Humpback whales (seen at our project in Southern Mozambique on an annual basis from the late summer through until Christmas) are coming under extended pressure despite their already threatened status, due to new whaling quotas being pushed by Japan.  Japan kills about 1000 whales a year under its scientific program then sells the meat.  These majestic mammals can provide revenue to coastal communities throughout their migratory route if managed and conserved responsibly. Japan says it is going ahead with its controversial plan to hunt humpback whales after refusing a compromise offer and despite warnings by Australia and New Zealand saying it would be a "provocative act." Australia, New Zealand, Britain and the United States have all...

 

Humpback Stats

...held talks on the issue with Japan in Alaska but officials said there was no breakthrough.
"We have agreed to continue talking but as yet we have reached no common position," New Zealand\'s Conservation Minister Chris Carter told reporters.

Japan wants to kill 50 humpbacks this northern summer, from stocks that migrate along the coasts of Australia and New Zealand into the tropical Pacific, under its whale scientific research program.  The plan has drawn fire from the two countries as well as environmental groups concerned for the mammals\'.  Humpback whales are well-known for their acrobatic displays, drawing millions of whale watchers annually, and generating more than $US1 billion in income for coastal communities around the world, said Patrick Ramage from the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

At the opening of the 75-nation International Whaling Commission (IWC) talks this Summer, Japan said it was prepared to consider shelving the humpback hunting plan if the IWC allowed its small coastal communities in four Japanese towns to hunt minke whales.  Tokyo\'s compromise plan was immediately dismissed by a coalition of anti-whaling nations: Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Britain, Argentina, Germany and the United States.  Carter and Australian Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull condemned the humpback hunting plan.  Japan\'s proposal is an "extraordinary provocative gesture to the people of New Zealand and we are asking you as a measure of goodwill to build better dialogue," Carter said.

The IWC\'s founding treaty allows whales to be killed under so-called "special permits" for scientific research, issued by member governments of the commission.  The IWC, which manages whaling and is in charge of conservation of the creatures, has banned commercial whaling since 1986 and environmental groups say Japan is exploiting a legal loophole allowing whaling for scientific research.

Ignoring this global outcry, Japan, Iceland and Norway together continue to push for the lifting of the 20-year moratorium on commercial whale hunting.  Last year Japan won a non-binding resolution in favour of commercial whaling, but fell short of the number of supporters needed to overturn the moratorium.

Despite the moratorium, the IWC has a policy of allowing so-called subsistence hunts for natives in four nations to satisfy longstanding needs.  IWC delegates unanimously agreed to renew five-year quotas for whale hunts by Alaskan natives in the United States, the indigenous Chukotka people in Russia as well as those in St Vincent and the Grenadines.  But it deferred Greenland\'s renewal bid as the Danish territory wants to add humpback whales to its quota and also expand the number of bowhead whales for its aboriginal hunters, officials said.


Humpback Whale Stats

Estimated population:
· 10,000-15,000 worldwide

Ways to identify this species:
Dark skin with white on their flippers and belly

Biology:
· Humpbacks are seasonal migrants, breeding in temperate waters of lower latitudes in the winter and spending summers in the colder, food-rich waters of higher latitudes, like the Bering Sea.
· Scientists identifty humpbacks by the markings on their tails. Their flippers are 1/3 of their body length which averages 47 feet for adult females and 43 feet for males.
· During the winter, male humpback whales produce long complicated songs which may be a method to attract females.
· A humpback consumes between 2,000 - 9,000 pounds of fish and krill a day.

Threats:
· Until the early 20th century, humpbacks were considered too large and fast to be pursued by most whaling vessels. However, with the introduction of faster whaling ships and harpoon guns, whalers began targeting humpbacks. By the time commercial whaling was banned, humpback populations had declined to only 10 percent of their original size with only 1,000 humpbacks remaining in the entire North Pacific.
· Humpback whales have begun to recover from uncontrolled commercial whaling, but they are still threatened by entanglement in fishing nets and by collisions with ships.
· Humpbacks have been shown to abandon breeding grounds and migratory routes when military sonar is being used nearby. This and other sources of human-generated noise in the oceans are a habitat concern for humpbacks.