Saving Whales Whales Need Us From pollution to climate change to whaling, these magnificent creatures face more threats than ever. A Publication of the International Fund for Animal Welfare
Defence Won t Rest Today, our planet s whales and dolphins face more threats than ever. The most avoidable come from Japan, Norway and Iceland, which continue to hunt whales for commercial purposes. We won t rest until they stop. We re also stepping up measures to help whales navigate dangerous ocean highways full of shipping traffic, fishing gear and other perils while providing hands-on help to marine mammals stranded on our beaches. IFAW is committed to ensuring whales and dolphins live free from human threats. Through direct assistance to individual animals, practical solutions that make the ocean safer and innovative projects and policy work, IFAW is protecting and promoting the welfare of whales, dolphins and coastal communities worldwide. Please join us in this important work. Patrick R. Ramage Whale Programme Director Contents Ending Commercial Whaling Whale hunting: cruel and unnecessary pages 4-5 Song of the Whale Conducting non-harmful whale research pages 6-7 The Promise of Whale Watching Promoting a valuable green industry pages 8-9 Protecting Whale Habitats Reducing ship strikes, entanglements and noise pages 10-11 From Stranded to Saved Rescuing marine mammals pages 12-13 Teaching Conservation & Compassion Inspiring children to help animals pages 14-15 page 2 IFAW 2011 All Photographs IFAW unless otherwise indicated page 3 Inside cover Brandon Cole. Cover image Masa Ushioda/SeaPics.com
End Commercial Whaling Commercial whaling has been banned for more than two decades - yet Japan, Iceland and Norway continue firing harpoons into these gentle creatures for products that nobody needs. More than 35,000 whales have been killed for commercial purposes since the ban on whaling came into effect in 1986. In June 2010, the whaling nations nearly persuaded the IWC to make whaling legal again. It took round-the-clock vigilance from IFAW and its supporters to stop Japan, Norway and Iceland from being able to declare open season on the world s whales. A Case of Cruelty There is no humane way to kill a whale. Not only are the whalers targeting a moving animal that is largely submerged, they are also attempting to harpoon the animal from an unstable platform. This makes it almost impossible to ensure a whale is killed instantly. It often takes a whale more than two minutes to die and in some cases more than half an hour. It is not possible to fully understand the suffering experienced by these large and intelligent mammals as they slowly drown or bleed to death. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) The IWC is a global organisation that first met in 1949 and has met every year since to decide a number of issues related to the management of whaling and the conservation of whales. It began with just a few member countries, but today there are more than 80 member countries. Unfortunately, the Japanese government has undertaken a vote consolidation programme in an attempt to mobilise a strong prowhaling bloc of votes to undermine decades of whale conservation. The Lie of Scientific Whaling Both Japan and Iceland exploit a provision within the IWC that allows the hunting of whales for scientific purposes. Any meat from scientific whaling operations can then be sold to consumers. Scientific whaling has become a convenient disguise for commercial whale hunts outside of any international control. IFAW works tirelessly to expose the sham of scientific whaling and close the loophole that allows it. Bringing Whaling Before International Courts In May 2010, after more than five years of IFAW providing recommendations from independent legal experts, the Australian government launched a case against Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary, through the International Court of Justice. IFAW is committed to using all possible international conventions and legal strategies to ensure that ocean sanctuaries become true safe havens for whales. page 4 International Fund for Animal Welfare page 5
Song of the Whale Research The more we know about whales, their behaviour and their needs, the better we are able to protect them. From our research vessel, Song of the Whale, IFAW conducts marine mammal population assessments and perfects surveying techniques and technologies that do not harm animals. Our team has conducted research in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Baltic Seas. Our Expert Team Song of the Whale is managed and operated on behalf of IFAW by Marine Conservation Research Limited (MCR), a company founded by IFAW Song of the Whale research team members. The team undertakes expeditions for IFAW and works with other organisations and researchers on a broad range of marine conservation research. Studying Whales through Acoustics All whales, dolphins and porpoises communicate acoustically. From the deck of Song of the Whale, we can listen in on their songs and conversations. We can determine what species are present, how many individuals are in the group, and build a picture of whale migration, behaviour and communication so we are better able to protect them. We collaborated with Cornell University to develop special acoustic monitoring buoys that detect right whales and warn nearby ships of their presence. The buoys reduce the number of whale deaths caused by ship strikes. page 6 International Fund for Animal Welfare page 7
Whale Watching: Growing Green Industry Responsible whale watching is a clean, green industry that simultaneously supports local economies and promotes whale education and conservation. According to a global economic study released in 2010, 13 million people took whale watching tours in the previous year, in 119 countries worldwide, generating a whopping $2.1 billion in total expenditures. Furthermore, the study showed that the whale watching industry is growing much faster than the overall worldwide tourism industry. Building Communities Although whale watching is part of the global tourism industry, it is really a community level industry. Whale watching tourists support local economies through their purchases, from whale watching tickets to associated expenses for travel, food, hotels and souvenirs. This supports local businesses, creating jobs and providing income in coastal communities worldwide. From Whaling to Watching In December 2010, IFAW sponsored a global whale watching conference at United Nations University in Tokyo, Japan, with operators from across Japan and other whaling and non-whaling countries. We are calling on Japan, Iceland and Norway to abandon commercial whaling and support responsible development of the whale watching industry as a long-term benefit to their coastal communities. page 8 International Fund for Animal Welfare page 9
Protecting Ocean Habitats Whales face more challenges as our oceans become increasingly crowded and noisy. IFAW is working in critical whale habitats to reduce ocean noise, ship strikes and fishing gear entanglement. A Safer Migration Only about 450 North Atlantic right whales remain off the eastern coast of North America. To protect whales in this busy industrial waterway, IFAW scientists helped develop acoustic buoys that warn ships when whales are in the area, and we ve partnered with fishermen to replace dangerous floating lobster pot lines with whale-friendly gear. Establishing Marine Sanctuaries IFAW and other conservation organisations played a major role in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) declaring the waters surrounding Antarctica a sanctuary for whales. The Southern Ocean Sanctuary is intended to provide long-term protection to approximately three-quarters of the world s remaining great whales in their feeding grounds. IFAW has also worked with governments around the world to provide a safe haven for whales, from sanctuaries in the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean to the waters around North and South America. Saving a Critical Whale Nursery IFAW helped convince the Mexican government and Mitsubishi Corporation to cancel plans to build the world s largest salt factory in Laguna San Ignacio, the last undisturbed nursery for critically endangered Gray whales. Turning Down Industrial Noise Fewer than 150 Western Gray whales remain alive today, and their only known feeding ground is just off the coast of Russia s Sakhalin Island, an area also rich in oil deposits. IFAW helps protect these whales by lobbying for changes to construction plans to ensure that industrial noise will not disrupt the whales during the critical feeding season. Protecting the Smiling Whale Belugas seem to have a smile on their faces, but they may actually be running out of time due to climate change. IFAW works with Russian scientists to observe and protect beluga whales near Solovetsky Island, where chilly waters attract beluga mothers and calves every year. page 10 International Fund for Animal Welfare page 11
From Stranded to Saved Stranding Prevention IFAW s Marine Mammal Rescue and Research team (MMRR) deploys with specialised response equipment and a dedicated corps of local volunteers at a moment s notice to rescue stranded marine mammals: dolphins, whales, porpoises and seals. We work primarily on Cape Cod, in the United States, one of the world s hot spots for frequent mass strandings of whales and dolphins. We are committed to the best possible care for each stranded animal and also to improving scientific protocols that advance marine mammal rescue science. IFAW s cutting-edge stranding science has directly led to increases in survival rates for rescued animals, and our expert responders have conducted training sessions throughout the United States, and in India, Chile and Trinidad. IFAW is also working to protect dolphins and whales from mass strandings, when large numbers come ashore and beach together. When the team discovers a group of animals swimming close to shore, they take to the water in small boats. They place acoustic devices called pingers in the water which produce harmless, but annoying, highfrequency noises that drive the animals away from shore and back to sea. Cutting Deadly Bonds When whales swim into fishing gear, many become so entangled they can t swim properly. The animals may live for weeks, months or even years, as the deadly gear becomes more and more tightly wrapped around them, leading to infection, illness and frequently a painful death. IFAW works to create safer fishing gear and more effective methods of freeing whales from entanglements. In North America, IFAW supports the Campobello Whale Rescue Team, a group of volunteers who remove fishing gear from entangled whales, and we helped replace miles of dangerous floating lobster gear with sinking line gear less likely to entangle whales. Alone, but not Hopeless Dolphins and small whales are social species, and conventional thinking is that individual animals cannot survive outside their normal group. Standard protocols dictate that single stranded or lone-surviving social cetaceans be euthanized rather than released alone, even if healthy. Based on advanced health assessments, IFAW s MMRR team believed many of these animals could survive. By satellite tagging singly released dolphins, IFAW scientists are proving that healthy animals are capable of joining a social group when released alone. This discovery could save hundreds of dolphins each year from being euthanized, giving them a second chance for survival. In Zanzibar, IFAW trained disentanglement teams to cut ropes from distressed whales. We also helped local fishermen switch to fishing gear with weak links, which separate when a whale swims into the net, saving both the whale and the fishermen s gear. page 12 International Fund for Animal Welfare page 13
Teaching Conservation and Compassion The children of today will be the custodians of whales and marine life tomorrow. One of the most important ways we can try to establish a more secure future for the world s whales is to introduce children to these majestic creatures at a young age. Floating Classrooms For many schoolchildren in Dominica, IFAW s floating classrooms provide a first opportunity to go out onto the ocean and experience marine life and whales in their natural habitat. These trips are the culmination of months of learning about the ocean. The boat trips inspire students to make good environmental choices in the future to promote conservation for the ocean and for marine life. Animal Action Education Each year, IFAW s Animal Action Education programme reaches some five million young people, educators and families worldwide with educational materials and activities featuring a different animal theme. Our Beneath the Waves programme teaches children about ocean animals like whales and what we can do to protect them. page 14 International Fund for Animal Welfare page 15
Help Save the Whales! Take your friends and family on a whale watching trip. See just how magnificent these animals can be in the wild and support responsible and sustainable eco-tourism. Let your government officials know you want them to protect whales and end commercial and so-called scientific whaling. To learn more visit our website: www.ifaw.org. International Fund for Animal Welfare www.ifaw.org 87-90 Albert Embankment London SE1 7UD Founded in 1969, IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare) saves animals in crisis around the world. With projects in more than 40 countries, IFAW rescues individual animals, works to prevent cruelty to animals and advocates for the protection of wildlife and their habitats. Offices in: Australia Kenya Belgium Netherlands Canada Russia China South Africa France United Arab Emirates Germany United Kingdom India United States Japan youtube.com/ifawvideo facebook.com/ifawhq twitter.com/action4ifaw