There are three main countries still involved with the practice of whaling. These countries include: Japan, Iceland and Norway.
Japan: Virtually straightaway after the 1986 whaling ban came into force, Japan launched its scientific whaling program, widely recognised as a cover for its ongoing commercial whaling operation.
Iceland: Also like Japan, Iceland initially conducted a ‘scientific’ whaling program.
Norway: Norway only respected the whaling ban until 1993. They used a loophole in the international convention for the regulation of Whaling. Norway objected to the whaling moratorium, and resumed hunting for Minke Whales.
Once it became evident that the amount of whales being killed was putting whale populations under threat, a ban on commercial whaling (hunting for commercial profit) was initiated in 1986 by the body that regulates whaling – the International Whaling Commission.
However, over 37,200 whales have been killed since the ban came into effect because of loopholes that have allowed some countries to carry on whaling. The Whaling Commission currently allows Norway to hunt under an ‘objection’ to the ban, and Japan uses a loophole which allows countries to hunt whales for ‘research purposes’. Iceland claims it is allowed to break the ban also because it left the Commission in 1992 but was 'allowed' to re-join 10 years later under a 'reservation’.
How many Whales are being killed a year?
According to WWF (World Wildlife Fund) between 2007-2008 over 1,500 whales were killed. Since 1986, up to almost 40,000 whales have also been killed.
40 years after Antarctic whaling was banned, Blue Whale numbers remain critically low. In the Antarctic, hunting for Blue Whales was banned in 1964.The original numbers for the Blue Whale in that region were around 20,000, but by the time the ban was brought into place, this population had dropped significantly. Today’s estimates only state around 2,000 Blue Whales, displaying that even 40 years after the hunting was banned, they have struggled to repopulate. Worldwide numbers of Blue Whales have reduced from 220,000 to as little as 3,000. This emphasizes the long-term effects of hunting on the ocean’s ecosystems.
Since 1986, over 25,000 whales have been slaughtered legally for “scientific research.” A ban on commercial hunting of whales has not put a halt to the practice altogether as Japan have been able to conduct “commercial whaling in disguise” due to a loophole regarding scientific research. They assign themselves authorization to conduct scientific research on these magnificent ocean creatures, and killing is in the remit of the study.
The southern hemisphere blue whale population has fallen from 240,000 in 1900 to 1,700 in 1996.
The number of whales killed annually has increased from 556 in 1993 to 1853 as of 2006.
Whale watching is a growing industry, generating income which is estimated at over 1billion US dollars a year. But soon there won't be any whales to watch.
The IWC has expressed concern about Japanese hunting methods, with 60% of whales not dying instantaneously and some taking hours to die.