The letter follows another summer of whale hunts resulting in the driving and killing of 590 pilot whales, despite a repeat of health warnings,  first issued by Faroese Health leaders in 2008, that the meat is unsafe to eat because of toxic contaminants like mercury that concentrate in the whales through the food chain.

Accompanying the letter, the groups issued the following statement to the Faroese media: 

NGO Statement on Pilot whales killed in the Faroe Islands -September 6th, 2012

The undersigned environmental and animal welfare organisations are very concerned about the high number of pilot whales killed in the Faroe Islands this year. Through to 24th August, 590 long-finned pilot whales have been killed on the Islands in 2012. Since the beginning of 2010,  2,423 pilot whales have been killed on the Islands raising serious human health, animal welfare and conservation concerns.

Consumption and Health Risk

Meat and blubber from the animals are distributed and sold in the Faroe Islands for human consumption, despite evidence of high levels of mercury and PCBs. Long-term research undertaken by Danish and Faroese scientists has revealed that consumption of pilot whale meat and blubber has detrimental effects on the development of foetal nervous and immune systems, and increases the risk of Parkinson’s disease, hypertension, arteriosclerosis of the carotid arteries in adults, and Type II diabetes.

The Faroe Islands’ Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientist have jointly issued health warnings several times. In an open letter to the Government on 8th August 2008, they stated that pilot whale should no longer be used for human consumption. This conclusion has recently been repeated in the review article published in 2012, “Dietary recommendationsregarding pilot whale meat and blubber in the Faroe Islands” by Pál Weihe and Høgni Debes Joensen, based on additional long-term cohort studies.

Scientific agreement

There is broad scientific agreement on the strong link between mercury in cetacean (whale, dolphin and porpoise) products and a variety of human diseases and medical conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, arteriosclerosis, immune suppression and hypertension. Threats to children include autism, Asperger’s Syndrome and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

In July 2012 at its Annual Meeting, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) adopted by consensus a resolution proposed by the EU IWC members including Denmark, requesting increased cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO). It encourages the WHO to review scientific publications regarding contaminants in cetacean products and provide updated advice for consumers. It also urges governments to remain vigilant in responsibly
informing consumers of health effects associated with the consumption of polluted cetacean products, and taking steps to counter any negative effects based on rigorous scientific advice and clear risk assessments.

Unfortunately the Government of the Faroe Islands has failed so far to adopt the recommendations of its own scientific experts to end the consumption of pilot whale, and instead supports continuation of the grinds and the consumption of these polluted whale products. Indeed, if all the meat and blubber of the 590 whales killed this year is consumed, it will by far exceed the Faroese Government’s June 2011 guidelines that recommend a maximum of one meal per month.

Animal Welfare and Conservation

Pilot whales tend to migrate to the calmer waters around the Faroe Islands to give birth from April to July. Pilot whale hunts frequently occur during the breeding season despite there being agreement internationally that hunting during breeding seasons should be avoided to allow for stable populations to endure. For this reason targeting animals accompanied by calves is expressly forbidden by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) – the world’s expert cetacean management authority. The status of cetaceans that occur around the Faroe Islands is uncertain in many cases and the impacts of the hunts which take entire family groups is also unknown. Pilot whales are protected under European law, which prohibits takes as a primary conservation measure. Many of the pilot whales that occur in Faroese waters also travel to EU waters.

The methods used to kill whales in the Faroe Islands have been subject to international criticism for decades. In the hunts, known as ‘grinds’, large family groups of whales are driven by boats into a bay where they are crudely killed with hooks and knives. Pilot whales are known for their highly social behaviours and close-knit family groups. Although Faroese authorities claim killing methods have improved, there is no documentary evidence to prove this. The grinds are a lengthy process that also involves extreme distress for the whales associated with the chasing, separation of social groups, and individual whales experiencing close family members being slaughtered. This is in addition to the inherent cruelty associated with the killing methods.

In conclusion and in consideration of the serious concerns raised, the undersigned organisations urge the Faroese people to bring a permanent end to the hunting of pilot whales and other cetacean species for the benefit of human health, animal welfare and conservation.

A staggering 2,306 pilot whales and 210 dolphins have been driven ashore and cruelly slaughtered since 2008 alone. Incredibly, that same year, Faroese health leaders warned that the whale meat, blubber and organs were not safe to eat because of the mercury and other toxic contaminants that accumulate in the whales through the oceanic food chain.

In June this year, Campaign Whale returned to the Faroe Islands to attend a conference on ‘Hunting and Protecting of Marine Mammals – A clash of Cultures?’ in the capital of Torshavn on the 4th and 5th of June. While that conference was underway 125 pilot whales were driven ashore and slaughtered on a neighbouring island just a few miles away. Some graphic film footage taken after this hunt can be seen below:

Campaign Whale is working to end Faroes whaling which is a cruel tradition and an unfolding tragedy for both the whales and the people that eat them.

For more information, including how you can help our campaign, please click here

In particular, Campaign Whale is very concerned about the creeping commercialisation of what is supposed to be whaling for food in remote communities and not whaling for profit, as well as the appalling cruelty inflicted upon the hundreds of whales targeted in these hunts.

Campaign Whale’s lobbying priorities include supporting a proposal to focus more scientific research on the pollution threat to whales and the people that eat them. We also want further funding for research and the development of recovery plans for highly endangered species of small whales, dolphins and porpoises.

Monday 2nd July 2012

Day one of IWC 64 has not been a good one for anyone who cares about whales. A proposal to create a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic, a highly-prized goal for the vast majority of anti-whaling countries, was defeated in a vote today.

This very same proposal brought last year’s meeting in Jersey to a standstill when Japan and their pro-whaling allies staged a walk-out in order to prevent a vote on the sanctuary from taking place. A vote then may well have secured the 3/4 majority needed for the sanctuary to be adopted. Today the whalers and their allies had sufficient numbers on their side to block it.

Unfortunately, Japan has ‘encouraged’ many small island states and lesser developed countries to join the IWC in recent years and vote in favour of whaling. With the whalers now able to block important conservation initiatives like the sanctuary, making real progress at the IWC has become increasingly difficult. However, there are still many important issues yet to be considered this week and Campaign Whale is determined to win all we can for the whales this week. Further reports will follow as events unfold here in Panama.

Tuesday 3rd July 2012

Today promised fireworks as the highly contentious business of renewing ‘aboriginal subsistence whaling’ quotas for the next six years was on the IWC’s agenda. These quotas, involve the cruel slaughter of several hundred whales each year, and are only meant to be awarded to remote communities that depend on hunting whales for food. However, the growing commercialisation of this whaling has led to angry confrontations, as anti-whaling members have increasingly raised concerns whether some quotas are still justifiably exempt from the IWC’s commercial whaling ban agreed in 1986.

Anticipating problems, the United States resorted to a procedural manoeuvre by combining their quota request with that of the Russian Federation and St Vincent & the Grenadines. This made it harder for countries to vote against the package of quotas which included controversial quotas of gray whales for the Makah tribe of Washington State, who have not hunted whales   for some 90 years, and humpback whales for St Vincent in the Caribbean. The whalers of St Vincent kill humpback whales despite failing to provide essential data on their hunt to the IWC for many years. These hunts are all the more shocking because the whalers often target mothers with calves, a practice forbidden under IWC rules.

If all this weren’t bad enough, Denmark submitted a massive quota request for its Greenlandic whalers for 1,140 minkes, 114 fin, 12 bowhead and 60 humpback whales over the next six years. The Greenland request was repeatedly challenged and the issue has now been deferred until later in the week.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the US joint proposal. Despite attempts to separate the three quota requests in order that each could be judged on its own merits, there was not enough support for this. The proposal was passed by a large margin of votes, including the support of all the EU Member States attending this meeting. In the end, the US had got its way and both the Makah and St Vincent’s whalers were awarded quotas that are quite simply unjustified.

One highlight of an otherwise distressing day was the announcement by Italy, the Netherlands and the UK of sizeable donations to the IWC’s Voluntary Fund for Small Cetacean Conservation Research of around £35,000. The whalers refuse to accept the IWC has jurisdiction over the many species of smaller whales, dolphins and porpoises. They face mounting threats to their survival, especially from toxic pollution and entanglement in fishing nets, and are hunted in huge numbers in Japan, the Faroe Islands and elsewhere around the world. Campaign Whale is proud of its work in helping persuade governments to support this vital research that will help save critically endangered species.

More news from Campaign Whale in Panama will follow.

Wednesday 4th July 2012

Day three of the IWC meeting here in Panama has been dominated by two issues: Firstly, the annual ritual of Japan tabling a proposal requesting an ‘emergency relief’ quota of whales to allow for the resumption of ‘small-type’ whaling in its coastal waters.  Once again, the ‘hardship’ and ‘distress’ caused to their coastal communities was expressed, deprived as they have been of whaling for 25 years,  thanks to the IWC ban on commercial whaling. What they didn’t mention of course, is the hundreds of whales killed in the north-Pacific every year by Japan’s bogus ‘scientific’ whaling programme, on top of the hundreds of whales killed in Antarctica for ‘research. This whaling has created thousands of tons of frozen whale meat that remains unsold. This is all in addition to the tens of thousands of small whales, dolphins and porpoises cruelly hunted in Japan’s coastal waters that are not protected by the whaling ban. With all this whaling, creating mountains of whale meat that is not being eaten, it’s difficult to see where the hardship or distress is being felt. Although Japan’s request has been left open for further discussion later this week, it is very unlikely to be approved, and rightly so, having been rejected by the IWC many, many times before.

Secondly, after some discussion and criticism of Iceland and Norway’s ongoing commercial whaling in defiance of the IWC ban, both countries killing over 700 minke whales between them each year, the discussions  were disrupted by the sensational announcement by Korea that they intend to start scientific research whaling. Killing whales for research is permitted under the Convention, but it is a legal loophole that has been much abused by the whaling nations since the whaling ban was introduced. Japan, for example, has killed tens of thousands of whales for ‘research’ during the commercial whaling ban. The situation is made even worse by the fact that any species can be killed, and in any numbers, including from endangered populations and species. Sadly, until now, only Japan has persisted with scientific whaling, which they conduct each year in the north-Pacific and Antarctic oceans.  Although these cynical abuses of IWC rules are regularly condemned, the whalers fear little action will be taken against them. If world governments were serious about ending whaling, then economic and political sanctions could be taken against them, sanctions that would end whaling virtually overnight.

More from Campaign Whale in Panama tomorrow

Thursday 5th July

Day four of this year’s IWC meeting was a very good one for the whales. Yesterday, Campaign Whale hosted a meeting of concerned organizations to discuss how best to help two of the most critically endangered dolphins and porpoises at this meeting: the Vaquita and Maui dolphin. Unfortunately, the whaling countries and their allies refuse to accept IWC jurisdiction over small cetaceans as they are collectively known, and tens of thousands of small whales, dolphins and porpoises are hunted and killed in Japan, the Faroe Islands and elsewhere around the world each year, with hundreds of thousands more ensnared and drowned in fishing gear.

The Vaquita is a tiny porpoise that lives in the Gulf of California. There are no more than 200 left and even these are seriously threatened by entanglement in fishing gear. Off New Zealand, the Maui dolphin has been reduced to just 55 animals, and every dolphin that dies in a fishermen’s net takes this critically endangered one step closer to oblivion.

Campaign Whale is determined once again to do all we can to help these sadly endangered animals. Last year, several countries donated a total of £60,000 to support the IWC Voluntary Fund for Small Cetacean Conservation Research, and this year a further £35,000 was donated. Campaign Whale rallied other campaign organizations to raise a further £11,000, after raising over £10,000 at last year’s meeting. By encouraging and continuing this momentum, we are focusing global attention on the plight of critically endangered dolphins and porpoises, and so increasing pressure on governments and the IWC to help save the Vaquita and Maui dolphins.

Back to the meeting, Denmark’s massive quota request for Greenland returns to the floor. They are not prepared to compromise and the proposal is put to a vote where it fails to reach the ¾ majority it needs. While some groups view this as a victory, we are not so sure. The whalers will take this opportunity to portray the IWC as a dysfunctional body that cannot even agree to set quotas for indigenous peoples that rely on whales for food. Certainly, Greenland’s growing commercialization of its whaling does not meet IWC criteria for subsistence whaling, but this decision will be used as propaganda by Japan and its whaling allies once again as further proof that the Convention is no longer fit for purpose.

Also today, an important resolution was passed by consensus calling on the IWC to liaise with the World Health Organisation in researching and reducing the contaminant threat to whales and dolphins. It also called on governments to reduce toxic pollution of the marine nvironment and to responsibly inform consumers of the potential health threats from eating contaminated whale and dolphin products. Campaign Whale helped produce a lobbying document on this issue and we were delighted this resolution was adopted. Scientists have established strong links between mercury and other toxic contamination of whale and dolphin products and a variety of human diseases and medical conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, arteriosclerosis, immune system suppression and hypertension. Threats to children include autism, Asperger’s Syndrome and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Welcoming this resolution in a joint press release Andy Ottaway of Campaign Whale said, “It’s time that urgent international attention is focused on this unfolding tragedy for whales and dolphins and the people that eat them”.

News from the final day of the IWC in Panama to follow

Friday 6th July

Today Campaign Whale made history! For the first time in over 20 years of attending IWC meetings we were able to directly address the meeting. We seized this opportunity to remind the IWC and its Member Governments of their collective and individual responsibilities to save critically endangered species such as the Vaquita and Maui dolphins from extinction. We also reached agreement with the Chairs of the Small Cetacean and Conservation Committees to find a way to develop conservation plans to help endangered species of small whales, dolphins and porpoises. We are delighted to have achieved so much for these sadly threatened species and we are determined to save them and the many other threatened dolphins from extinction.

Finally, Japan’s annual demand that the IWC provide an ‘emergency relief’ quota of whales for their long-suffering coastal whaling communities was withdrawn through lack of support. Like so many other IWC meetings, IWC Panama proved to be a bittersweet experience of good and bad. However, the growing drive to change this once exclusive whaler’s club in to a modern conservation forum for the protection of all whales, dolphins and porpoises is becoming unstoppable.  We would like to thank our supporters and those other organizations whose tireless efforts are making that day grow ever closer.

Campaign Whale today expressed shock and dismay at the brutal killing of a further 81 pilot whales at Torshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands.

Fishermen in dozens of boats drove a ‘super pod’ estimated at around a 1,000 pilot whales into a bay close to Torshavn. There the brutal slaughter began and 81 whales were hacked to death in front of a large crowd of onlookers.

In just the past six days, three whale hunts have taken place on the Faroes with 148 whales cruelly slaughtered. This year alone, a staggering total of 723 pilot whales have been killed, on top of over a 1,000 pilot whales and 35 dolphins killed last year.

In a letter sent to the Faroese Government on October 7th a coalition of anti-whaling groups, led by Campaign Whale, condemned the escalation in whaling and dismissed public health and whale hunt guidelines issued by the Faroese Government earlier this year as totally inadequate. The coalition called for the immediate suspension of all whale and dolphin hunting on conservation, animal welfare and human health grounds.

Campaign Whale Director Andy Ottaway and other members of the coalition visited the Faroe Islands in May of this year, meeting with representatives from the Ministries of Fisheries, Foreign Affairs, Tourism, Environment, Department of Public Health, as well as the Chief Veterinary Officer and the Chair of the Pilot Whalers Association.

Since then, the Faroese Government has issued new guidelines relating to the public health risks associated with consuming pilot whales, which are sadly dangerously contaminated with toxic pollutants such as mercury and PCBs, known to cause a number of serious health problems.

The coalition also accused the Government of failing to implement any meaningful changes to hunting methods to reduce the appalling cruelty inflicted upon social and intelligent animals, which are chased to exhaustion, and then suffer terrible injuries, sometimes over several hours. The hunters kill mothers and babies too.

In 2008, Faroese Health Officers issued a public statement saying that pilot whales were no longer safe to eat at all. However, the Faroese Government contradicted this advice in June 2011 by suggesting that people limit their consumption rather than avoid it altogether. This appears to be fuelling this latest escalation in whaling.

However, even the Government’s new health guidelines cannot justify the numbers of whales being killed, which is producing whale products in quantities far in excess of what the public can safely consume.

Further concerns were raised over the Faroese Government’s claims that the whale hunts are sustainable, given that existing population estimates for pilot whales are over 20 years old. These animals also face mounting and serious threats to their survival from climate change, toxic pollution, over-fishing, entanglement in fishing gears, increasing ocean noise and military sonar, ship strikes, habitat loss and degradation.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Andy Ottaway of Campaign Whale said, ‘We are pleased to continue an open dialogue with the Faroese Government and people over whaling. However, we cannot accept this appalling escalation in cruelty inflicted upon such intelligent social creatures. We don’t believe that any cultural tradition can take precedence over the serious public health, conservation and, animal welfare issues that need to be addressed. We hope that our concerns will be heard by the Government and people of the Faroes and that all whaling will be suspended in order to protect both the whales and the people that eat them.’

Back in the meeting, when the Sanctuary issue came up, the same Japanese delegate spoke on behalf of what he described as the ‘pro-sustainable use’ group. He said Japan wanted to prevent a vote that would have a negative impact on the current ‘wonderful’ atmosphere. And with that he stood up and walked out of the meeting, followed by all the countries we had seen assembled earlier. It was only 11.30 a.m. and the meeting had ground to a halt yet again.

The dispute over voting on the hotly contested South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary continued for a further 9 hours with the Commissioners locked away in private discussions. After several false alarms it was nearly 8.30pm when the meeting reconvened. It was then announced that an agreement had been reached to delay any vote and reconsider the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary again as the first item of business at the next IWC meeting in Panama in 2012.

Missed opportunities
Due to all the time-wasting by the whalers, the rest of the IWC’s agenda was rushed through with little or no discussion. This meant that all our hard work preparing briefings and lobbying delegates in order for them to raise a host of important issues during the meeting, such as the mass killing of dolphins and porpoises and the threats to human health associated with people eating contaminated whale and dolphin products, was lost. For example, our calls for an IWC Working Group on Human Health; for the IWC to liaise with the World Health Organisation and for health warning labels to be placed on contaminated whale products were not raised. However, undaunted, we will work with supportive IWC Member Governments to ensure progress is still made on this critical issue before next year’s IWC meeting.

Help for critically endangered dolphins
Campaign Whale has worked tirelessly to seek greater protection for the tens of thousands of smaller whales, dolphins and porpoises that are hunted for their meat in Japan and elsewhere each year. Our campaign to stop the hunt for Dall’s porpoises in Japan has led to a massive reduction in a hunt that peaked at almost 40,000 animals slaughtered each year to around 8,000 last year. The terrible earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan this year has devastated the north-east coast and it is now unclear how many porpoises can still be hunted. However, we do know that the cruel dolphin kills in Taiji and elsewhere have continued in areas unaffected by the disaster.

Unable to specifically raise the Japanese hunts this year, instead Campaign Whale rallied support for all endangered dolphins and porpoises, including the critically endangered vaquita, a small porpoise that inhabits the Gulf of California that has just 200 animals surviving. We asked other organisations to contribute to the IWC’s under-funded research projects on seriously threatened dolphins and porpoises and managed to raise over £10,000 in a couple of hours! We then presented a statement on behalf of the ten contributing organisations, which was read to the Commission by the IWC Secretary, calling for their support to help greater protect dolphins and porpoises, including the vaquita that is still dying in fishermen’s nets. As a result, we were delighted when both Italy and France announced they would contribute a further £40,000, ensuring this vital work can continue.

And so IWC 63 came to a close at around 9.30pm on the final day. Despite the disruptive efforts of the whalers, important reforms have been introduced to reduce alleged corruption. We were also able to snatch an important victory for the vaquita and other endangered species. The whalers always claim they support the conservation of whales, but not a single whaling country or their allies joined the applause when these donations were announced. Sadly, it seems saving endangered whales means nothing to them unless they can kill them for profit. Campaign Whale will never give up until the IWC becomes the modern conservation champion for whales that it should be, with whaling condemned to history, so ending the appalling abuse of these wonderful animals forever.

Day 3
Voting fights
Day three began with further heated discussion on the UK’s much resisted proposals to reform the IWC, in particular, by eliminating countries’ paying their annual membership dues in cash. These dues must be paid if any country is to maintain its voting rights. A greatly revised document was re-tabled by the UK delegation which contained a minimal package of rule changes. There had already been much debate in private meetings the previous day to try and reach agreement and, at the demand of the whalers, these proposals had been greatly diminished with the removal of full speaking rights for IWC observers like Campaign Whale that represent civil society. However, once the debate began again, Antigua, St Kitts, Palau, Grenada and Iceland began a counter-offensive for the whaling countries by once again raising and disputing endless trivial details and making long impassioned speeches about the ‘lack of fairness’ of the proposals, all in order to waste even more valuable time. At one point the Commissioner for Antigua and Barbuda, one of several Caribbean countries that have been repeatedly accused of being hired votes for Japan, arrogantly dismissed these essential reforms as ‘a lot of fluff ‘.

Eventually after the best part of two days of acriminonious wrangling and endless disruptions for closed Commissioners’ meetings, the UK proposals, which were now supported by all EU member governments, were finally adopted without further dispute. At long, long last, the IWC has finally taken a major step to tackle the endless allegations of vote-buying by requiring all member governments to pay their membership dues directly by bank transfer from their Government’s accounts, to maintain their voting rights.

Japan withdraws coastal whaling request
In a surprise move, Japan announced they would not be tabling their annual request for a special quota of whales to relieve the ‘hardship’ they claim has been caused to their coastal whaling towns by the IWC’s ongoing ban on commercial whaling. This request has never been justified and has been rejected by the IWC for many years because it would set a dangerous precedent that other countries that have abided by the whaling ban might try to exploit.

Finally, at around 8pm, the meeting was adjourned after a brief discussion over a joint United States and New Zealand paper which sought to maintain negotiations over a compromise deal for the resumption of commercial whaling. The Commissioner for India summed up the view of many by saying the IWC’s future role should actually be to conserve whales and protect them from the many serious environmental threats they now face, such as climate change, toxic pollution, over-fishing, entanglement in fishing nets, increasing ocean noise, habitat loss and ship-strikes. He said he now felt it was prudent to rename the IWC the ‘International Whales Commission’. We couldn’t agree more.

Day 2
Today saw the IWC plunged in to chaos as one of the key reforms proposed to modernise the Commission brought proceedings to a standstill. A proposal intended to address the issue of alleged vote-buying, by requiring all financial contributions from Member Governments to be paid by bank transfer rather than in cash, provoked an angry response from some countries that have been directly implicated in the allegations. After repeated interruptions and heated debate a private meeting of Commissioners was called and the day’s business was finally abandoned. More on these dramatic developments tomorrow.

Day 1
The annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has started here today in St Helier, Jersey. The Campaign Whale team is here as ever to fight for the whales and our priorities this year are, first and foremost, to ensure that the ban on commercial whaling remains firmly in place. The first day of what promises to be a gruelling week, began with an early morning meeting with UK Fisheries Minister, Richard Benyon and the rest of the UK delegation, including the new UK Commissioner, Richard Pullan. The Minister told us that his over-riding objective was to see much needed reforms to modernise the IWC agreed at this meeting.

Over the past few years the IWC has been dead-locked in discussions over its future role. Not surprisingly the debate remains hopelessly polarised between the pro-whaling countries and the anti-whaling majority. Unfortunately, the United States and New Zealand are still trying to broker a deal that could allow commercial whaling to legitimately resume.

This year, the defiant whaling nations, Japan, Iceland and Norway, aim to kill well over two thousand whales between them. Iceland and Norway can kill whales after registering formal objections to the ban introduced a quarter of a century ago in 1986. Meanwhile, Japan has continued to kill many hundreds of whales for so-called ‘research’ in Antarctica and the north Pacific every year.

Despite the defiance of these three countries, the IWC ban on commercial whaling has reduced whaling by over 95% on historic levels. It remains a critical campaign success vital to limiting and ultimately ending this cruel, outdated and unnecessary industry.  Sadly, political will does not match overwhelming world public opinion that wants to see whaling finally ended.

Campaign Whale’s other priorities this week are to highlight the threat to whales and the people that eat whale products from toxic pollution that reaches dangerous levels in these top predators, posing a serious health risk to people that eat them. Last year, at the IWC’s annual meeting, we succeeded in persuading twelve countries to raise this issue and call upon the IWC to work with the World Health Organisation on this matter. This campaign is vital to reduce the markets for whale products in the whaling countries themselves, and in particular reduce the appallingly cruel slaughter of tens of thousands of smaller whales, dolphins and porpoises in Japan, the Faroe Islands and other countries where these small whales receive no protection at all.

Today the IWC reviewed whale-killing methods with the usual retorts of the whalers that this is not an issue they are prepared to discuss at the IWC. Even with modern technology, every year many hundreds of whales are dying in unimaginable agony at the hands of the whalers. Worse the traditional or subsistence whale hunts, conducted by indigenous people inflict the most appalling suffering on whales that can take from a few  minutes to anything up to several hours to die.

The Commission reviewed the status of various whale populations. Significantly, Antarctic minke whales, that have been the target of Japanese whalers for so-called ‘research’, have shown a significant decline in numbers. The IWC Scientific Committee has been unable to determine the size of the population despite Japan’s claims that there are huge numbers of minke whales in the Southern Ocean. Japan’s bogus research has enabled them to defy the IWC ban on commercial whaling for over twenty years during which many thousands of whales have been killed and the meat sold for profit.

Meanwhile, the Western North Pacific population of gray whales is possibly the most endangered population of whales in the world. There are only around 100 whales left with as few as 20 breeding females. Their survival is now in the hands of the oil companies that are developing oil and gas extraction in the middle of their feeding grounds off Sakhalin Island off Russia’s north-east coast. Campaign Whale is doing all we can to persuade the Russian Government and the oil companies to limit their activities and help save these animals from extinction.

Campaign Whale is also calling on governments to support Mexico’s efforts to save the Vaquita, a small porpoise that inhabits the Gulf of California that has been all but wiped out by entanglement in fishermen’s nets. Today, only around 200 porpoises remain and Mexico is struggling to find the resources necessary to pay fishermen to remove their nets throughout the range of the Vaquita.

For further information and daily updates from the IWC in Jersey please visit us again at  www.campaign-whale.org

Campaign Whale is attending the 63rd annual meeting of the IWC here in Jersey. Our campaign priority is to ensure the ongoing ban on commercial whaling is maintained and strengthened; that ongoing whaling by Japan, Norway and Iceland in defiance of the ban is condemned; that the serious pollution threat to whales and the people that eat them is highlighted along with the many increasing environmental threats to whales; and that the smaller whales and dolphins receive greater protection.

Daily reports from events here in Jersey will be posted on this site. Please click the headline above for all the latest news and ways you may be able to help.

The Japanese Government has announced it is ending this year’s controversial Antarctic whaling season early after weeks of harassment by anti-whaling activists at sea. The Japanese ‘research’ whaling fleet is returning to Japan after killing around 170 whales out of a target quota of 850 minke whales; 50 fin and 50 humpbacks.  Only two fin whales have been killed. If true, some 800 whales will have been spared a cruel death.

Japan has slaughtered around 10,000 whales in Antarctic waters for ‘research’ since the International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commercial whaling in 1986. Japan’s whaling fleet also slaughters around 500 whales: 340 minke, 50 Bryde’s, 100 sei and 10 sperm whales in the north-Pacific each year for ‘science’. Scientific whaling is a legal loophole that Japan has used to continue whaling despite the ban on commercial hunting.

Scientific whaling is estimated to cost about 6 billion yen every season. Of this sum, about 800 million yen is covered by government subsidies, while the rest is primarily financed by the sale of whale meat. However with an estimated 6,000 tons of frozen whale meat stockpiled and with a diminishing market for whale meat, the whaling industry could finally collapse.

The Japanese Fisheries Minister Michihiko Kano would not comment on whether the Antarctic ‘research’ whaling would end permanently, but escalating costs and declining sales of whale meat are clearly taking their toll.

Some countries, led by the United States, have tried to reach a compromise with Japan over the resumption of commercial whaling, which included the scaling down of Antarctic ‘research’ whaling, but Japan refused to accept the deal and talks broke down at the IWC’s annual meeting in Agadir in June 2010.

Campaign Whale Director Andy Ottaway said, ‘The signs are that the Japanese whaling industry is dying and the end of this cruel, outdated and unnecessary industry cannot come soon enough. However, tens of thousands of dolphins and porpoises are hacked to death by Japanese fishermen every year to produce meat that is dangerously contaminated with mercury and other toxic pollutants harmful to human health. We will not give up until that cruel Japanese tradition is ended too”.

An incredible 1,115 pilot whales and 35 Risso’s and white-sided dolphins have been brutally slaughtered in the Faroe Islands so far this year, the largest number of whales killed there in over a decade.

The Faroe Islands are situated just 200 miles north-west of Scotland and the Faroese have killed whales for centuries. However whaling today is more about tradition than necessity for these prosperous islands. The Whaling involves driving entire schools of pilot whales, which can number in the hundreds, into shallow bays where they are gaffed with metal hooks while the whalers use long knives to cut down into the necks of the terrified animals to sever major arteries – a process that can take several minutes and must inflict appalling suffering on the whales before they die.

Campaign Whale is working with a coalition of organisations that want to end Faroese whaling and we are deeply concerned by the sudden increase in these cruel hunts. This year, more whales have been killed than in any year since 1996, and even more could yet be slaughtered before the year’s end.

The escalation in whaling is all the more shocking given the fact that in 2008 the Chief Medical Officer of the Faroes, and a doctor from the Department of Public and Occupational Health, issued a joint press statement saying that the meat and blubber of pilot whales was no longer fit for human consumption. This is because of the high levels of mercury and other toxic pollutants that build up in the whales’ bodies through the food chain. The unexpected upsurge in whaling suggests that this warning has been forgotten, or is simply being ignored.

The hunts this year have produced an estimated 550 tons of pilot meat and blubber, providing a staggering 11 kilos of meat and blubber for every one of the island’s 49,000 inhabitants, despite the fact they have been warned not to eat it at all.  Campaign Whale Director Andy Ottaway, who met with Faroese officials in London recently to express concerns over whaling,  said

“It is an unfolding tragedy for the whales and the people eating them. The Faroese must see sense and recognize that pilot whale and dolphin meat is no longer safe to eat. This cruel tradition has to end.”

For further information about whaling in the Faroes, and how you can help our campaign to stop it, please click here

Campaigners are warning of the risk of a public health disaster unfolding in Japan while condemning the largest cetacean hunt in the world, which begins today in Japan’s coastal waters.

Up to 15,000 porpoises will be killed and their meat sold throughout Japan, despite an international moratorium on commercial whaling. The meat is sold for human consumption even though it contains dangerously high levels of toxic chemicals such as mercury and polychlorinated-biphenyls (PCBs).

The London-based Environmental Investigation Agency and Campaign Whale jointly released the results of new chemical tests on 12 samples of Dall’s porpoise meat and blubber on sale in Iwate during March 2010. Eleven of the 12 products carried mercury and methyl-mercury levels in excess of Japan’s regulatory limits (0.4 and 0.3ppm, respectively). The average mercury concentration in the 12 products was 1.1ppm, 2.75 times higher than the regulatory limit.

Clare Perry  EIA Senior Campaigner, said: “Dall’s porpoise products are sold locally in large quantities and customers are never warned that they contain high levels of mercury. In fact, they are encouraged to eat a lot of it as it’s sold for as little as 100 yen per 100g (£0.78/100g), compared to 300 yen for beef.”

While the dolphin drive hunt in Taiji, Japan, has received wide media coverage in recent months, 85-90 per cent of the 19,000 small whales, dolphins and porpoises killed in Japanese waters every year are Dall’s porpoises.

Dall’s porpoises are killed in hand-thrown harpoon hunts in northern Japan, an event that has remained the largest cetacean slaughter in the world for more than a quarter of a century. With fewer porpoises approaching the harpoon boats, some Japanese hunters now chase nursing porpoises,leaving their calves to starve.

The Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has repeatedly expressed its concern that these hunts are “clearly unsustainable”. However, although the number of animals killed appears to have declined in recent years, the Japanese government still refuses to cooperate with the IWC on this issue and quotas remain at about 15,000 animals.

Falling catch levels could be due to a variety of factors; wholesale market prices for Dall’s porpoise meat have dropped from an average of 280 yen per kg in 2004 to 155 yen in 2008, possibly related to increased awareness of the health risks as well as the glut of whale meat available as a result of Japan’s killing of other species. But despite lower catches, the Dall’s hunt is still the largest cetacean hunt in the world.

Andy Ottaway, Director of Campaign Whale, said “We are very concerned that people in Japan are threatening their health and possibly that of their children by unwittingly eating Dall’s porpoise meat that is dangerously contaminated with poisons such as mercury and PCBs. We hope that the Japanese Government will act responsibly,stop these cruel and unsustainable hunts and take dolphins and porpoises off the menu.”

Editors’ Notes:

• The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Campaign Whale have tested 12 samples of Dall’s porpoise meat, finding average mercury levels of 1.10ppm and average methyl-mercury levels of 0.76ppm. The Japanese government regulatory limits for mercury and methyl-mercury in seafood are 0.4ppm and 0.3ppm.

• Since catch records began in the early 1960s, more than half a million Dall’s porpoises have been deliberately killed in Japan’s coastal waters. It is the largest direct hunt of any whale, dolphin or porpoise species in the world.

• The IWC Scientific Committee has expressed its concern over the unsustainability of Japan’s Dall’s porpoise hunt 12 times in the past 16 years.

• The International Whaling Commission affords no protection for small cetaceans (dolphins and porpoises),which are under increasing threat from direct hunting, entanglement in fishing gear, over-fishing of prey species and pollution.

For more information please click here and visit: www.dallsporpoise.org

Campaign Whale has received the distressing news that 100 pilot whales were driven ashore and cruelly slaughtered this morning at Tórshavn, the capital and largest town in the Faroe Islands.

Just four days ago on July 19th, a pod of 236 pilot whales were killed at the town of Klaksvik. Sadly, there has now been eight recorded whale hunts this year with around 668 pilot whales and 21 Risso’s dolphins killed so far.

In 2008, the Chief Medical Officer of the Faroes, and a doctor from the Department of Public and Occupational Health, issued a joint press statement saying the meat and blubber of pilot whales was no longer fit for human consumption because of the increasingly high levels of mercury and other toxic pollutants it contains.

Campaign Whale Director Andy Ottaway said “People will be shocked to learn of the cruel mass killing of whales and dolphins in the Faroes. This appalling slaughter must end. It is an unfolding tragedy for the whales and the people that are eating them. The Faroese are ignoring stark warnings from health experts that pilot whale and dolphin meat is dangerously laden with mercury and other toxic pollutants.”

For further information about whaling in the Faroes, and how you can help our campaign to stop it, please click here.

Today, Friday 25th June, the last day of this year’s stormy meeting in Agadir, the IWC will try to resolve the hugely contentious issues still left on the agenda for this year’s meeting. These are Greenland’s request for an increased quota of 10 humpback whales each year and the slaughter of tens of thousands of small whales, dolphins and porpoises in Japan and elsewhere that are not protected by the IWC ban on commercial whaling.

This morning, it was clear that the EU had agreed a compromise deal with Denmark to permit Greenlandic whalers to kill 9 humpback whales instead of the 10 they had requested. Many countries are extremely unhappy with this, because Greenland has failed to convince them that there is any need for this increase. However, at least the compromise has come at a price: Greenland has agreed to reduce their fin whale quota from 19 to 10 animals, as well taking 22 less minke whales each year. This means that 93 less whales will die in agony over the next three years.

Many NGOs here, including Campaign Whale made it very clear we are very upset at this kind of political dealing, especially when indigenous hunting is supposedly strictly non-commercial yet whale meat has been found on sale in Greenlandic supermarkets. Campaign Whale is also fearful that the deal will mean an increase in the killing of small whales that are not protected, such as the Arctic beluga and narwhals that are already threatened by over-hunting with their populations falling alarmingly.

All week long Campaign Whale has worked tirelessly, lobbying delegates to support our campaign to press Japan over its annual hunts of 20,000 dolphins and porpoises. However, this is an extremely difficult issue to raise with Japan refusing to accept that the IWC has any jurisdiction over dolphin hunting. A staggering half-million small whales, dolphins and porpoises have been slaughtered by Japanese fishermen since commercial whaling was banned in 1986. This afternoon, despite our best efforts, not a single delegation, not even the UK, was prepared to speak out on the issue.

This is hugely disappointing for us, especially as small cetaceans have been identified as a priority issue to be resolved by the IWC. However, we were able to persuade several Government delegations to agree to approach Japan outside of the IWC on this issue over the next few weeks. We will certainly be pressing these countries, including the UK to go through with their promises.

Once again, this year’s IWC has proven the usual mix of highs and lows for all of us here trying so hard to protect these wonderful animals. At least we have stopped a compromise deal that would have legitimised the cruel, outdated and unnecessary whaling industry and condemned 13,000 whales to an agonising death.

Although Greenland was granted a quota of 9 humpback whales through a political deal with the European Union, at least 31 fewer whales will die each year over the next three years.

The threats to whales and dolphins from climate change, toxic pollution, over-fishing, entanglement in fishing gear, ship-strikes, habitat loss and noise pollution are being given serious and increasing attention by IWC scientists. Addressing these threats is vital when you consider an estimated 300,000 whales are killed in fishing nets alone each year. Combined, these threats present a powerful argument against any resumption of commercial whaling for the foreseeable future.

Once again the appalling cruelty of whaling was raised this week and the IWC has even agreed to a hold a workshop on this issue. Campaign Whale believes there is no humane way to kill these animals and the case is growing ever stronger to stop commercial whaling forever.

The slaughter of tens of thousands of dolphins and porpoises in Japan alone each year is coming under increasing scrutiny and political pressure. Public opposition is growing to end these appalling hunts, including within Japan itself. Campaign Whale will never give up until all whales and dolphins receive the protection they need and deserve.

Lastly, as evidence mounts of the health threats to people that eat whale and dolphin products so demand is falling and whale-watching is becoming an increasingly attractive alternative to whaling, even within the whaling countries themselves.

Our thanks to all our supporters and colleagues that have made it possible for us to be here in Morocco and achieve so much, and in so many ways, for the whales and dolphins.

 Madness in Morocco: Day 4

It’s Thursday 24th June and day four of IWC 62 here in Agadir. There are some very important and extremely contentious issues to be discussed again today. Campaign Whale is trying to stop Greenland from being awarded an increase in its ‘subsistence’ whaling quota by 10 humpback whales each year on top of the hundreds of whales they already kill. Campaign Whale is also working with a coalition of groups to raise the serious health risks to people that eat whale and dolphin products which are increasingly contaminated with toxic pollutants. Our coalition has produced a briefing paper on this topic which calls for the IWC to take positive and urgent action when this subject is discussed at today’s meeting.

Thanks to a great effort twelve countries have spoken out on this issue this morning: Switzerland, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Finland and Costa Rica.

Monaco reminded delegates of two previous resolutions passed by the IWC in 1994 and again in 1998, more than 10 years ago, urging the whaling nations to inform their public about the health risks associated with consuming whale and dolphin products because they are increasingly contaminated with toxic pollutants such as mercury, and for the IWC to cooperate with the World Health Organisation (WHO) on this important issue.

The Netherlands expressed concern about the impact of toxic pollution on the whales, as well as the people that eat them, and the Czech Republic called on the IWC to create a working group or workshop on the issue.

Not surprisingly, the whalers had a different view: Norway said although it was true that some whales and dolphins contained high levels of mercury and other toxic pollutants, delegates should not forget the ‘health benefits’ from eating whale products. They also said that mercury was equally high in other seafood, such as tuna, and so it was unfair to single out whale products.

Japan said that their government was ‘quite serious’ about the issue of food safety; they had ‘strengthened’ food safety regulations and information regarding dolphins and porpoises, which contain much higher levels of dangerous pollutants and was available on the Institute of Cetacean Research’s website – hardly a place where the vast majority of Japanese people visit when surfing the web!

Campaign Whale is working to end the slaughter of 20,000 small whales, dolphins and porpoises, collectively called small cetaceans, in Japan every year. It is a core part of our strategy to highlight the toxic compounds that people consume when eating whale and dolphin meat, blubber and other organs, and so reduce market demand for these products.

This afternoon various scientific reports were presented and discussions took place on the threats to whales posed by oil and gas exploration; collisions with shipping and sound pollution. In particular, the Western-North Pacific population of Grey Whales was highlighted because it is critically endangered with only around 120 animals left. These whales are threatened by oil and gas development in their vital feeding and breeding grounds off Sakhalin Island. All delegates supported the Scientific Committee’s recommendations that seismic testing planned for this year should be suspended until measures are in place to protect these critically endangered whales from more pollution and disturbance.

Following on, whale-watching was then discussed. Around 13 million people in 119 countries spent US $2 billion dollars watching whales last year. Campaign Whale believes that responsibly run whale-watching operations is the only truly sustainable, humane and ethical use of whales and an economically viable alternative to whaling for coastal communities. We take every opportunity to remind delegates at IWC, especially the pro-whaling countries, that ‘sustainable use’ does not require killing these wonderful animals.

Finally today, the highly contentious issue of indigenous subsistence whaling was raised, with Greenland’s request (and Denmark’s demand) for an increase in their quota by 10 humpback whales. Greenlandic hunters are already permitted to kill 212 minke, 19 fin and 2 bowhead whales. They also kill large numbers of beluga and narwhals, but these are not included in the calculations of meat needed for the communities there.  We then had to endure 1.5 hours of presentations by Greenlandic hunters until the meeting was finally adjourned for the day.

It’s almost 8 pm and intense negotiations will continue this evening and overnight between the Commissioners to try and resolve an issue causing deep divisions amongst members, not least the European Union Member States.

A report on the final day of IWC Morocco will follow.

 Madness in Morocco: Days 2 and 3

It has been a very long two days here in Morocco. We have had an agonising wait for the IWC meeting to resume after it was adjourned on Monday morning for behind-closed-doors talks to try and reach agreement on a compromise deal that would legitimise commercial whaling for ten years.

Campaign Whale arrived here in Agadir a week ago determined to do everything we could to stop the deal and save the 24 year old ban on commercial whaling. So we were delighted when this morning (Wednesday) the IWC Chairman solemnly announced that the ‘deal’ was dead – no agreement had been made, at least for now.
 
The Campaign Whale team here at the IWC have worked tirelessly to persuade the anti-whaling countries that although this was a good deal for politicians, it was a very bad deal for whales. Thanks to all our efforts before and during this meeting, the EU member countries were not prepared to agree to a deal that would have condemned 13,000 whales over the next ten years to a cruel death. However, the deal may be dead, but whaling certainly is not. Iceland, Norway and Japan will continue to kill whales in defiance of the IWC, but at least this brutal and unnecessary industry has not been given any legitimacy by the international community. If that should happen, the battle to end whaling would be lost.
 
The Latin American countries and especially Australia made very clear their opposition to the proposed deal. However, the position of the European Union was far from certain. A good deal of lobbying from Campaign Whale and our anti-whaling colleagues here in Agadir was necessary to ensure that the EU did not adopt a common position in favour of the deal. In the end all this work paid off as the EU took a strong position and rejected the proposal at the very last, leaving Sweden and Denmark isolated in their support for a compromise on whaling.

However, our job is far from done here in Morocco. The meeting continues until Friday and there are other very important issues yet to be discussed. Campaign Whale is also trying to stop Greenland from being awarded an increase in its ‘subsistence’ whaling quota of 10 humpback whales each year. Undercover investigations have exposed that whale meat in Greenland is being sold for profit and Greenland has yet to demonstrate there is any justification for an increase in their already considerable whaling quota.

Last, but by no means least, we are determined that the appalling slaughter of 20,000 dolphins and porpoises in Japan every year will be raised and roundly condemned. Campaign Whale is part of the Save Japan Dolphins campaign which exposed the horrific slaughter of dolphins in Japan with the Academy Award winning documentary The Cove. While commercial whaling on large whales has been banned, some half-million dolphins and porpoises have been slaughtered for profit by Japanese fishermen. Japan says these hunts are none of the IWC’s business, but we will never stop our campaign until these appalling hunts are ended once and for all.

More from IWC 62 in Morocco tomorrow…
 

 Madness in Morocco: Day 1

A hard-working team from Campaign Whale is here in Agadir, Morocco for the most important meeting for whales in the 24 years since we won the hard fought ban on commercial whaling in 1986.

It’s Monday 21st June and here at the 62nd annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) the tension is growing unbearable as we take our seats for the opening session of this crucial meeting. On the table is a compromise deal that would see the legitimisation of commercial whaling for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century. What is being heralded as a great deal by the politicians is a very bad deal indeed for the whales. If it goes through over 10,000 whales will be cruelly slaughtered by Icelandic, Norwegian and Japanese whalers over the next ten years. Make no mistake about it – this is a deal to save whaling, not the whales!

Most surprising and worrying of all is the fact that the deal is being supported by some of the biggest and well known conservation and anti-whaling organisations: the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Greenpeace and the Pew Environment Group are lobbying hard for a deal to be struck, a deal that will legitimise commercial whaling after a 35 year long campaign to end it. However they try to spin this, the fact is that these three organisations are completely isolated amongst the hundreds of organisations around the world fighting to end this cruel and outdated industry forever.

We are also very worried about the 25 European Union members of the IWC that are required to adopt a common position on the deal by the EU, and then vote together. Sweden, Denmark and Finland are backing whaling in support of Norway and Iceland as well as Greenland and the Faroe islands. That means that EU members, including the UK, could be forced to support and pay the costs of renewed whaling. And that means taxpayers in anti-whaling countries will pay for the cruel slaughter of whales!

Campaign Whale is totally opposed to any deal except one that ends commercial whaling forever. We are doing all we can to stop the deal. Today Andy Ottaway spoke to BBC online about the deal and you can read the whole article here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10362015.stm

Andy also met with UK Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon this morning, here in Agadir to demonstrate the strength of the British Government’s support for this issue. Andy explained to the Minister the reasons for our total opposition to the deal. He also called on the Minister to ensure the UK Government strongly supports our campaign to stop the appalling slaughter of 20,000 dolphins and porpoises by Japanese fishermen every year. These ‘forgotten’ little whales are victims to large scale whaling that is not even being discussed here, and is set to continue whether a deal is struck on whaling for larger whales, or not. 

At midday today, our fears the meeting might be suspended so that negotiations on the deal might continue behind closed doors were confirmed. The Chair announced the meeting would be closed to observers until Wednesday morning. However, we will take every opportunity to remind the Commissioners that the world is watching events in Morocco whether they close the doors or not. The world is on the whales’ side, not the whalers.