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Title:
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Iconic CO2, time series at risk, Science
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Author(s):
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Houweling, S.; Vermeulen, A.T.
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Published by:
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Publication date:
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ECN
Environment & Energy Engineering
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30-8-2012
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ECN report number:
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Document type:
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ECN-W--12-037
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Article (scientific)
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Number of pages:
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0
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Published in: Science (), , Augustus 2012, Vol.volume 337, p.1038-1040.
Abstract:
AT THE RECENT INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION’S ANNUAL
meeting in Panama, South Korean offi cials announced their plan
to initiate a “scientifi c whaling” program (1). This announcement
came as a surprise given the general sentiment that the global
demand for whale meat is declining. After weeks of international
outcry, on 17 July, South Korea reversed their decision to hunt
whales for research, but the issue is not dead (2).
South Korea claimed that the goal of the scientifi c whaling program
is to study the types and amounts of
fi sh whales eat, given confl ict with fi sheries.
Yet, it is well established in the scientifi
c literature that there are many ways to
study whale diet without killing them (3).
Decades of fruitless negotiation
between pro- and anti-whaling nations
suggests a broken system, wrought with
loopholes that allow unsustainable whaling
to continue. Within this broken system,
there is no incentive to reduce whaling, as
the recent announcement by South Korea
shows. Whaling groups are unwilling to
compromise by allowing a sustainable
harvest of whales, so unsustainable (scientifi c) whaling continues.
To ensure a future of both whales and whalers, we must harness
the passion and value that people place on living whales, without
telling people what to do or force one set of values on others.
We need novel, out-of-the-box approaches to effective management
and conservation of whales. We must compromise to ensure reductions
in whales being killed, better oversight of countries that harvest
them, and limited whaling that does not threaten the persistence
of whales.
For those who believe that whaling is unethical, I challenge you to
put forward alternative ideas to a global moratorium that fosters the
“loophole” of scientifi c whaling. With new plans to develop scientifi c
whaling programs (4), the current global moratorium is clearly broken.
Scientists, conservation advocates, resource managers, and the
public must work together to develop new approaches to ensure the
persistence of whales in our oceans.
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