Anti-whaling
Anti-whaling refers to actions taken by those who seek to end whaling in various forms, whether locally or globally in the pursuit of marine conservation. Such activism is often a response to specific conflicts with pro-whaling countries and organizations that practice commercial whaling and/or research whaling, as well as with indigenous groups engaged in subsistence whaling. Some anti-whaling factions have received criticism and legal action for extreme methods including violent direct action. The term anti-whaling may also be used to describe beliefs and activities related to these actions.
History
Anti-whaling activism has a short history compared to other forms of activism and environmental awareness. Early members of environmental organizations began protesting whale hunts around the world in the 20th century. These actions were in direct response to the global depletion of whale populations due to over-exploitation by the whaling industry and the failure of international whaling regulations.Whaling regulation
The League of Nations raised concerns about the over-exploitation of whale stocks and called for conservation measures in 1925. This eventually led to the Geneva Convention for the Regulation of Whaling which was presented in 1931 but did not enter into force until 1934 and was completely ignored by Germany and Japan.In 1937 the International Conference on Whaling added limits on pelagic whaling in order to prevent excessive exploitation, thereby creating the International Agreement for the Regulation of Whaling.
The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling was created in 1946 in Washington to "provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry". Based on the previous 1937 Agreement and subsequent protocols to that agreement in 1938 and 1945, the ICRW led to the 1949 creation of the International Whaling Commission along with guidelines for the international regulation of coastal and pelagic whaling. Critics charge that the IWC and ICRW have largely failed due to a lack of enforceable rules and regulatory loopholes.
In 1966 the Convention on Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources of the High Seas took the first steps in marine conservation worldwide. This international treaty was designed to specifically counter the over-exploitation of sealife including whales.
In 1972, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment produced a 52–0 vote in favor of a 10-year global moratorium on commercial whaling. However, the UN resolution was not adopted by the IWC. Iceland, Japan, Norway, Panama, Russia and South Africa voted no.
In 1973, a moratorium was once again proposed and voted down in the IWC lacking the required 3/4 majority. Iceland, Japan, Norway, Russia and South Africa voted no.
Between 1973 and 1982 the IWC would see its membership increase from 14 countries to 37.
National protection
In 1972 the United States passed the Marine Mammal Protection Act as the first article of legislation to call specifically for an ecosystem approach to natural resource management and conservation. The act prohibits the hunting and killing of marine mammals, and enacts a moratorium on the import, export, and sale of any marine mammal, along with any marine mammal part or product within the United States. That same year the United States also enacted the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act which established the National Marine Sanctuaries program.The United States would later play a significant role in the acceptance of a global moratorium on commercial whaling due to its domestic laws. In particular the 1971 Pelly Amendment to the US Fishermen's Protection Act gives the US President legal authority to prohibit importation of fish products from any nation that is diminishing the effectiveness of fisheries conservation programs. It was later strengthened by the 1979 Packwood-Magnuson Amendment to the Fishery Conservation and Management Act giving additional sanctioning power with regard to the ICRW.
Save the Whales
Popular culture grew to widely accept whales and dolphins as interesting, entertaining and intelligent over the latter half of the 20th century. From the original tourist attractions at Marineland to giant SeaWorld theme parks, captive dolphins and orcas became star attractions. The 1960s television series Flipper starred a Lassie-like dolphin character who befriends a young boy and performs feats of intelligence often saving the day. The 1967 novel The Day of the Dolphin, which inspired the 1973 film, featured dolphins trained to speak English that help to save the world from nuclear destruction. In 1970 the biologist and environmentalist Roger Payne recorded and produced the popular Songs of the Humpback Whale album, after his 1967 discovery of whale song among Humpback whales.With the growing popularity of entertaining cetaceans came information and even warnings about the threats to these adored animals. In 1966, Scott McVay first revealed the plight of whales to the public in his article "The Last of the Great Whales", for Scientific American and two years later "Can Leviathan Long Endure So Wide a Chase?" in Natural History. Joan McIntyre both celebrated the whale and condemned the whaler in the 1974 publication Mind in the Waters. In 1975, Audubon dedicated an entire issue to whales titled "Vanishing Giants". From 1968 to 1976 The UnderSeaWorld of Jacques Cousteau included film of whales, dolphins and other marine mammals as subjects of educational television. In 1977, National Geographic aired "The Great Whales" with scenes of whales being killed.
Before long, the words "Save the Whales" began to appear on bumper stickers, fliers, T-shirts and petitions. Conservation groups dedicated to this purpose formed including both average citizens and social radicals whose ideas on how to respond varied widely. The first was the American Cetacean Society which was formed in 1971 and quickly followed by the Whale Center and Connecticut Cetacean Society. Well established environmental organizations like the World Wildlife Fund, the National Wildlife Federation, the Humane Society of the United States, the Sierra Club and the National Audubon Society also joined the movement.
The environmental organization Greenpeace formed in the early 1970s as an offshoot of the Sierra Club. In 1975 Greenpeace launched its first anti-whaling campaign by actively confronting Soviet whaling fleets in the North Pacific. Two years later a splinter group of Greenpeace members formed the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to protect sea life specifically using radical methods of direct action.
Direct action: Russia
The environmental group Greenpeace pioneered anti-whaling activism in the form of direct action. Paul Spong, a New Zealand scientist who once studied the intelligence of orcas and friend of Canadian author Farley Mowat, helped convince then Greenpeace director, Robert Hunter, that the organization should confront Russian whalers in the Pacific. Spong, under the guise of a scientist studying sperm whales, gained vital information on the coordinates of whaling fleets from the Bureau of Whaling Statistics in Norway. With this information, Greenpeace sailed out aboard the Phyllis Cormack, named for the wife of its original owner.On June 27, 1975, members of Canadian Greenpeace took the first ever direct action against whalers who were actively whaling near the Mendocino Ridge about 40 miles west of California. The Greenpeace activists navigated small inflatable Zodiac boats between the Russian whalers of the Dalniy Vostok fleet and the hunted whales. The tactic was intended to prevent the whaling ship gunner from firing the harpoon cannon due to the risk of accidentally striking and harming one of the activists. However, the Russian catcher ship Vlastny fired directly over the heads of Robert Hunter and activist Paul Watson. The event was filmed by Greenpeace and later broadcast in the United States by the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite and other major television networks. The activists were unable to stop the Russian whalers but the airing of this event on television was significant in raising public awareness by making the Save the Whales movement front-page news for the first time.
In mid-July 1976, the Canadian Greenpeace deployed a newly acquired ship, an ex-minesweeper called the James Bay, to confront the Dalniy Vostok factory ship and its catcher fleet once again. The activists found the Russian whalers midway between California and Hawaii. However, this time the whalers did not fire their harpoon cannons. Instead, the Russian fleet retreated and Greenpeace chased the whalers for two days and nights before being forced to return to Hawaii for refueling. After replenishing their fuel and supplies, the activists found and disrupted the Russian fleet again and chased the whalers northward as far as their fuel permitted.
At the end of July 1977, the James Bay once again found Russian whalers in the Pacific. This time the factory ship Vladivostok, sister ship of the Vostok, and its catcher fleet was confronted about 700 miles off the coast of California. The activists filmed whalers at work and documented the Russians taking undersized whales. The human barrier tactic was used again but the whalers fired over the activists.
A newly formed Hawaii based Greenpeace organization joined in the Pacific campaign against Russian whalers with a fast former sub-chaser called the Ohana Kai. The activists found the Vostok fleet 1,000 miles north of Hawaii. With her superior speed, the Ohana Kai chased the Vostok which ceased whaling during the pursuit. After a week, a team of activists boarded the Vostok with anti-whaling propaganda for the crew. At end of the summer the Vladivostok ceased whaling for another week, while it was followed by the James Bay, and was also boarded by the activists.