Is the Japanese whaling fleet overfishing the Antarctic?

From IWC Report of the Scientific Committee 2011

On July 25, 2007 a The Sydney Morning Herald article stated :

Japan's whaling research body, the Institute of Cetacean Research, today said 91.6 per cent - or 262 of the 286 mature female minkes taken during the last hunt - were pregnant.

In June 2011 the International Whaling Commission (IWC) REPORT OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE 2011 addressed the issue of declining Minke Whale stocks in the Antarctic:

WHALE STOCKS……..

Two different methods for estimating Antarctic minke whale abundance from these data have been developed in recent years (see below) and although they gave different estimates of abundance, both were consistent in showing an appreciable decline in estimated circumpolar abundance between CPII and CPIII……..

It is clear from Table 5 that while circumpolar Antarctic minke whale abundance estimates have declined during the period from CPII to CPIII, there are substantial differences in relative changes between Areas, with only relatively moderate increases or declines in some Areas, but appreciable declines in others (Table 6). No significant decline is seen in Areas III, IV and VI, whilst estimated abundance is substantially lower in CPIII for Areas I, II and V. Areas II and V encompass the Weddell and Ross Seas

As noted above, large declines in estimates of Antarctic minke whale abundance occurred in Areas I, II and V (there were no statistically significant changes in the other three Areas). The Committee agrees that these declines do indeed reflect genuine changes in abundance in the open-water areas surveyed that need to be explained. Such changes may be due to changes in distribution or reflect a true decline (or some combination of both)……

There are two classes of explanation for possible true declines in abundance. The first, quantitative approach involves the population dynamics statistical catch-at-age analyses (SCAA) from Area III East to VI West, which can potentially account for the changes in overall abundance in terms of variations over time in mortality and recruitment (note that this may explain how but not why changes occurred). The second, less quantitative approach involves attempts to identify mechanisms whereby mortality and recruitment may have changed (e.g. ecosystem effects, interspecies competition, climate changes, etc.).

It may be time to reflect on the fact that one of the management areas identified in the IWC report as experiencing an agreed marked decline in minke whale numbers is also one of those areas in which Japan’s whale fleet has actively hunted these whales, for at least twelve austral summer seasons during its approximately twenty-three year history of Antarctic commercial whaling conducted under the guise of scientific research.

During that time Japanese research documents show that the fleet has consistently taken both lactating and pregnant minke females.

From Polar Biology, Vol 31, Number 12

Click on image to enlarge

The Government of Japan’s whaling fleet is heading towards its Southern Ocean killing grounds as I write.

During the 2011/12 season the inappropriately named Institute of Cetacean Research will sponsor so-called ‘lethal research’ on as many as 930 minke whales and possibly a handful of fin whales and even humpbacks according to Japan Times Online on 11 December 2011. The IWC's own documents clearly indicate that the whaling fleet again intends to operate in one of the management areas showing significant minke whale decline.

It's Christmas Eve and for a little while longer the world is a wonderful place

 

Let's try to keep in that way....

http://youtu.be/B8WHKRzkCOY

A recap of the Hon. Anthony John Abbott's year that was....

No no  no NO! no never no nay No nooooo  won’t no NO-NO-NO no not no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no No no no no nada no no no no no no no no no no no no Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah! no no no no no no no-go no no no no no no no no no no no no no nei no no no no no no no non no no no no no no  no no no no no nein no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no No no no no no-no no no no no not no no no no no nyet no no no no no no no no no neva eva eva eva eva eva NO.......................................................... quoth Tony

"Tony Abbott’s approval rating has fallen again over the last month. 32% (down 4%) approve of the job Tony Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader and 53% (up 1%) disapprove – a change in net rating from -16 to -21 over the last 4 weeks. This is the lowest rating recorded for Tony Abbott since he became opposition leader.
65% (down 8%) of Coalition voters approve and 22% (up 3%) disapprove.
By gender – men 36% approve/52% disapprove, women 29% approve/55% disapprove."
{Essential Research survey on 12th December 2011}

Why all the fuss about an eBay scam? Ask Australia's DoD what a real scam looks like

Is that a gun in your pocket?

The Sydney Morning Herald of 20 December 2011 made me quietly smile when Asher Moses breathlessly told readers that it was an Unhappy Christmas: $1120 for an empty box through eBay with Australian eBay customers lured by ultra-bargain priced TV sets and other electronics have shelled out thousands of dollars only to receive empty boxes in the mail.

Asher may be too young to remember that during the Viet Nam War Australian Defence Force personnel (were confidently rumoured at the time) to have opened carefully packaged boxes, which were supposed to contain an advanced weaponry component - only to find that each and every box merely contained a photocopied schematic of the very expensive item.

The Commonwealth Dept. of Defence, as procurer of these mythical components, was so embarrassed that its gullibility was hidden by creative internal accounting and never saw the light of day.

Now that was a $$$$$$$ scam!

One of the other perils of rock fishing - FEAR

A gaping Wobby at Julian Rocks, NSW

Many a keen fisherman will sympathise with The Daily Examiner’s editor over this salty experience he shared with the world last Tuesday:

“FISHING is supposed to be a relaxing activity, one where you can forget about the stresses of life, simply absorb the surroundings and be taken to another place.

It normally is for me, but not so on Sunday.

A friend and I headed to Woody Head to do a spot of bream fishing off the rocks. With not much happening on the fishing front, I decided to try another spot, but in the process managed to slip and put a small cut on the back of my leg on some oysters. There was a steady trickle of blood for the rest of the morning as the salty water stopped the wound from drying out.

As the tide rose we moved again, this time well away from the surf zone but where there was a collection of serious rocks and hazards. I lost a good deal of bait as I made my way out. I placed myself on a rock that had about half a square metre of surface above the water line and cast out. Small waves gently rose above the rock and up my calf muscles, keeping the wound wet and a drop or two of blood entering the water.

After about five minutes on the rock I looked down to see a wobbegong shark more than a metre long swimming beneath my feet, within a minute there was another, then another, then another.

I'm not sure I saw them all, but there were at least four, probably five, sharks milling around my feet.

They were so keen on what I was doing, they kept putting their heads onto the rock from which I was fishing.

This was disturbing.

I thought that in time they would pass. They didn't.

My only passage back to the mainland was by wading through the rock-filled water that was sometimes chest deep.

It wasn't a pleasant thought.

I know they are protected, but I stomped on the heads of a couple as they came onto the rocks and hit another couple with the butt of my rod. They would swim away for a few metres, then return.

I eventually decided to try to scare as many away as possible and take my chances through the rocks. I did and grabbed a few more bumps and grazes on the rocks on the way back, but thankfully the sharks left me alone.

I've seen what they can do to people when they latch onto someone.

My daughter told me last week one of the things on her bucket list was to swim with sharks. I'm going to cross that one off mine.”