Humpback Whale Migration Begins

On Saturday 24th April 2010, the first of the whales were spotted off the Cape Byron Lighthouse by Whales Alive's Liz Hawkins. It's a great sign as winter descends upon us, the whales are returning to the tropics. We are anticipating a fantastic year for the whales and look forward to seeing some of our old friends!

Green groups say IWC proposal will see a return to commercial whaling

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2010/s2881547.htm

MARK COLVIN: Environment groups say the International Whaling Commission's proposal to allow some whales to be killed is a return to commercial whaling. 

The IWC's proposal would let whalers harpoon 400 minke whales and 10 fin whales each year in Antarctic waters.

Fin whales are an endangered species and green groups say the only reason their numbers are strong again is because of the ban on commercial whaling. Australia says it won't support the proposal and in a surprise twist New Zealand has also said it won't support it.

Brigid Glanville reports from Auckland. 



BRIGID GLANVILLE: The next meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Morocco in June was always going to be heated. But today's announcement from the IWC guarantees the debate will be loud and long. 

Australia is against whaling and is very worried this latest proposal may be supported. The Environment Minister, Peter Garret.



PETER GARRETT: We'll look at the IWC statement carefully but on face value, it falls very well short of any outcome that Australia could ever accept and I repeat what we've said all through this process and that is, that Australia remains resolutely opposed to commercial and so-called scientific whaling. And we will not support a proposal which would sanction commercial whaling and we've put an alternative set of proposals which we think go towards achieving the conservation goals which we believe the IWC nations should set for themselves. 



BRIGID GLANVILLE: The IWC proposal would allow 400 minke whales and 10 fin whales to be killed each year in Antarctic waters. Australia wants a proposal that bans whaling for commercial and scientific reasons. 



PETER GARRETT: We need to strongly press for no whaling in IWC endorsed sanctuaries. We need to agree on the scientific procedures that underpin all IWC decisions. 



BRIGID GLANVILLE: Environmental groups are outraged. The WWF says this proposal endorses the killing of whales in one of the most critical feeding grounds, the Southern Ocean.

Mick McIntyre from Whales Alive says the proposal is flawed.

MICK MCINTYRE: This proposal would mean the return to commercial whaling because it clearly is a proposal that would legitimise whaling over a ten year period. To me it's like if you were a parent and you said to your kids, don't worry about, don't worry about us telling you what to do or receiving any discipline. You know, you do what you like for ten years and then we'll come and talk to you about how you went and how, you know, then we'll talk to you about discipline at the end of those ten years. 

I mean it's, it's a free for all and it's completely legitimising what Japan has been doing in its scientific whaling program. It completely allows them to get away with murder basically.

BRIGID GLANVILLE: This is the first time the IWC has put a figure on the numbers of whales it would allow to be killed. The proposal was put forward in an attempt to break the deadlocked debate.

Non whaling countries which support it, such as the US, believe a compromise will mean the number of whales killed will be closely controlled.

Three weeks ago there was international outrage when New Zealand said it would consider this proposal.
But today it says the proposal is offensive and inflammatory.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Murray McCully.



MURRAY MCCULLY: The proposal for a consensus decision proposed by the IWC chair and deputy chair today falls seriously short of a basis, of being a basis for diplomatic settlement to the whaling debate. 

In terms of the specifics, the proposed catch limits for the southern ocean are unrealistic and unacceptable from New Zealand's point of view. The suggestion that there should be a small quota for fin whale is an inflammatory proposal in my view. 

BRIGID GLANVILLE:

Mick McIntyre from Whales Alive hopes other nations will now follow New Zealand. 

MICK MCINTYRE: New Zealand's change of heart is very, very welcome. I think commonsense has prevailed with the New Zealand government. They saw the writing on the wall that this was a complete contradiction of the proposal. That all this proposal does is give the whaling countries everything they could possibly want. 



BRIGID GLANVILLE: The members of the IWC will decide whether to adopt the proposal at the next meeting in Morocco in June. This is Brigid Glanville in Auckland for PM.

Whaling compromise 'incredibly worrying'

By environment reporter Sarah Clarke

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/12/2870047.htm?section=justin

Posted 2 hours 13 minutes ago

Conservation groups are calling on the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to abandon a proposal that would overturn a global moratorium on commercial whaling.

A group of IWC nations is meeting in Washington to negotiate a way forward for the deadlocked regulatory whaling body, ahead of the annual whaling conference in June.

IWC members including Australia, New Zealand and the US are considering a deal that could overturn a 24-year ban on commercial whaling in return for Japan cutting its quota of whales killed in the name of science.

But Mick McIntyre from the group Whales Alive says the negotiations have gone too far and countries such as Australia must stop the deal from going ahead.

"This compromise proposal certainly has momentum, and that's incredibly worrying," he said.

"Now that they're getting to the point of talking about how many whales to kill, we ask the question, how did it get this far?

"We need to stand tough, work very hard to convince our other allies that we need to stop this compromise in its tracks."

Mr McIntyre says the deal undermines whale protection.

"This isn't about working to create a deal that allows whaling. This is about working to stop whaling," he said.

"Any compromise that is talked about at this meeting is just unacceptable."

The proposal needs a three-quarters majority vote to go ahead. A number of IWC nations are yet to declare their position.

Australia proposes end to whaling

Updated 11 hours 59 minutes ago

The Federal Government says it wants whaling in the Southern Ocean to be phased out over the next five years and for all whaling to be brought under the control of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

An Australian proposal which has been submitted to the IWC also calls for other whaling programs to be phased out over a reasonable period of time.

Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett says a proposal released by the IWC's working group earlier this week falls well short of any outcome the Australian Government could accept.

Conservation groups have welcomed the Government's proposal, which demands closure of the loophole that allows Japan to conduct so-called scientific whaling in the Southern Ocean.

The proposal also calls for an end to whaling in sanctuaries.

Mick McIntyre from Whales Alive says Australia's proposal is a good step, but it must be emphatic in its demand to stop - not just phase out - the inhumane practice.

"It's great to see that the Australian Government has rejected the original proposal from the IWC, which would have effectively lifted the moratorium on commercial whaling," he said.

"And although short in detail, it's heading much more in the right direction for stopping whaling."

But the Federal Opposition says the Government has given Japan the green light to continue whaling in Antarctic waters.

The Opposition's environment spokesman, Greg Hunt, says the Government has broken its election promise to stop whaling.

"Mr Garrett's proposal is a white flag which gives a green light to Japan to continue slaughtering whales in our waters for the next five years, and to continue slaughtering whales infinitely," he said.

'Extremely regrettable'

But the proposal has angered Japan, who again defended their whaling program.

"It is extremely regrettable that such a proposal was made," said State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Koichi Takemasa, Japan's number-two diplomat after the foreign minister.

Japanese officials stressed the legitimacy of their "research" whaling, conducted using a loophole in an international moratorium.

"It is a legitimate activity based on an international treaty," Senior Vice Minister of Agriculture Akira Gunji said.

"We have to work hard so that the whaling issue will not affect the friendly Japan-Australia relations."

Tensions flared last week when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd bluntly warned Japan it had until November to reduce its whale catch to zero, or face action in the ICJ.

On a visit to Australia at the weekend, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada described the ultimatum as "unfortunate", but said his country would meet any challenge head-on and seek to prove its activities were legal.

Australia, along with New Zealand, has consistently opposed Japan's killing of hundreds of whales each year under a loophole that allows "lethal research".

- ABC/AFP

On 26/02/2010, at 7:07 AM, Sue Taei wrote:

Dolphin Summer Days 2010

Whales Alive's Liz Hawkins has just completed an action packed dolphin research summer field season. For just over four weeks, her team of over 40 volunteers from the Dolphin Ecology & Acoustics Project (DEAP) observed the dolphins in Byron Bay, northern New South Wales. From the top of the Cape Byron Lighthouse and from boats and kayaks, volunteers made observations on the dolphins and marine activities occurring in the Bay. The season began with some amazing weather, great dolphin action and good data.

This time of year is the peak of the bottlenose dolphin birthing season. This year, there were many healthy newborn calves seen. Many resident dolphins were seen again, some with new calves and some babysitting. There was plenty of dolphin action. On one day, almost 200 dolphins were seen in the morning!

The DEAP research team was not only gathering data to investigate the ecology of resident dolphins, but also the impacts of human activities, particularly tourism. There were unfortunately a number of cases of harassment and people breaking the NSW Dolphin Watching Regulations. The DEAP team were actively educating people who did the wrong thing and making sure the dolphins were left to rest and nurture the newborns undisturbed.

The DEAP team will continue their field collection in the coming months to uncover more of the mysteries of Byron Bay's resident dolphin population.

Australia's prime minister threatened legal action against Japan on Friday if it does not stop its research whaling program that kills up to 1,000 whales a year.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's comments came as the Australian Broadcasting Corp. quoted Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada as saying in an interview that Japan has no plans to halt its killing of whales in the Antarctic.

"We don't accept Japan's premise for those terms of so-called scientific whaling," Rudd told Australia's Fairfax Radio Network. "If we cannot resolve this matter diplomatically, we will take international legal action. I've said that before — I'm serious about it."

Australian's want to see an end to this barbaric madness and they want their government to lead the way. Lets make sure Rudd keeps his promise!

Photo Courtesy: AFP