A Look at Today's Whaling
“ The story of the whale is so remarkable, that were there not so many witnesses, I would not venture to tell it, lest I be accused of exaggeration.”
-J.D.B Stillman, aboard the ship Plymouth, November 1850 (Stewart, 1995)
There is no doubt that humans have always been intrigued with the majestic beauty of the large giants found in all of the world’s oceans. Whales and people have had a long history together, marked by many turns of events.
Long ago, native tribes, from many places in the world, depended largely on whales for protein in their diets. They were also able to use much of the whale for oil, thus began a tradition of whaling. The first documented whaling expedition occurred in South Korea
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The Change in Whaling
What exactly happened in the whaling industry that had such a detrimental effect on the whale populations?
In the nineteenth century, commercial whalers began using whole fleets to hunt whales, with each ship given a specific role. The largest ship, found at the center of the fleet, was the factory ship. At the heart of these ships are many tanks. Christopher Ash worked as chief chemist on the factory ship Balaena, and in his book Whaler’s Eye, comments on the massive tanks found in these ships. “Balaena really is a tanker, and almost all of her hull…is subdivided into thirty-six tanks. It is rather like an egg crate with nine rows, each of four tanks extending across the ship, and each tank able to take some five hundred tons of fuel or Diesel oil, which will be replaced—after cleaning—by whale or sperm oil, or perhaps meat meal; sometimes they must be filled with sea water as ballast. These tanks are impressively large, being well over thirty feet deep; so that when standing on the bottom and looking up to the one small square of light far above, it is difficult to believe that we can produce enough oil to fill the whole of that volume in twenty hours (Ash, 1962, p.19).” Underneath the tanks is the bottom of the boat. Above the tanks is the tank deck. This holds the centrifuges used to separate oil and glue water, as well as driers and bagging machines
Killer whales, also known as orcas, are the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. In their natural habitat, killer whales have been described as docile and majestic creatures. Killer whales are known to travel in pods that are composed of matrilines. Matrilines are groups of whales connected by maternal descent. Relationships between killer whale calves and their mother are extremely close knit (“Behavior”). Beginning in 1965, SeaWorld – a marine zoo, began capturing whales from the wild to perform in shows for park visitors’ entertainment (“10 Things You Didn’t Know”). In the documentary Blackfish, director Gabriela Cowperthwaite urges and reassures audience members that keeping these large creatures in captivity is a horrible thing that is dangerous for both the whales as well as the humans that interact with them. To accomplish this persuasion, Cowperthwaite employs the use of rhetorical devices ethos, pathos, and logos to solidify her claims.
The debate surrounding Makah whaling is a heated one to say the least. There are valid points on both sides of the argument, but there is one side I find to be more valid once the facts have been looked at. I will examine and present my findings regarding past and current laws and regulations related to whaling, types of whaling, other countries that take an active part in whaling (and why), as well as the Makah culture – both past and present. In this paper I will argue why the Makah should not be allowed to resume whaling, as it is unnecessary and could potentially put the grey whale species back on the endangered list.
In the documentary “Blackfish” a claim has been made that killer whales are extremely aggressive creatures and are fully capable of intentionally causing fatalities. Throughout the film, the whales have displayed a great bond with the trainers and have been commented upon as friendly. Although the motive may be to blame the whales as naturally dangerous, these whales were not always this way; it has been observed that these whales have not caused reports of harming humans in the wild. These killer whales were hunted upon, as they were being taken away from their home, they were forced to adapt to a new lifestyle that was greatly against their favor. In addition to new things they were forced to adapt to, they were taken away from their families
Anyone who has been to SeaWorld or even watched an episode of National Geographic can appreciate the savage beauty and strength of Orcinus Orca, also known as the killer whale. This is the largest and smartest member of the dolphin family and can be found in all parts of the world. In the past twenty years, thanks to researchers like Ken Balcomb in Puget Sound, scientists have been making radical discoveries about killer whales (Martin, 1993, p.111-114). Modern research has shown the killer whale to be a highly perceptive, super articulate animal that has an amazingly complex social structure indicative of previously unrecognized intelligence.
For several years, Americans have been visiting amusement parks, like SeaWorld and Six Flags, to observe large animals like orcas, also known as killer whales. These whales are quite difficult to view in the wild, but can now be seen for a simple fee. Orcas are known to be one of the smartest mammals. They are friendly, and this has caused people to take advantage of them. For the past sixty years, people have brought these massive creatures into their aquariums to make a profit from their exhibitions. Often, without considering the orcas' quality of life. While kept in captivity, killer whales are forced to do many tricks they normally wouldn’t do in the wild. Over the years, there have been numerous controversies regarding killer whales
Did you know that roughly three million whales were slaughtered in the twentieth century alone? Or that there are only around four hundred North Atlantic right whales alive today because they never fully recovered from being hunted? These whales are known as “right” whales because they are large and slow, with thick blubber that yields lots of oil plus they remain afloat after they've been killed, this simplifies the whole hunting process for everyone . Furthermore, the hunters got more money for less work. I believe that whaling is a vile and pointless thing to do to such beautiful creatures and that the International Whaling Commission should look further into the use of whales for research.
In the documentary “Blackfish”, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, she discussed the harmful events that have occurred when keeping killer whales contained for show and entertainment purposes. Cowperthwaite argued the fact that the killer whales become aggressive when held captive in an area too small for them and separated from their families. Throughout the documentary there were many horrifying stories about the attacks told by people who had saw the tragedies first-hand.
By examining, they are too big, they don't get the right care/the whales hurt each other,
Moreover, whales were hunted for mainly oil, because of this, colonists were hunting whales for half a century. To make the oil they carried pots on their ships, they would cook the oil after they hunted the whale and they put them in barrels. Since the oil was extremely hot, it wouldn't spoil, so it was good for long voyages. Whale teeth were also used. The sailors would use the teeth to pass the time. They made things for their
Whales were peeled by vessels, conserved by the cold, and packed in barrels. 1719 Greenland whaling operation spread into Davis Strait. Davis Strait whaling operation was in the power of the Dutch and German until 1780. The Britain had to leave and service their industrial revolution. From the beginning of the 1690s the British had hunted down whales (have been fishing) in the Bay of North America colonies,also in Rhode Island, Long Island, Cape Cod. These were new centers of activity for (whaling) fishing. Then, during 1712 the Nantucket vessel capture the first sperm whale,these became a brand new center.
Blackfish is a shocking film that reveals a lot of information regarding Sea Worlds famous known “Killer Whales”. These enormous whales are highly trained by trainers of Sea World who perform for thousands daily. The film uses the tragic tale of Tillikum to support their many claims and an investigation of the Sea World
Before moratorium of whaling, there was a high demand of whale oil from blubber. In 1946, International
Commercial whaling is a serious world issue that has always been difficult for those who are in support and those who are against it. Each group defends their side with convincing arguments. Morally, whaling is wrong, but do the reasons for whaling outweigh the reasons to cease the primitive hunts? By studying the effects of whaling,realizing how culture has changed over time, and taking note of the money that would be saved, it can clearly be seen that there is no longer a current need for whaling to continue. Efforts have been made to try to stop whaling, but with no help from any authoritative figure,nothing has been done to regulate the whaling. The famous sea shepherd, known for its strikes against whaling, can even be seen on
The whale is one of the biggest animals in existence, yet it is practically invisible to the rest of the world. When a whale is born, it’s radiating beauty touches people's souls, but the frigid hearts of man diminish them and the art of the whale can fade away. In this passage, Doyle explores what little science knows about the elegant blue whale as well as the unknown characteristics or the arts of it’s kind, still to be discovered. He states, “ There are perhaps ten thousand blue whales in the world, living in every ocean on earth , and of the largest animals who ever lived we know nearly nothing,” (Doyle). Because the blue whales are so beautiful, so graceful, and so elegant, they must stay hidden and remain a mystery; for they have grown to know fear of many who don’t have their type of beauty, elegance, or grace. The fear produced by man influences the blue whale to adapt to a life of darkness, where it will stay to remain protected from others who could harm them again. Even though the source of the fear may have subsided, the whales feelings of resurfacing have not changed over time. Because they have been scarred by another, their once indestructible hearts begin to crack like eggshells and reaching out again could easily break them. Like the whale, peoples hearts have also adapted. The heart of an individual
The topic I’m going to be talking about it whaling, the question you may be asking is what is whaling? Whaling is the process that is mainly done by Japanese ships where they hunt and kill whales for their meat, oil and bones. Here is a little background on why the Japanese killed the whales. The Japanese has been killing whales for hundred and hundreds of years, so much so that it is part of their history. Whaling was a very important part of Japan before and during the WWII, when whale meat made up for one-quarter of Japan diets because it was so easy to get and it was very cheap. Now they didn’t really use the whale meat as much, they mainly use the whale oil for everyday products, ingredient for different foods, lubrication for motor parts.