The " Whale Meat " question !

Australia finally had a win when the International Court Of Justice ordered Japan to cease whaling in the Great Southern Ocean.   Japan has indicated that it will abide with the ruling and we will be unlikely to see further clashes there between the whaling fleet and the Sea Shepherd ships protecting the whales.

The court was not convinced by Japan's plea that it was necessary to kill whales for " scientific research " reasons.  It was clearly a commercial venture, but it also seems that the taste for whale meat in Japan is sharply waning.  The kill was seeking 1,300 whales a year and yet twice that quantity is sitting in cold storage in Japan - with less demand each year.

Japan is not the only nation still harvesting whales.  Nor is this ruling a blanket ban on the practice.  It simply orders whaling to cease in an area that Australia regards as a breeding protection zone and it is possible that Japan will continue to kill whales in the northern Pacific area.

This raises the question of why wales should be given protection that does not apply to other forms of seafood ?     In simple terms - whales are only " big fish " and we have no hesitation harvesting every other type of fish found in the world's oceans ?

In the past, we hunted them to near extinction and quotas have been applied to many other fish stocks to ensure their survival, but in the case of whales there seems no consensus.   The vast majority of people see them as " cute " and " friendly " and we are assured that they have huge brains and are able to communicate with each other over vast distances.   Few seem ready to accept anything less than a complete ban on them being regarded as a food source.

We delight when they enter and frolic in Sydney harbour, but we despair when they get entangled in shark nets or get hit by coastal shipping, and the harvesting ban will certainly see their numbers grow.  It is quite possible that in future years we may have a " whale problem " with these creatures in such abundance that they become a danger in coastal waterways.

In the distant past, a lot of native people hunted whales because they were a necessary component of their food supply.   It was dangerous work carried out by men with hand harpoons working from frail little boats and we are repulsed by the sight of  explosive tipped harpoons fired from steel ships and ending the life of whales in excruciating agony.

Strangely,  we condone casting a line with a baited hook designed to catch fish by ripping into their flesh when they seek a feed.   The very same people who are regular fisher folk are often the leading proponents of the " save the whale " movement.

Whales in the Great Southern Ocean have won a reprieve, but their fate as part of the world food supply remains unanswered.    Perhaps sometime in the future the growing number of humans on this planet will be the deciding factor that decides this question !