I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce.
     But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance
      detestable.
                                                                                               Jeremiah 2:7

What is whaling?

Whaling is a global industry of hunting whales that dates back to 6000 BC.

Greed and expansion have led to the overexploitation and depletion of whale populations in recent years.

Though whaling is regulated by the inter-governmental International Whaling Commission, it has set quotas that are too high and often violated, resulting in the illegal slaughter of tens of thousands of whales each year.

There are ten species of whales classified as vulnerable to critically endangered by the World Conservation Union; these include Blue, Gray, Sperm, and Beluga Whales.

Because whales live mostly underwater and migrate very long distances, their population is difficult to count. This could mean their numbers’ dropping so low before the IWC even notices, and when action is finally taken it could be too late.

Further, both the capturing and processing of whales is done at sea, therefore little regulation and inspection can be done at ports to determine which species of and how many whales were killed.

Since whales are subject to commercial hunting under these conditions that are so difficult to regulate, whalers are more likely to cut corners and violate quotas.

With the technology currently available for whale hunting, killing these large animals humanely is virtually impossible. An instant kill is considered rare. Even when the grenade-tipped harpoon, the main and most advanced weapon used for whale hunting, is used, the whale takes from several minutes to over an hour to die.

To briefly describe the harpoon method: the weapon is launched from the ship and pierces the whale’s flesh. Once embedded in the whale, the grenade attached to the tip of the harpoon explodes inside the whale.
  
In conclusion, it is difficult to manage commercial hunting of whales sustainably and humanely.

Today's whaling industry

Whale populations face the many dangerous outcomes of human activity. Pollution is filling their habitats, climate change is forcing them to migrate away from the warming oceans, overfishing is increasing competition over their food supply, and accidental interference with ship routes are all contributing to whales' premature deaths. Overhunting is yet another danger to add to the list.

Whales were once hunted for the production of whale oil, which is no longer commonly used. Whales are now primarily hunted for food and for scientific research, an umbrella term which is believed to only protect whaling nations from further investigation and regulation on their methods.

In recent years Japan has been criticized of overhunting whales under the ruse of "scientific research" purposes. Conservationist organizations have been petitioning the IWC, International Whaling Commission, to investigate Japan and ultimately halt their whale hunting.

The primary species hunted are the Common Minke Whale and Antarctic Mink Whale. These are the smallest species of baleen whales. As of 2007, scientific surveys estimate their combined population to be 103,000 in the northeast Atlantic Ocean and 655,075 in the Arctic Ocean.

Rica Santos (c) 2009