Post written by Patrick Ramage, IFAW's Global Whale Program Director

Many people think commercial hunting of whales ended in the 1980s. Sadly, this is not the case! More than 30,000 whales have been killed since the 1986 commercial whaling ban and Japan, Iceland and Norway continue to slaughter whales for products that nobody needs. The Government of Japan leads this effort and its factory ship and fleet are killing whales right now in the waters of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary around Antarctica!

Whales face more threats today than at any time in history -- from marine pollution and habitat destruction, to entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with high-speed vessels. New and emerging threats such as global warming and ocean noise pollution are also threatening the ways whales breed, feed and migrate across our oceans

For more than two decades, IFAW has been giving hands-on-help to whales around the world. Not just on the water or on the beach but also in the halls of government. IFAW is a leader in the fight to protect our planet's great whales at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) the global body charged with protecting whales and managing whale stocks. On Sunday, January 25th, the Washington Post broke the news of a secret Bush administration plan to allow the Government of Japan to kill more whales.

Read the Post story and join our campaign to encourage governments worldwide, including the Governments of Japan, Iceland and Norway to put down the harpoon, pick up the camera and join the emerging global consensus for whale conservation in the 21st century!

Join our fight to protect whales - take action today at www.stopwhaling.org

This note about a recent victory for whales was sent by Beth Algood, the International Fund for Animal Welfare's Program Manager in our Washington D.C. office.

The Natural Resources Defense Counsel (NRDC), IFAW and other plaintiffs settled a Mid-Frequency Active sonar lawsuit on Friday, concluding IFAW’s participation in litigation against the Navy.  Among the terms of the settlement, the Navy has agreed to publicly disclose previously classified information, provide funding of almost $15 million in new marine mammal research, and has made assurances that the Navy will abide by federal environmental protection laws.  Earlier this year NRDC and IFAW successfully settled a Low-Frequency Active Sonar case and litigated the Southern California Mid-Frequency Active Sonar lawsuit decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

The news was also posted to the Environmental Magazines web site.

A baby humpback whale was found dead by surfers at Byron Bay on the east coast of Australia on Sunday 26th October. It is believed the whale died after colliding with a boat's propeller.

"He had a pretty severe propeller injury down along the spine towards the tail fluke," said Dan Burns, a doctoral research student at Southern Cross University's Whale Research Centre.

At this time of year greater awareness is needed by mariners of the risks to mothers and calves as they migrate down the east coast and has led to calls of greater enforcement of the existing penalties.

Photo courtesy of Dan Burns, Southern Cross University Whale Research Centre.

BOSTON - The rubber bands that bind lobster claws in Massachusetts are now about more than protecting people from their dinner. They’re also about protecting whales.

Beginning this weekend, lobsters caught off the state’s coast will have green bands on their claws stamped with "Massachusetts" and whale tails. It’s part of a campaign to highlight how state lobstermen are trying to make the seas safer for whales.

Massachusetts is the first, and so far only, state to require lobstermen to connect traps with rope that sinks to the ocean floor instead of lines that float and pose a danger to whales.

"Other areas fight these mandates. We want the public to know not all fishermen are in that category," said Bernie Feeney, a 60-year-old lobsterman in Boston. "We’re ahead of the game. We’re hoping it appeals to people."

The green band campaign is being led by environmental groups, including Ocean Conservancy, and the state Division of Marine Fisheries.

Lobsters are caught in traps strung together by the dozens and attached to buoys on each end. Whale advocates say when floating lines are used to connect the traps, it creates arcs of rope between them that can entangle whales.

Marine line entanglement is the second-leading human cause of right whale deaths, behind ship strikes. At least 75 endangered whales died due to fishing gear entanglements between 1997 and 2005, including at least 16 North Atlantic right whales, according to federal statistics. Each death is a blow to a right whale population that numbers 350 to 400.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H.—A whale run over by a boat last July has been spotted alive and apparently healthy near a major feeding ground for whales.

The whale was struck by the boat as passengers on two whale watch boats were observing the 60-foot finback whale and its calf about 15 miles south of Rye Harbor.

Kenneth Belanger of Newmarket was later charged with hitting the whale and paid a $5,500 fine.

The strike left a three-foot gash and several smaller cuts on the whale's back. Belanger was charged under the marine mammal protection act.

------

Information from: Portsmouth Herald, http://www.seacoastonline.com