades of protection.”

Reports of whale killings have proliferated in the media, sending alarm bells ringing among environmental groups and conservationists, and driving them to action. In 2008, two Greenpeace activists in Japan were detained and charged with theft after they took a box containing over 20 kilos of whalemeat in order to expose what the activists claimed to be “widespread corruption” in Japan’s whaling industry.”

Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, dubbed the “Tokyo Two,” are awaiting verdict in Japan. In support of their plight, Greenpeace has started a campaign to get people to write to Japan's foreign minister, asking him to stop Japanese whaling operations and free the two activists.

However, while whaling is a significant factor in the lessening of animal populations, the spate of recent death s among whales, particularly in Philippine waters have been traced to other causes, climate change and ecological neglect among them.

WWF Philippines vice chairman Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan said beyond saving whales and dolphins, people have to think about the productivity of our seas and oceans.

"Uncommon as it may seem, the event may not be an isolated occurrence ... The world is changing. Maybe, these dead whales in Manila Bay are delivering a bigger message. Maybe, it is time we think really hard about what each of us is doing to this planet, and make up our minds to do something right," Tan said on the WWF w eb site.

Tan also said we should look for more effective ways of waste management to minimize tons of plastics thrown into the sea everyday. In a recent necropsy on the carcass of a dead whale, plastic bags were found in its stomach.

Valuable resource

The Philippines is home to over 30 species of whales and dolphins, not to mention whale sharks, known locally as butanding. In the Batanes Islands, at least 12 species of whales and dolphins have been observed, among them the Humpback Whale, which is believed to be migratory. The butanding can be found in Donsol in the Bicol region.

To help alleviate sea animal deaths in the country, outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Administrative Order 282 last March 24 tasking local government units to strengthen the protection of butanding or whale sharks, considered an endangered species.

"The recent incident of whale shark killing last Feb. 15, 2010 in Tingloy, Batangas was a direct affront to the Philippine Government as host to the meeting of experts that crafted the Conservation Plan for Migratory Sharks and as signatory to the MOU (memorandum of understanding) to achieve and maintain a favorable conservation status for migratory sharks," the AO stated.

Under AO 282, LGUs and concerned government agencies are tasked to develop ecotourism in coastal communities, and to rescue any wounded whale shark found in their areas. It also called for mapping of locations of whale sharks for public information.

Cash rewards will also be granted to those who will lead information leading to the arrest of whale killers.

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