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Fate of 50 humpback whales on hold

Print | Comments () Posted by Beth Daley June 25, 2009 10:12 AM

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(AP Photo)
By Beth Daley, Globe Staff

Every year, hundreds of federally protected humpback whales off New England delight thousands of whale watchers who flock off the coast to see the marine mammals frolic and feed.

But now, some of them – or their relations – may be in danger with a request by Greenland to kill up to 50 humpback whales over the next five years for aboriginal subsistence according to the Plymouth-based Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS)

A humpback delighting whale watchers off Cape Cod
(Globe file photo)

Today, the US chair of the International Whaling Commission meeting in Portugal postponed a vote on the contentious issue until a special meeting later this year – a move, the Conservation Society says, that was designed to avoid a vote that would have likely rejected Greenland’s request. A similar request by the country to kill humpbacks was denied last year.

At issue are how many whales the Greenland aboriginal population needs to live on, according to news reports. Denmark, which made the request for Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory, says they underestimated the amount of meat they can get from fin and minke whales aboriginal populations are already allowed to kill. So they need humpback meat to meet the needs of the population - about 730 tons.

Yet conservation groups say this is a thinly veiled attempt to kill more whales for commercial value – not aboriginal subsistence. The Whale and Dolphin Society says its doesn’t object to aboriginal whale hunting but says the country didn’t even catch their allowed quota for minke and fin whales and have reports of whale meat being sold in supermarkets to the general population and tourists.

The humpback whale population was decimated during the 19th and 20th centuries until a commercial whaling ban was introduced in 1966. Today there are up to 10,000 individuals in the North Atlantic and about 900 in Gulf of Maine waters off New England, according to federal estimates. Forty to 50 feet long, the playful animals are beloved for their acrobatics in the water such as flipper flapping.

Several groups are attempting to protect areas they migrate to each year to feed and give birth, such as The Nature Conservancy’s effort to protect humpback whales in sister sanctuaries off New England and the Dominican Republic where the animals breed.

The Conservation Society says the whales Greenland wants to take are part of the same breeding population of those that visit New England each year to feed – and there is evidence of individuals moving between New England and Greenland feeding areas.
Now they say the postponed meeting will cost taxpayers thousands for travel and could mean the unnecessary death of 50 humpbacks if Greenland is allowed to take the whales.

“The US saw that Denmark would likely fail to get a majority for their proposal and is using procedural tricks to avoid a vote,” said Nicolas Entrup of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society,

tags Greenland, humpback, international Whaling comission, US, whales, Whalle and Dolphin Conservation Society