Reserch Essay Draft 3

7/28/2019 Reserch Essay Draft 3

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Caleb Phillips

Megan Keaton

ENG111-09

9 July 2013

International Whaling

Whales are a valued part of the worlds ecosystem and have been hunted for centuries.

Though there are organizations in place to stop whaling, some countries openly defy

international law and continue to hunt and kill whales. I have collected research from different

sources explaining why people hunt whales and the reasons international law has failed.Whaling has always been a profitable market because whales have certain features that

are useful to man. Caleb Crain describes one of these profitable features, [R]ight whales

contained baleen, a fibrous and feathery tissue in their mouthsIt was used primarily in corsets,

fashionable from the sixteenth century to the dawn of the twentieth, but it could be molded into

items as various as umbrella ribs, fishing rods, and shoehorns. Baleen is not only found in right

whales. The quotation infers that whales were so popular, they once influenced the fashion of

earlier centuries.Oil, made from whale blubber, was another profitable commodity. [Americanwhalers] peeled off its blubber in a single long piece while the whale revolved in the waterThe

strip was minced into leaves, and the leaves boiled in cauldrons known as try-pots to release

their oil(Crain, 74). Whaling fueled the American economy and economies of other nations

around the world so much that it was evident at sea. The comparatively total disappearance of

the whale, in the Atlantic, is an unquestionable fact, a visitor to America noted in 1809 (Crain,

74). As time passed Whaling became big business for foreign countries such as Norway Japan

and Iceland, These countries continue to hunt and kill whales to this day. Today whales are


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hunted mostly for theirmeat. [A] shipment of 4,250 kg of frozen whale products from the

Norwegian company, Myklebust Trading, left lesund, Norway, in mid-February, 2013, and is

scheduled to arrive in Tokyo on April 12(Norway Defies International Trade).

The IWC stands for the International Whaling Commission. In 1982, The IWC

establishes a moratorium on commercial whaling, taking effect from 1986(GreenpeaceHistory). The moratorium was a sign of hope that whaling would finally be coming to an end.

From this information it is evident that there is an international law banning commercial

whaling. [T]he [IWC] is worse than useless. Its[sic] only benefit is for airlines and hotels. I

wouldn't cry if it just faded away (Chaon). Unfortunately, The IWC doesnt have any way to

punish nations that disobey the whaling moratorium. Therefore Nations have nothing to fear

from the IWC for breaking international law. Iceland and Norway say they object to the ban, so

they don't have to abide by it; Japan claims to kill whales in the name of science, researching

whale predation on fishery resources before selling the meat for consumption(Lunau, 35).Whales are caught in the middle of a battle over international sovereignty and race. The

Japanese, like most countries, obviously dont like being told what to do. If They give into the

wishes anti-whaling nations, They may feel that their cultural way of life is being threatened by

Western influences. Japan as a nation may do and act as it wants to, and may feel the need to

prove this statement to the rest of the world. Whales are a tool used in japans quest for national

pride, but tools dont last forever.

Though Iceland and Norway both participate in commercialized whaling, Japan seems to

be the main culprit of commercial whaling. Japan is fueling the whaling industry. [T]here is

little market for [whale] meat in Norway - the real goal of Norway's whalers is export to Japan

where prices paid for whale meat are several times higher(Greenpeace, Norwegian). From this


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quote it could be argued that Japan is the main engine behind the commercial whaling industry

because they pay top dollar for whale meat. An article by Peter Aldhous shows one of many

attempts by japan to continue commercial whaling without repercussion. Japan has been

convincing developing nations to join the IWC, using the inducement of aid to form a pro-

whaling blocLast year it even obtained a one-vote majority in [favor] of overturning the IWC's

1986 moratorium though the vote fell short of the three-quarters majority needed to end the

ban. Out of the three countries, Japan removes the majority of whales from the oceans and it

doesnt appear that they plan to stop anytime soon. [I]llegal whale meat from both abundant and

endangered species of whales is regularly discovered on sale in Japan (Greenpeace,Norwegian). The Japanese appetite for whale meat is insatiable. The high number of whales they

remove from the ocean is just not enough. The Japanese entice other nations to hunt yet more

whales for them with promises of fortune.Iceland is a small country. If you compare the figurewith the population in America, [ending commercial whaling] would have an impact of cutting

15,000 jobs (Chaon).

Whaling has existed for centuries but whales have the right to live on earth as much as

we do. One way to help protect the whales could be to enforce the Pelly Amendment and impose

sanctions on countries that break international law. Another solution might be to agree upon

certain punishments that the IWC may enforce if any of its laws are broken. Another possible

solution Ive read about involves legalizing whaling and assigning nations limited quotas as to

how many whales theyre allowed to hunt each year (Ladau, 35). Whatever the solution may be,

I think we can all agree that its time to take action and protect our whales.


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Works Cited

Aldhous, Peter. "Japan Loses Ground In The Battle Of The Whaling Ban." New Scientist

194.2607 (2007): 21. Science Reference Center. Web. 27 Jun. 2013.

Animal Welfare Institute.Norway Defies International Trade Ban, Exports Tons of Whale

Products to Japan. (2013). Web. Jun. 27 2013.

Chaon, Anne. For Icelands whaling king, theyre just another fish.AFP. (2010). Web. 9 Jul.

2013

Crain, Caleb. "There She Blew." New Yorker 83.20 (2007): 74. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 27

Jun. 2013.

Greenpeace.Norwegian whaling. (2009). Web. 27 June 2013.

Greenpeace.History of Greenpeace campaign to save the whales. (2009). Web. 27 Jun. 2013.

Lunau, Kate. A Whale Of An Idea. Macleans 123.17 (2010): 35. Biography Reference Bank

(H.W. Wilson). Web. 27 Jun. 2013.

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Reserch Essay Draft 3