ENG 102
International Whaling Argument International whaling has a long history of being dangerous to ocean life. Many people do not realize that it is still a modern issue and has not slowed down. Certain countries like Japan and Norway have a bad reputation for the significant slaughter of whales. Factors such as low numbers and very slow reproduction rate play huge role also. This is causing an uproar in most places of world and scientists and animal rights activists are stepping up to offer help. Even killer and sperm whales have harmless nature and are not aggressive when they are left alone. Because of the problems associated with whaling, restrictions on international …show more content…
So many people are even exceeding the limits resulting in near-extinction status for a lot of big species. addition to the usual fin and minke whales, right whales are commonly hunted also. In fact, the species gets its name due to the fact that they swam near slowly shore. By being so large, numerous amounts of oil were being taken giving the right whale it’s current name. By the sixteenth century, too few right whales were left to sustain the industry and today there are no right whales to be found in many parts of the world. Even though hunters are aware of this, the overwhelming slaughter of these species still continues. Currently. Iceland and Japan hunt two main species: minke and whales. The current limits set are 154 fin whales and 229 minke whales. However, despite that they are still being killed past their restrictions and their population were becoming increasingly low. (BBC, 2015. Para 7) They then began whaling voyages deep into the open ocean. During the 1800’s, there were hundreds of whaling ships active at sea. These vessels inhabited every oceans in the world in vast numbers. Within the recent 100 years, whaling expeditions explored the south seas and discovered hotspots of baleen whales near the arctic. As technology was constantly progressing, so was the demand for the meat and oil (BBC, 2015. Para 7). This resulted in …show more content…
Maybe their economy does rely on that specific industry. Will taking away a part of their diet and lifestyle be fair? Even though it sounds strange it could be like banning the hobby fishing in the United States. On the other hand, fishermen in United States do not exceed the limits on the fish that they are allowed to keep and and obey the law. In addition, there are plenty of fish in the sea and many are not endangered. Whales, are another story and there are not many left and they reproduce very slowly instead of releasing millions of eggs. If possible, we might be able to compromise by not banning it entirely but possibly reducing the amount they are allowed to kill. And enforce it stronger by reducing the numbers from a few hundred whales to a more negotiable amount. . However, is this still needed today or is it possible that oil, baleen and such are obsolete now? Japan claims it is done purely out of science. However, the meat alone is not even popular anymore and it is obvious that their research claim is an excuse. I understand that many different products are made out of oil and blubber. It is no doubt that a single whale alone has the capability to produce huge amounts of valuable resources. It's clear that Japan's "science" excuse is a facade. Japan is basically hunting the whales for meat. Except here's the other twist: Whale