Aboriginal whaling
Aboriginal whaling is the hunting of whales carried out by aboriginal groups who have a tradition of whaling. (The hunting of smaller cetaceans is covered at Dolphin drive hunting.)
Under the terms of the 1986 moratorium on whaling, the International Whaling Commission allows whaling carried out by aboriginal groups if it occurs on a subsistence basis, known as Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling. Whaling of this type is restricted to native peoples and others working on their behalf, as defined by the International Whaling Commission.[2]
The IWC says that:[3]
- Since its inception, the IWC has recognised that indigenous or ‘aboriginal subsistence’ whaling is of a different nature to commercial whaling. It is thus not subject to the moratorium. This is reflected in the different objectives for the two types of whaling. For aboriginal subsistence whaling the objectives are to:
- ensure that risks of extinction are not seriously increased by whaling;
- enable native people to hunt whales at levels appropriate to their cultural and nutritional requirements (also called ‘need’); and
- move populations towards and then maintain them at healthy levels.
In order for a country to carry out a hunt under the aboriginal group clause, the nation must provide the IWC with evidence of "the cultural and subsistence needs of their people." In particular the hunt is not intended for commercial purposes and the caught meat cannot be exported.
United States whaling
In the United States whaling is carried out by Alaska Natives from nine different communities in Alaska. The whaling programme is managed by the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission which reports to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The commission includes eleven whaling communities who inhibit the Arctic Alaska coast: the Gambell, Savoonga, Wales, Little Diomede, Kicalina, Point Hope, Point Lay, Wainwright, Barrow, Nuiqsut, and Kaktovik.[4]
The hunt takes around 75 bowhead whales a year from a population of about 10,000 in Alaskan waters. Anti-whaling groups claim this hunt is not sustainable, though the IWC Scientific Committee, the same group that provided the above population estimate, projects a population growth of 3.2% per year. The hunt also took an average of one or two Gray Whales each year until 1996. The quota was reduced to zero in that year due to concerns about sustainability.
According to federal law, the Makah people of Washington State are entitled to hunt and kill one baleen whale, typically a gray whale, each year, though archaeological records and oral history indicate a significant number of humpback whales were hunted as well.
Russian whaling
Russians of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in the Russian Far East are permitted to take up to 140 Gray Whales from the North-East Pacific population each year.
Canadian whaling
Canada left the IWC in 1982 and as such is not bound by the moratorium on whaling. Canadian whaling is carried out by various Inuit groups around the country in small numbers and is managed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
Caribbean whaling
Some whaling is conducting from Grenada, Dominica and Saint Lucia. Species hunted are the Short-finned Pilot Whale, Pygmy Killer Whale and Spinner Dolphins. Throughout the Caribbean, around 400 Pilot Whales are killed annually. The meat is sold locally. This hunting of small cetaceans is not regulated by the IWC.
Limited numbers of Humpback Whales are hunted from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. In fact the whaling is carried out by a single elderly man and his nephew who carry out the hunt using simple hand-held harpoons and wooden rowing boats. The primitive nature of the hunt has caused it to become something of a spectacle on Bequia - the island from which the pair operate. Up until 2000 it was usual for the hunter to take two Humpbacks each year - one mother and one calf. In 2000 the IWC brought this quota down to two animals every three years. The unusual practice of taking a calf has caused great tension at IWC meetings - the anti-whaling side wanting it banned and the pro-whaling side saying it is no different from eating a lamb. The 2002 meeting re-set the quota to a maximum of twenty animals between 2003–2007, with a review in 2005 to check that four animals per year was sustainable.
Indonesian whaling
Lamalera, on the south coast of the island of Lembata, and Lamakera on neighbouring Solor are the last two remaining Indonesian whaling communities. The hunters have religious taboos that ensure that they use every part of the animal. About half of the catch is kept in the village; the rest is traded in local markets, using barter. The whale-hunts are carried out in a traditional manner, with bamboo spears and using small wooden outriggers, 10–12 m long and 2 m wide, constructed without nails and with sails woven from palm fronds. The animals are killed by the harpooner leaping onto the back of the animal from the boat to drive in the harpoon.
The people of Lamalera hunt several species of whale, primarily Sperm Whale (Baleen Whale is taboo), and in the peak year of 1969 caught 56 sperm whales. In addition to whales, dolphins, manta rays, turtles and several species of shark are also hunted. In 1973, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization sent a whaling ship and a Norwegian master whaler, to modernize the hunt. This effort lasted three years, and was not successful. According to the FAO report, the Lamalerans "have evolved a method of whaling which suits their natural resources, cultural tenets and style."[5][6]
The World Wildlife Fund has carried out surveys in the village to determine that the limited hunting does not endanger world whale stocks or other endangered species.
Issues that Threaten Aboriginal Whaling Rights
- Groups of people who hunt illegally. When people are not permitted to hunt they do not report their kills. this is an issue because scientist can not track kills that are not registered.
- Commercial Whaling
- Groups who take advantage of their right to hunt.
- Some groups will illegally sell to tourists.
- Others, like Japan, abuse their right to scientifically hunt and kill for commercial purposes anyway.[7]
References
- ↑ Geraci, Joseph; Smith, Thomas (June 1979). "Vitamin C in the Diet of Inuit Hunters From Holman, Northwest Territories" (PDF). Arctic 32 (2): 135–139.
- ↑ "Aboriginal substance whaling". About Whales and Dolphins. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ↑ "Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling". International Whaling Commission. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
- ↑ "Alaska Coast Whaling Commission". Alaska Coast Whaling Commission. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ↑ Bruemmer, Fred (October 2001). "Sea hunters of Lamalera". Natural History.
- ↑ "Lamalera". Incito Tour. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ↑ "Fast Check: How Does Japan Compare With Other Whaling Nations?". ABC. ABC. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
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