[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Marineland's Nellie the dolphin turns 58

 


Marineland's Nellie the dolphin turns 58

Born at Marineland, the oldest dolphin in human care still performs in feeding and petting shows, and starred in a Timex commercial in the 1960s.

February 28, 2011 - 12:00am

Nellie, 58, is the oldest dolphin in human care. The blonde Atlantic bottlenose dolphin was born Feb. 27, 1953, at Marineland.

RecordNellie splashes out the candles on her fish-and-ice cake as trainers Danielle Salvatore and Rachel Lehnus help her celebrate her 58th birthday Sunday at Marineland's Dolphin Conservation Center. Oldest dolphins

Nellie, who was born on Feb. 27, 1953, at Marineland is the oldest dolphin in human care, according to Marineland Curator of Marine Mammals Kevin Roberts.

Another female bottlenose dolphin, estimated to be older, lives in a free-ranging community of dolphins in the Sarasota Bay on Florida's west coast.

The website for the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program - www.sarasotadolphin.org - says that dolphin is part of their survey research and is named Nicklo. She was estimated to be 60 in 2010, according to SDRP.

By Anthony DeMatteo
The St. Augustine Record

Neither 5-year-old Brody Woodard nor 58-year-old Nellie the dolphin thought much about history Sunday morning.

Brody had a single purpose - swimming with Marineland's Atlantic bottlenose dolphins in the 73-year-old theme park's 1.3 million gallons of seawater habitat.

"They say 11:30," the blond-haired boy said of his scheduled swim as he clutching a padded railing between him and his fellow mammals.

His mother, Carrie Woodard, said it was the first day he'd seen a dolphin anywhere but the ocean, except once, on the shore, dead in a fisherman's net.

Threatening the start time of Brody's first dolphin swim was a celebration for Nellie - the oldest dolphin in human care - her 58th birthday Sunday at Marineland, south of St. Augustine.

"She's six months older than I am," said Bonnie Tyler, a professional camera around her neck. "She's still beautiful and I'm still beautiful. We're both holding our lives together."

Nellie was born Feb. 27, 1953, at Marineland, and one day before two English scientists announced they'd discovered the double helix and one day after singer Michael Bolton was born. Dwight Eisenhower had been president 39 days.

Nellie is more than twice the age of the average wild female Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, and at least 13 years older than the park's next oldest dolphin, Pebbles, who is about 44, said Marineland Curator of Marine Mammals Kevin Roberts.

A makeshift camera-well formed as some edged for a close shot of Nellie splashing out candles on a cake made of ice and decorated with sushi and small sea life too frozen for her to eat. Instead, she accepted treats tossed from trainer Rachel Lehnus of capelin -the bait fish sacrificed at the annual birthday bash.

After the short ceremony, with her unusually curved dorsal fin and a half smile, Nellie cruised water made aqua blue by the paint below, peeking among her birthday guests.

She is part of the park's feeding and petting show, but leaves swimming with the public to younger dolphins, said Marineland education specialist Meredith Horn.

"My very first day I started here I was lucky enough to pet her and feed her, even before my interview," Marineland volunteer Joan Irving said. "She is healthy and tends to be quite friendly - considering her age."

Irving said she has been coming to Marineland since 1980. This is her fifth year as a volunteer. She said the logic of the park focusing less on entertainment and more on research grew on her.

"It was very difficult at first; but what I actually think now is it is so much better we study them and their habits and collect data, rather than just seeing them perform in a circus."

Marineland closed in 2004 for renovations. It reopened in 2006. Georgia Aquarium recently purchased the venue.

In her youth, Nellie was featured in television shows at Marineland's old Dolphin Stadium and gained greater acclaim starring in a 1960s TV commercial in which she jumped Marineland hurdles with a Timex watch in her mouth to display the toughness of the timepiece.

"She's a pretty impressive dolphin to work with," Lehnus said.

Nellie's longtime dolphin pal Lilly died more than two years ago at 47. She was the last survivor among Marineland's "blonde" dolphins.

Irving said Nellie's favorite activity is playing with her black basketball.

"Oh, she loves to play ball," Irving said.

Sunday morning's party was held under a birthday-clear sky. Guests ate more conventional cake than what Nellie politely refused; a cool breeze came from the ocean as a sparsity of people walked the slate-flat sand of Marineland's beach.

"I love working here," Horn said.

As the crowd thinned around her, Nellie swam, pointing her nose toward the sun.

Peering at her, bouncing outside her tank and holding three huge towels was Brody Woodard, asking Irving when he could swim with the dolphins.

It was 11:24 a.m.

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] 4 sea turtles killed by Fla. boaters on Gulf coast

 

4 sea turtles killed by Fla. boaters on Gulf coast

The Associated Press

Monday, February 28, 2011 at 9:00 a.m.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - At least four sea turtles were killed by boaters off Florida's Gulf coast.

A release from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium on Sunday indicated two turtles were already dead when workers arrived at the beach. Two others were too injured to be rescued and another injured turtle was spotted, but swam away before rescuers could get to it.

Officials said all four turtles were hit by boats in Pinellas County waters. This time of year, turtles become more active as the water temperature warms up and they often float to soak up the sun.

Two were Kemp's Ridley turtles, which are an endangered species that nests from May through June.

Information from: The Tampa Tribune, http://www.tampatrib.com

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[forensic-science] ASCLD/LAB requirements for calling a stain blood

 

Hello everyone. I have seen several notes on the internet which state that ASCLD/LAB requires both a positive Kastle-Meyer test (or other presumptive test), followed by a positive Takayama microcrystal test before a stain can be called blood, and a positive precipitin or ouchterlony test before a KM+/Takayama+ stain can be called human blood. Does anyone know if these requirements are documented anywhere, and how I can get hold of that documentation? ASCLD/LAB is pretty close-lipped to people like me who are not members of their accredited crime labs.

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Fish and Game seeks steelhead donations

 

Fish and Game seeks steelhead donations
Associated Press - February 27, 2011 5:24 PM ET

LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) - Idaho Fish and Game officials in March plan to ask steelhead anglers on the South Fork of the Clearwater River in northern Idaho to donate steelhead as part of a plan to bolster the number of ocean-going fish that return to the river in the future.

The agency wants to spawn the fish in the Dworshak National Fish hatchery and release the offspring in the South Fork and eventually develop a brood stock for the river.

Fish that are donated will be placed in holding tubes and then picked up by special trucks to be taken to the hatchery. The Lewiston Tribune reports that this is the second year of the program.

Agency officials hope to collect about 120 hatchery fish of the estimated 8,000 predicted to return this year.

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] hearing small whispering that the dispersant is causing death to sea animals

 

Wondering if you have heard evidence to the same statements being made.

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Don't jump to conclusions in Gulf dolphin deaths

 

(Yahoo! News – opinion)

BP Oil Spill May Not Be Cause of Mass Dolphin Deaths

Lauren Finnegan
1 hr 1 min ago

Along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, 60 baby bottlenose dolphins have been found dead. The dolphins have been showing up on the coast since Jan. 1, and many are quickly linking the BP Gulf oil spill and this loss of sea life together. And, yes, it could have very well been the oil that caused these dolphin fetuses to die, considering that the average gestation period for the bottlenose dolphin is 12 months, making the most vital part of their growth able to have been compromised by the toxic chemicals that were leaking into the sea. But before we jump to conclusions and start blaming BP, we need to let the scientists do their work.
In researching mass dolphin deaths, I found this is not the first time we have seen many of these animals die within a time period. There have been many other cases of mass dolphin deaths, including the supposed suicide of about 152 dolphins in Cornwall who were found to have all ingested mud. As environmentalists tried to help these creatures back to sea, they refused and beached themselves. The cause for this unusual behavior was blamed on some kind of underwater disturbance that would have upset these dolphins.
Another case of mass dolphin deaths came in 1987 when dead dolphins were washing ashore from New Jersey to Florida. After much research into the deaths, it was found the dolphins died from eating fish that were full of the red tide algae that is poisonous. This cause of death was not discovered until about two years after the animals were found on the beaches across the U.S.
So although it may take years before we find out the cause of these deaths, we must make sure we don't prematurely blame anyone. The mass death of sea life is not all that uncommon, and the reason for the large scale media attention on this mass dolphin death is because of the possible link to BP. One would hope that this cause for concern over the dolphin deaths in the Gulf of Mexico could carry over to the rest of these cases.
And if the BP oil spill is shown to be the cause of this tragedy, I hope the company will stand up and take responsibility for this. The U.S. government needs to hold it responsible financially as well as hold it morally responsible to help to breed and reintroduce the amount of dolphins harmed by its oil spill into the Gulf. Louisiana and the surrounding areas have already lost a lot from the negligent actions of BP, and the wildlife that depend on us need to be protected at all costs.
Lauren Finnegan graduated from Hawaii Pacific University with a bachelor's degree in political science and has an insider's perspective on the military because of her role as a military wife who has lived around the country.
Copyright © 2011 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.Questions or CommentsPrivacy PolicyAbout Our AdsTerms of ServiceCopyright/IP Policy

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Coral 'Network' Can Protect Asia-Pacific Fish Stocks

 

Papua New Guinea — An international scientific team has shown that strong links between the corals reefs of the south China sea, West Pacific and Coral Triangle hold the key to preserving fish and marine resources in the Asia-Pacific region.

Research by Dr Johnathan Kool of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University, and his colleagues, has established that the richest marine region on Earth -- the Coral Triangle between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines -- depends vitally for its diversity and resilience on coral and fish larvae swept in from the South China Sea and Solomon Islands.

"The currents go in various directions, but the prevailing direction is from east to west, and this carries coral spawn and fish larvae from areas such as round the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea and the Solomons/Papua New Guinea," he explains.

"Maintaining the network of links between reefs allowing larvae to flow between them and re-stock depleted areas, is key to saving coral ecosystems threatened by human pressure and climate change.

"The Coral Triangle is home to more than one third of all the world's coral reefs, including over 600 different species of reef-building coral and 3,000 species of reef fish. These coral ecosystems provide food and income for more than 100 million people working in marine based industries throughout the region," Dr Kool explains.

"Knowing where coral spawn comes from is vital to managing our reefs successfully. Even though coral reef communities may not be connected directly to one another, reefs on the edge of the Coral Triangle have the potential to contribute significant amounts of genetic diversity throughout the region," says Dr Kool.

He argues that recent evidence showing the region's biology is closely inter-connected suggests it is in the interests of all Asia-Pacific littoral countries to work together more closely to protect it: "The science shows the region's natural resources are closely interconnected. Nations need to co-operate to look after them -- and that begins with recognising the resources are at risk and that collective action is needed to protect them.

Six nations within the Coral Triangle, (Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, The Solomon Islands and Timor L'Este) are now working together to strengthen coral reef governance and management, under an arrangement known as the Coral Triangle Initiative.

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Promoting whale-eating culture in Japan

 

Japan promotes whaling after hunt called off


BY THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN, CALGARY HERALDFEBRUARY 27, 2011 2:06 AM

Captain Paul Watson-led Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's campaign forces Japan to cancel this season's research whaling.
Photograph by: Getty Images Archive, Calgary Herald

A group of seafood wholesalers in Tsukiji Market in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, hosted a meeting Saturday to raise awareness among themselves and the public about Japan's whaling history and its whale-eating culture.

Ginrin-kai, an incorporated non-profit organization, organized the event in co-operation with the town government of Taijicho, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan's main whaling port.

The meeting at Tsukiji Market comes after the government recently cancelled this season's research whaling due to anti-whaling activities of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Applications are being accepted from the public to participate in the event.

"We hope the Tsukiji meeting will give (participants) an opportunity to think about Japan's traditional culture of whale hunting and eating and will help disseminate information about our fish-eating culture," a Ginrin-kai member said.

Taijicho, depicted in the 2009 U.S. documentary film The Cove as a centre of dolphin and whale hunting, has attracted the attention of anti-whaling groups.

People in charge of wholesale firms in Tsukiji Market will talk about whale biology. Katsuhiko Ueda, a Fisheries Agency official, will speak about whale dishes.

Tsukiji Market handled about 220,000 kilograms of whale meat in 2010, compared with about 1.8 million in 1980, the year before commercial whaling was banned.

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald




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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] "Cove" activists shift tactics

 

(ABC News)

Year After 'Cove' Oscar, Activists Shift Tactics
A year after 'The Cove' Oscar, activists try to draw Japanese into dolphin hunt debate

In the fervor of the Academy Awards in Hollywood on
Sunday, last year's winners will be a distant memory.
Half a world away in the Japanese fishing village of
Taiji, few will ever forget the film that won in 2010 for
Best Documentary Feature.

A year after "The Cove" received an Oscar for its
scathing portrayal of Taiji's dolphin hunting
tradition, the tiny town is still under siege by foreign
activists. That's created a deep deadlock with Taiji's
fishermen, leading some activists to seek a different
tact.

"I'm trying to get a grass-roots movement going in
Japan. I've come to realize, you can't show up with a
big stick and tell them what to do," said Ric O'Barry,
the veteran dolphin activist who stars in "The Cove."

A smattering of foreign protesters has come for years
to Taiji, but since the success of the movie the sleepy
town of 3,500 has been inundated. The
environmental group Sea Shepherd has started a
"Cove Guardian" program that brings visitors, new
groups such as "Taiji Action Group" and "Eyes on
Taiji" have sprung up, and many people have come
on their own.

The influx has had little effect. The town's two dozen
dolphin hunters, most of whom are gruff ex-whalers,
ignore the protesters as unwanted foreign pressure
on their traditions, and have responded with
elaborate tarp structures to hide the gorier aspects of
their work. A rare public meeting between the two
sides in November ended in confusion and discord,
and town officials say the attention is largely a
nuisance.

"We're a small town, we really can't get anything else
done while this is going on," said Masahiro Mukai,
who normally runs the town's volunteer fire
department but now goes on regular patrols to
monitor the activists.

So activists like O'Barry are trying to recruit more
Japanese to their cause, publishing materials in the
Japanese language and holding meetings with those
who show an interest. Longtime Japanese activists like
Masato Sakano have organized crowded forums in
Tokyo to discuss the implications of "The Cove" and
the Taiji hunts.

While many in the country feel the town should be
allowed its traditional ways, others are coming to
Taiji to protest or simply see for themselves.

"A lot of foreigners are helping us, but if we don't do
something on our own, this problem won't be
resolved," said Yoshiko Wada, 33, a hairdresser who
has visited the town six times.

The government permits about 20,000 dolphins to be
hunted along Japan's coasts each year. Only about
2,000 of those are taken in Taiji, but it is singled out
mainly because it uses drive fishing, in which the
animals are herded near to shore and slaughtered in
shallow water, as opposed to being harpooned at sea.

This method also lends itself to capturing live
animals, because they are relatively unscathed and
can be examined up close by aquarium buyers or
dolphin dealers. Those that aren't picked are killed
for meat or occasionally released.

In years past several towns captured live dolphins in
Japan, but now only Taiji remains. So a complete end
to the hunts would be difficult, because they have
become crucial for the popular and lucrative dolphin
shows throughout the country, and captive breeding
is rare.

While killing dolphins for food remains a cultural
touchstone, the hunts generate far more money from
selling live animals. Bottlenose dolphins sold for
meat typically go for several hundred dollars, while
prime live animals sell for about $10,000
domestically and much more abroad. In the year
ending in March 2010, 79 dolphins were exported
from Japan for 277 million yen ($3.38 million), the
government says.

With Taiji's fishermen unlikely to bend to foreign
pressure and the strong ties to Japan's aquarium
industry, a quick end to the hunts looks unlikely.
Some foreign activists have called for protests directly
at aquariums, but others question that approach.

"If we can't shut down aquariums in our own
countries, how do you go to the Japanese and ask
them to do that here?" said Michael Dalton, an
Australian activist living near Taiji.

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Cod Fish With Mini-Thermometers

 

LONDON — Hundreds of cod equipped with high-tech mini-thermometers have helped determine which water temperatures the fish can handle. Cod are traditionally regarded as fish that thrive in cold water, and therefore represent a species that might find things hard going in a future climate change with rising sea temperatures.

Now for the first time and using modern advanced technology, it is possible to examine exactly at which temperatures cod are found in the Northeast Atlantic.

Researchers from several European universities, among them the National Institute of Aquatic Research in Denmark (DTU Aqua), equipped more than 2000 cod from eight different North Atlantic stocks, including the Baltic, the Skagerrak and the North Sea, with advanced temperature gauges. For over a year the gauges registered and stored water temperatures around the fish at fixed regular intervals. The results have just been published as a feature article in the "Marine Ecology Progress Series."

"It's absolutely unique to have data from such a large and comprehensive study," says Professor Ken Haste Andersen, one of four DTU Aqua researchers who participated in the international project.

The project has concentrated on cod because it is such an important fish commercially; at the same time, it is a large fish which can easily carry the electronic tag without being bothered by it.

Spawning is the cod's Achilles' heel The results indicate that adult cod can handle much warmer water than was originally thought.

"Some fish were found at temperatures as cold as -1.5 degrees, while others swam quite happily in water that was nearly 20 degrees above zero. This shows that cod are relatively adaptable fish that can tolerate higher temperatures than was previously thought. However, while this is true for adult cod, they appear to be somewhat more conservative in their choice of water temperature when they spawn. During this period, all the fish stocks studied consistently sought out water that had a temperature of between one and eight degrees. This indicates that the egg and larvae stages of a cod's life may constitute a particularly vulnerable time with regard to the effects of climate change," says Professor Andersen.

Subzero temperatures However, the fact that cod in the Northeast Atlantic can survive in water temperatures which fluctuate up to 20 degrees does not mean that all adult cod can tolerate all temperatures. If you took a cod from the North Sea and moved it to the -1.5 degree water north of Iceland, the coldest water measured in the survey, it would be seriously challenged.

"Each fish stock in each area is well-adapted to the local conditions. It is widely known that cod can live in water at subzero temperatures, because they can produce antifreeze proteins which protects them," says Professor Andersen from DTU Aqua.

The research teams tagged a total of 3000 cod in different locations in the North Atlantic with electronic temperature gauges that measured and stored information about the temperature of the water around the fish about once an hour for a year. So far, 902 of the cod have been re-caught through fishing, and the tags holding the stored data sent back to the researchers.

To ensure that only information from fish whose tags worked long enough to give a real picture of the water temperatures the fish live in, short data series were discarded. Data from a total of 384 tagged cod from eight different populations are collated in the article's results, including cod from the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Skagerrak. The project Codyssey was funded by the EU and was coordinated by Professor David Righton from CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquacultural Science) in the UK.

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Costs of whaling revealed

 

Japan Struggles to Keep Controversial Whaling Industry Alive

By Nicholas Zifcak
Epoch Times Staff
Created: Feb 23, 2011 Last Updated: Feb 24, 2011

Sushi shop owner Katsuji Furuuchi offers whale sushi made from a lump of minke meat and pieces of blubber, in Ayukawahama, Miyagi Prefecture. (Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)
Despite relentless battles with conservation groups, Japan's whale hunt for research continues annually. Japan argues the research is to track whale populations in support of their bid to lift the ban on commercial whaling. However, there is dispute within the research community on the relevance of that research.

Last year, Japan caught and killed 507 whales for research, and the whale meat was then sold in Japan for consumption. Although there is a ban on commercial whaling, it is stipulated by the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling that any whales caught for research should then be processed and sold.

Last week Japanese whaling ships left the Antarctic Ocean, cutting short this season's research expedition. Hampered by conservation group Sea Shepherd, the Japanese fleet caught only 172 of their targeted 850 whales (plus or minus 10 percent). For the last seven years Sea Shepherd has used its fleet to physically block the whaling ships.

The international body governing whaling, the International Whaling Commission (IWC), allows whaling for scientific study. However the value of the research conducted by Japan's government-led Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) is not subject to peer review. The International Whaling Commission does not require Japan to prove the value of its research.

The moratorium on commercial whaling was put in place by the IWC in 1982 because of a lack of scientific data on the precise status of whale stocks. Japan's ICR says the purpose of its research is to "resolve the lack of scientific evidence concerning Antarctic minke whales."

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According ICR, their research on minke whales includes information "such as age at sexual maturity, age at physical maturity, growth curve, blubber thickness, and stomach content change over the years."

After studying the genetics, biology, and body shape of minkes, ICR concluded there are two large stocks in the research area in the Antarctic, where there were originally believed to be six. ICR says it needs to therefore monitor changes in the Antarctic ecosystem to understand how the whales adapt to shifts in the ecosystem, "to provide scientific basis for comprehensive management of whale resources."

However, some marine biologists doubt the connection between the lethal research ICR is carrying out, and its stated research goals.

Dr. Phillip Clapham, who heads the Cetacean Assessment and Ecology Program at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle, says only a small portion of the ICR's research is relevant to whale population management.

The ICR produces "a plethora of papers that concern topics of no relevance to [whale population] management, and which frequently focus on (to put it mildly) arcane topics. For example, serum biochemistry of minke whales may be academically interesting to some, but it has no application to assessing the status of whale populations," wrote Clapham in an e-mail.

Clapham is also on the Scientific Committee of the IWC, as one of the commission's 200 advisers who review the science and rules that govern whaling.

The controversy over scientific whaling has been a long struggle between pro- and anti-whaling member-nations of the commission.

In 2005, Japan proposed a new research plan arguing the need to expand their study of whales because the Antarctic's ecosystem is undergoing change. Sixty-three scientists representing 16 of the 30 members of the IWC signed a paper contesting the claims in Japan's research proposal.

Japan's research whaling activities is the single most controversial issue within the IWC, often dividing the organization into two camps.

"The tragedy for the scientists involved in the debate on scientific whaling is that they are labeled as either pro- or anti-whalers. This impugns objectivity and relegates any discussion to polarized politics," wrote Clapham and three co-authors Nicholas Gales, Toshio Kasuya, and Robert Brownell Jr. in the June 2005 edition of the journal Nature.

In 2007, the commission passed a resolution calling on the government of Japan to refrain from issuing a permit for scientific whaling.

Japan fears that if its research into whale populations stops, the ban on commercial whaling will never be lifted.

Consuming the Whale

Despite the long history of eating whale in Japan, domestic demand for whale meat is low. Even so, according to Shigeki Takaya of Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, last year Japan imported an additional 400 tons of whale meat from Iceland. That is in addition to the 3,500 to 4,500 tons of meat Japan has caught for research each year for the last five years. Japan also imported whale meat from Norway up until two years ago when Norway stopped exports.

Whale meat is commonly available in Japanese supermarkets and restaurants. The meat is sold smoked, canned, and frozen as well as raw for sashimi. At the low end, whale meat retails for approximately $25 per pound. Tuna, by comparison, sells for about $16 per pound on average, making whale not cheap, but certainly affordable for middle-class Japanese consumers.

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There is evidence that ancient Japanese ate whale as far back as the Jomon period (7000–8000 to 3000 B.C.). Much later, in the 17th century, whale catching advanced with use of nets and at that point consumption of whale became widespread. In post-World War II Japan the scarcity of food led to an increase in consumption of whale, and it became a staple of the Japanese diet.
End of Whaling

Keeping the tradition of whale eating alive is not just controversial; it's expensive. According to a Feb. 20 report by the Daily Yomiuri newspaper, Japan's research whaling costs an estimated $72 million annually. The three harpoon ships, one factory ship, and other refrigerator and refueling ships have a combined crew of 180 people. The Japanese government provides a $10 million subsidy for the research. The rest of the cost is offset primarily through the sale of whale meat. With only 172 whales caught this year, and 507 last year, out of an annual target of 850, there is much less meat to sell to help recover costs.

Japanese officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries have studied potential scenarios for next season, according the Daily Yomiuri article. One option considered was to have Japan's coast guard escort the fleet, but no coast guard ships can make the trip to the Antarctic. Building faster whaling vessels was also considered, but the cost is prohibitive. The other options considered are to get the IWC to reopen commercial whaling, to continue with the status quo, or to end whaling in the Antarctic Ocean.

In June 2010, Japan tried to get the IWC to consider reopening commercial whaling, but the effort was unsuccessful. With Sea Shepherd determined to prevent Japan from killing more whales, the cost to continue research whaling may become prohibitive.

With additional reporting by Miwako Nishimura in Tokyo



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