A Case Study On Whaling
A Case Study On Whaling
A Case Study On Whaling
A. Introduction:
Nearly every part of the whale was used. Meat, skin, blubber, and organs were eaten as
an important source of protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Baleen was woven into
baskets and used as fishing line. In warmer climates, baleen was also used as a roofing
material. Bones were used primarily for toolmaking and carving ceremonial items such
as masks.
B. History of whaling practices and their impact on whale populations:
It was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16th century, it had
risen to be the principal industry in the Basque coastal regions of Spain and France. The
whaling industry then spread throughout the world and became increasingly profitable in
terms of trade and resources. Some regions of the world's oceans, along the animals'
migration routes, had a particularly dense whale population, and became the targets for
large concentrations of whaling ships, and the industry continued to grow well into the
20th century. The depletion of some whale species to near extinction led to the banning
of whaling in many countries by 1969, and to an international cessation of whaling as an
industry in the late 1980s.
Early whaling affected the development of widely disparate cultures on different
continents. The Basques were the first to catch whales commercially, and dominated the
trade for five centuries, spreading to the far corners of the North Atlantic and even
reaching the South Atlantic. The development of modern whaling techniques was spurred
in the 19th century by the increase in demand for whale oil, sometimes known as "train
oil", and in the 20th century by a demand for margarine and later whale meat.
Many countries once had significant whaling industries, and these are covered in separate
articles; for example Whaling in the Netherlands, Whaling in Scotland, and Whaling in
Argentina. Canada, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Russia, South Korea, the United States and
the Danish dependencies of the Faroe Islands and Greenland continue to hunt in the 21st
century, and are described below.
C. How is Whaling depleting natural resources?
According to Butman and others (1993), the whaling industry killed more whales
between 1860s and 1900s than in the previous four centuries. From 1920 to 1986, over a
million of whales were killed by commercial whaling. The Atlantic gray whale is now
extinct and the population of humpback whale has been reduced by 95% of its historic
population. Overhunting of whales has caused a change in deep-sea biodiversity and the
potential ecological consequences are unknown.
According to Clark and Lamberson (1982), there is a high correlation between areas of
high krill density and areas of high whale catches. The predator-prey relationship enables
whalers capture their target more easily2 . Another aspect of predator-prey relationship is
that when whales feed on poisoned or ill prey, this may cause death to the whales.
Commercial whaling and human impact have caused the depletion of marine species,
especially the top level in food web. It is logical to generalize that if the predator is
removed, the population of the prey should experience a growth. According to Stevens
and others (2000), most marine ecosystems are extremely diverse with complex inter-
relationships between species and predator prey interactions are less tightly coupled due
to factors such as prey switching, ontogenetic changes in diet, and cannibalism. They
suggest that the depletion of a large predator may have serious and unforeseen
consequences in the ecosystem.
When humans hunt and fish, they tend to favor animals that provide significant resources.
In the oceans, whales, sharks and other large vertebrates have been targeted for centuries,
and while the international ban on whaling has helped some species recover in select
areas, many populations have fallen to a fraction of their natural levels.
This has a negative effect on species and ecosystems, and can also impact the climate:
When whales and other large animals flourish in the ocean, they carry a substantial
amount of carbon to the sea floor upon dying. Whales and other large marine vertebrates
could effectively function as carbon credits. To better understand this process,
researchers from the University of Maine, Gulf of Maine Research Institute and the
University of British Columbia conducted a study, “The Impact of Whaling on the Ocean
Carbon Cycle: Why Bigger Was Better.” The research was published in 2010 in PLoS
ONE, a peer-reviewed, open-access online publication.
The key findings include:
E. References:
1. Chapin III, F. Stuart. et al. 2000. Consequences of Changing Biodiversity. Nature 405: 234- 242.
2. Clark, C. W., Lamberson, R. 1982. An Economic History and Analysis of Pelagic Whaling.
Marine Policy 6: 103-120.
3. Butman, C. A. et al. 1995. Whaling Effects on Deep-Sea Biodiversity. Conservation Biology 9:
462-464.
4. International Whaling Commission. http://www.iwcoffice.org/
5. https://journalistsresource.org/environment/impact-of-whaling-on-the-ocean-carbon-cycle/
6. Learning Module developed by Wai Chan Environmental Science Institute
(http://www.esi.utexas.edu)