From pre-historic to modern times, whales remain an exploitable resource, though in recent decades the controversy surrounding whaling has yielded economical, political, and social "double-standards" on a domestic and global scale. Through reading anti-whaling and international organization statements, government documents, and statistical data, this paper examines the history of three countries—Japan, Norway, and the U.S.—to compare the "double-standards" presented against Japan. Conflicts arise as a result of Japan's choice to whale seen through its conflicts with anti-whaling organizations, international organizations, and other countries. Additionally, this paper compares whaling with certain western food practices, including foie gras and veal, to demonstrate how Orientalism affects the practices of those controversies.
The exploitation of whales has spread over the centuries from coastal to international waters, and from pole to pole. Despite the successive depletion of one species and stock after another, not until the 20th century were attempts instituted to regulate the industry and the catches at an international level. Agreements among the whaling companies competing in the Antarctic in the 1930s were closely followed by intergovernmental agreements, culminating in the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, which established the International Whaling Commission. In 1975 the commission adopted its "new management procedure" for commercial whaling, based on the concept of maximum sustainable yield. A separate but related management procedure for subsistence whaling operations was subsequently developed, largely because of the problems of the Alaskan bowhead hunt. This gave greater weight to the perceived dependence of the native communities on the hunt than to the status of the whale stock. The tensions between the objectives of the conservation of the whale resources and the orderly development of the whaling industry continue today. Commercial whaling is for the moment prohibited while a comprehensive assessment of stock status and trends is undertaken, together with the development of a revised management procedure. The impact of recent legislative thinking in the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, coastal state sovereignty, and the developing trend towards the precautionary principle of management has caused profound changes in the interpretation and application of the 1946 convention and the consequent management policies by which it is implemented.Key words: aboriginal, bowhead, conservation, exploitation, International Whaling Commission, management, regulation, subsistence, whaling ; L'exploitation des baleines s'est étendue, au cours des siècles, depuis les eaux côtières jusqu'aux eaux internationales, et d'un pôle à l'autre. Malgré l'épuisement successif des espèces et des stocks, il fallut attendre le XXe siècle pour que des essais soient entrepris afin de réglementer l'industrie et les prises au niveau international. Les accords conclus dans les années 30 entre les sociétés baleinières qui étaient en concurrence dans l'Antarctique ont été suivis de près par des accords intergouvernementaux, pour aboutir en 1946 à la Convention internationale pour la réglementation de la chasse à la baleine, qui établit la Commission baleinière internationale (CBI). En 1975, la Commission adopta sa «nouvelle procédure de gestion» pour la chasse commerciale à la baleine, fondée sur le concept du rendement équilibré maximal. Une procédure de gestion connexe mais distincte, concernant la chasse de subsistance a été mise au point par la suite, en raison surtout des problèmes de la chasse à la baleine boréale en Alaska. Cette dernière procédure accordait plus de poids à l'importance de la chasse pour les communautés indigènes qu'au statut du stock baleinier. Les tensions entre les objectifs de conservation des ressources baleinières et le développement ordonné de l'industrie baleinière persistent encore de nos jours. La chasse commerciale est, pour l'instant, interdite pendant qu'on entreprend une évaluation en profondeur de l'état et des tendances du stock, et qu'on révise la procédure de gestion. Les retombées des discussions récentes sur la législation lors de la Conférence des Nations Unies sur le droit de la mer, la souveraineté des États côtiers, et la tendance croissante vers le principe de gestion préventive, ont causé de profonds changements dans l'interprétation et dans l'application de la Convention de 1946, ainsi que dans les politiques de gestion résultantes grâce auxquelles elle est mise en application.Mots clés: aborigène, baleine boréale, conservation, exploitation, Commission baleinière internationale, gestion, réglementation, subsistance,chasse à la baleine
In this article, the effectiveness of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) is discussed in relation to three criteria: stated goals, correspondence between scientific advice and political decisions, and relative improvement in relation to the status quo. Under these criteria, the IWC has a low score on effectiveness in its initial phase (1949 to mid-1960s), but increased effectiveness in the next stage (mid-1960s to late 1970s). However, in the most recent history of the IWC, effectiveness has again been decreasing. Two main perspectives have been used in trying to explain the development within the IWC; first and most important, the assumption is that effectiveness will vary according to differences in the type of problems and related state preferences; the more "malign" the problem, the lower the effectiveness. Also, it is assumed that, although to a lesser degree, effectiveness will be influenced by the problem-solving capacity related to the cooperation in question. This approach is based on the design outlined for a large comparative research project on the effectiveness of international resource and environmental management. In this article, however, this perspective is used in a very simplified form, primarily to systematize the history and performance of the IWC.Key words: effectiveness, International Whaling Commission, science, policy, international, resource, management, interests, power, institutions ; Dans cet article, on discute de l'efficacité de la Commission baleinière internationale (CBI) selon trois critères: les buts exprimés, l'accord entre les avis scientifiques et les décisions politiques, et l'amélioration relative par rapport au statu quo. Selon ces critères, la CBI affiche une faible efficacité dans sa phase initiale (1949 - milieu des années 60), mais augmente son efficacité dans la phase suivante (milieu des années 60 - fin des années 70). Dernièrement cependant, l'efficacité de la CBI est de nouveau en baisse. On utilise deux grands axes pour tenter d'expliquer cette évolution au sein de la CBI. On suppose d'abord et surtout que l'efficacité variera en fonction des types de problèmes et des préférences de chaque État à leur sujet; plus le problème sera «épineux», moins il y aura d'efficacité. On suppose aussi, bien qu'à un degré moindre, que l'efficacité sera influencée par la capacité de résolution de problèmes reliée à la coopération en question. Cette approche est fondée sur le plan d'un grand projet de recherche comparative sur l'efficacité de la gestion des ressources et de l'environnement au niveau international. Dans cet article, cette perspective n'est cependant utilisée que sous une forme très simplifiée, surtout dans le but de systématiser l'histoire et la performance de la CBI.Mots clés: efficacité, Commission baleinière internationale, science, politique, international, ressource, gestion, intérêts, puissance, institutions
The whaling log of the ship, Neva from Greenport, George L. Hand, master, bound for Pacific, Sep 28, 1857 - Oct 20, 1859. Unpaginated account kept aboard the whaling bark Neva, on a voyage from Greenport, N.Y. to the South Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans, 28 September 1857 - 19 October 1859 (last entry, bark sold at auction in Honolulu on or after 19 October 1857_Starbuck doesn't list Neva at all, see note below); after bark sold at auction, each crew member had to find his own way home. The keeper of this journal hired onto the bark Midas, out of New Bedford, Mass., commanded by Captain James L. Austin; his account on board starts 9 November 1859 (from Honolulu) - 31 March 1860. Cataloger's note: this account has a nearly identical counterpart ("Journal kept by George A. Conklin on board bark Neva from Greenport."); the handwriting is remarkably similar, yet with subtle differences. The information is nearly identical as well. However, when the bark is sold at auction in Honolulu on or after 19 October 1857 (see note above), the author of this journal joins the bark Midas, wheras the keeper of the similar journal joined the ship Gay Head I. Both journals state "George Conklin's Journal," but this one contains name "Heffrens" (sp?) on first page; furthermore, the two journals were donated to the LIC by two separate owners two decades apart (Mrs. C.C. Edwards 1966, and James Abbe, 1986, respectively). Immediately following last entry (from whaling voyage on onboard the bark Midas) is following unrelated entry: "We the undersigned petitioners of the Town of East Hampton would most respectfully petition the legislature of this state that the Town of East Hampton be exempt from the operations of the bill now before the legislature in relation to cattle running at large upon the public highways of said town" (no date). Two pages in back of journal contain agricultural planting journal, for the years 1854-1861 (no author); includes dates of crops (i.e. oats, corn, potatoes, wheat) sowed and harvested.
Account kept aboard the bark Monmouth, on a voyage from Cold Spring Harbor to the South Seas (Oceania), 11 October 1843- 1 January 1846 (pages missing after 25 September 1845 entry on p. 146); owned by John H. Jones of Cold Spring Harbor, commanded by Captain H.B. Hedges. Inserted typewritten copy of shipping articles for the ship, from the District and Port of New York Collector's Office (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.); contains whalemen's shipping list (contract between owner and crew, with crew list), copies of original handwritten briefing upon return from voyage, from Captain Hedges to owner (originals not found in volume). Pages 1-17 were used as scrapbook by later (unknown) owner, glueing 1875 New York Herald news clippings (national politics) onto pages containing whaling account information; several intermitent pages are free of pastings. See page 95 in "The Whale Fishery on Long Island," by Harry Sleight, 1931 for account of her gallant rescue in 1851 of a Sidney bound shipwreck, carrying first governor of Sidney, from London, England.
This article seeks to assess one of the important questions regarding Iceland's potential accession to the EU, namely, whether Iceland could legitimately continue its whaling operations under current EU environmental law if it becomes a member of the regional economic integration organization
In: Schokkenbroek , J C A 2017 , ' Sailors in wonderland : Dutch sperm whaling during the nineteenth century, 1827-1849 ' , International Journal of Maritime History , vol. 29 , no. 2 , pp. 261-275 . https://doi.org/10.1177/0843871417694001
The Dutch engaged in whaling between 1612 and 1964, with intervals of non-activity in the last quarter of the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries. Under varied circumstances, the Dutch have relied upon the expertise of foreign whalemen. The involvement of Basque whalers in the foundation and organisation of Dutch whaling expeditions during the first half of the seventeenth century is fully documented. Less well known is the collaboration between the Dutch and whaling experts from the United States during the first half of the nineteenth century. This article relates to a number of expeditions undertaken by Dutch and American whalemen, who headed for hunting grounds unfamiliar to the Dutch. It examines the political and economic contexts within which American involvement should be considered, and identifies the results of this involvement.
Declining rates of encountering whales, including both sighting and catching, were noted by whalers throughout the 19th century, and these declines became the first indication that whaling was adversely affecting whale abundance. The interpretation of declines in both sighting and catch rates proved to be a difficult scientific task. Satisfactory quantitative methods of interpreting changes in whale encounter rates were not developed until the second half of the 20th century. Rates of encountering whales played a key role in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) Scientific Committee from its beginning in the early 1950s, as well as in the US in implementing its Marine Mammal Protection Act beginning in the early 1970s. The development of methods of collecting and interpreting sighting and catch data was intimately interwoven with the development of themanagement of whaling and cetacean by-catches in fisheries throughout the world, but especially within the context of the Scientific Committees of the IWC and the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO). Although overfishing of whales was initially identified through the use of sighting rate data, catch rate data provided the IWC's Committee its first firm footing for management advice. However, it was sighting rate data that ultimately became the basis for the scientific advice on whaling and for management advice in other settings. This led to the development of large scale cetacean sighting programmes, such as the IWC's International Decade of Cetacean Researchsurveys in Antarctic aboard Japanese ships, the North Atlantic Sighting Surveys (NASS) aboard Norwegian, Icelandic, Spanish, Greenlandic and Faroese vessels and aircraft (coordinated by NAMMCO through its Scientific Committee from 1995), and surveys under the US's Marine Mammal Protection Act and the European Union's Small Cetacean Abundance in the North Sea (SCANS) programme. Fishery independent cetacean sighting surveys have proven to be both central and essential to understanding and regulating of human impacts on cetaceans.
Policy debates in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) about aboriginal subsistence whaling focus on the changing significance of whaling in the mixed economies of contemporary Inuit communities. In Greenland, Inuit hunters have taken whales for over 4000 years as part of a multispecies pattern of marine harvesting. However, ecological dynamics, Euroamerican exploitation of the North Atlantic bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus), Danish colonial policies, and growing linkages to the world economy have drastically altered whaling practices. Instead of using the umiaq and hand-thrown harpoons, Greenlandic hunters today use harpoon cannons mounted on fishing vessels and fiberglass skiffs with powerful outboard motors. Products from minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) provide both foods for local consumption and limited amounts of cash, obtained through the sale of whale products for Greenlandic foods to others. Greenlanders view this practice as a form of sustainable development, where local renewable resources are used to support livelihoods that would otherwise be dependent upon imported goods. Export of whale products from Greenland is prohibited by law. However, limited trade in whale products within the country is consistent with longstanding Inuit practices of distribution and exchange. Nevertheless, within the IWC critics argue that even limited commiditization of whale products could lead to overexploitation should hunters seek to pursue profit-maximization strategies. Debates continue about the appropriateness of cash and commoditization in subsistence whaling in Qeqertarsuaq Municipality in West Greenland, demonstrating that despite significant changes, whaling is an integral part of Greenland's mixed economy and a vital component of Greenlandic Inuit cultural identity. The social organization of whaling continues to be kinship-based and Greenlandic foods, including whale products, are prominent in local diets and in cultural celebrations. The research reveals that Greenlanders participate in whaling not to maximize profits but in order to sustain cultural traditions and to reduce dependency on tenuous links to the world economy.Key words: Greenland, Qeqertarsuaq Municipality, aboriginal subsistence whaling, Inuit whaling, mixed economy, minke whale,fin whale, International Whaling Commission ; Les débats sur les politiques concernant la chasse de subsistance à la baleine, au sein de la Commission baleinière internationale (CBI), tournent autour du changement de signification de la chasse dans l'économie mixte des communautés inuit contemporaines. Au Groenland, les chasseurs inuit capturent des baleines depuis plus de 4000 ans, dans le cadre d'un prélèvement polyvalent d'espèces marines. Cependant, la dynamique écologique, l'exploitation euro-américaine de la baleine boréale (Balaena mysticetus) dans l'Atlantique Nord, les politiques coloniales du Danemark, et les liens de plus en plus forts avec l'économie mondiale ont changé radicalement les pratiques de chasse à la baleine. Au lieu d'utiliser l'oumiak et les harpons lancés à la main, les chasseurs groenlandais d'aujourd'hui utilisent des canons lance-harpon montés sur des bateaux de pêche, et des embarcations légères en fibre de verre équipées de puissants moteurs hors-bord. Les produits du petit rorqual (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) et du rorqual commun (Balaenoptera physalus) fournissent à la fois de la nourriture pour la consommation locale et un peu d'argent liquide, provenant de la vente de ces produits pour la consommation alimentaire à l'extérieur de la communauté. Les Groenlandais voient cette pratique comme une forme de développement durable, où des ressources renouvelables locales sont employées pour entretenir un style de vie qui dépendrait autrement de biens importés. L'exportation de produits baleiniers est interdite par la loi au Groenland, mais le commerce limité de produits baleiniers à l'intérieur du pays est en accord avec la longue tradition inuit de distribution et d'échange. Des critiques au sein de la CBI soutiennent cependant que la commercialisation des produits baleiniers, même à faible échelle, pourrait amener une surexploitation si les chasseurs cherchaient à poursuivre des stratégies de maximisation des bénéfices. Les débats continuent pour savoir si l'argent liquide et la transformation des produits baleiniers en marchandises sont appropriés dans le cadre de la chasse de subsistance, et si les régimes de gestion indigènes sont capables d'assurer la protection des stocks de baleines. Cette étude de cas décrit la chasse contemporaine à la baleine dans la municipalité de Qeqertarsuaq dans le Groenland occidental, et montre qu'en dépit de changements significatifs, la chasse à la baleine fait partie intégrante de l'économie mixte du Groenland et qu'elle est une composante vitale de l'identité culturelle inuit du Groenland. L'organisation sociale de la chasse à la baleine continue d'être fondée sur les liens de parenté, et la nourriture groenlandaise, y compris les produits baleiniers, a une place de choix dans l'alimentation et les fêtes culturelles locales. La recherche révèle que les Groenlandais participent à la chasse non pour maximiser leurs bénéfices, mais pour maintenir des traditions culturelles et réduire leur dépendance à l'égard des liens ténus qui les relient à l'économie mondiale.Mots clés: Groenland, municipalité de Qeqertarsuaq, chasse aborigène de subsistance à la baleine, chasse inuit à la baleine, économie mixte, petit rorqual, rorqual commun, Commission baleinière internationale
In: Gustafsson , U I 2019 , ' Icebound frontiers of exploitation : Networks for whaling in the Polar regions, 1904-1931 ' , Doctor of Philosophy , University of Groningen , [Groningen] .
In my researchproject, I have studied the history of Natural resource exploitation in the polar regions. More specifically, I have studied the history of the modern whaling industry in both the Arctic and the antarctic. Previous research have mainly focused on, and explained modern whaling as just another Activity to make quick profit. In my research I show that it was more complex than this, and that scientific, economic, political, and environmental factors dictated and determined the activities of the modern whaling industry. This thesis is a part of the International Polar Year Project LASHIPA (Large Scale Historical Exploitation of Polar Areas), where researchers from the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, USA and Russia have studied the history of exploitation in the polar regions. For more information please see the webpage of the Arctic Centre/Groningen Institute for Archaeology.
At the Environment Council of Luxembourg on 5 June 2008, the European Union (EU) stated its common position in support of maintaining the moratorium on whaling/protection of whales. The present paper tries to present an overview of political relations between the EU, its member state Denmark and Denmark's dominion Greenland while exploring the 'regulatory empire' concept with regard to whaling activities. In this respect, if we were to define the methodological approach of this paper in a single phrase, we could use the expression: "conceptual redefinition of the physical substance". This approach enables us to theoretically explain the uncertainty that accompanies the act of the subject, and to make visible structural elements that have not been noticed so far. 2008年6月5日、EUはルクセンブルクにおいて環境相理事会を開き、EUの共通理念として捕鯨をめぐるEUのスタンスを初めて「反捕鯨」とすることで一致した。本稿は、EUの「反捕鯨」規範が物質構造と規範構造の間主観的相互作用によって形成され、それがEUの政策を規定しているという前提に立ち、捕鯨をめぐるEU、EU加盟国デンマーク、そしてデンマークの自治領グリーンランドの三者を「規制帝国」という新たな概念を援用して説明することを試みるものである。
The Dutch engaged in whaling between 1612 and 1964, with intervals of non-activity in the last quarter of the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries. Under varied circumstances, the Dutch have relied upon the expertise of foreign whalemen. The involvement of Basque whalers in the foundation and organisation of Dutch whaling expeditions during the first half of the seventeenth century is fully documented. Less well known is the collaboration between the Dutch and whaling experts from the United States during the first half of the nineteenth century. This article relates to a number of expeditions undertaken by Dutch and American whalemen, who headed for hunting grounds unfamiliar to the Dutch. It examines the political and economic contexts within which American involvement should be considered, and identifies the results of this involvement.
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is currently engaged in an intensive negotiating process in an attempt to resolve international disputes about whaling. The IWC has pioneered and agreed a management procedure approach for setting catch limits for commercial whaling that was unanimously recommended by its Scientific Committee. It is disturbing that current negotiations are moving towards discarding this agreed and carefully developed scientific procedure in favour of ad hoc catch allowances based on political expediency.
A perennial challenge in efforts to deal with environmental issues is the question of how to simplify. As such, where and when one simplifies is often a source of conflict, but perversely also paramount to finding a solution. This thesis focuses on one long-standing environmental issue, the whaling debate. Specifically, it performs a strategically sited microethnography of Faroese whaling, grindadráp, exploring linkages between actions on local and international scales. This thesis aims to contribute to environmental sociological efforts to analyse and resolve complex socio-environmental problems. The five papers that together constitute this thesis collectively provide a description of grindadráp from the local scale of the bays where pilot whales are killed to the international forums where whaling as a whole remains an issue at the heart of an on-going, deadlocked conflict. Primarily based on three months' fieldwork in the Faroe Islands, this thesis combines observation, interviews, media and other literature. The theoretical lenses employed are that of the 'ontological turn' and the 'theory of sociocultural viability' (cultural theory). The former utilised as a tool for ethnographic practice with the latter used to analyse how different perspectives on reality manifest throughout the whaling conflict. This thesis demonstrates that grindadráp has changed through time as a result of the interactions between actors with different views on the matter at hand. However, in contrast to the global whaling debate, this interaction has been mostly constructive, with appropriate changes in practice ensuring grindadráp's continued popularity within the Faroe Islands. Furthermore, its continuation will likely depend on grindadráp's continued ability to balance different perspectives. This thesis thus echoes environmental sociological calls for improved dialogue in the framing and resolution of environmental disputes, suggesting that cultural theory provides a tool that balances relativism and pragmatism in dealing with complex environmental problems.
A key question in any environmental dispute is the nature of what is under discussion. 'Cosmopolitics' – political battles over the form of reality – are a feature of many environmental clashes. This article focuses on one such clash: during the summer of 2014, grindadráp – the iconic practice of driving pilot whales for meat – was the big news item in the Faroe Islands. More accurately, a conservation campaign by the controversial group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS), Operation Grindstop 2014, garnered most attention. Aiming to stop or at least disrupt the 'barbaric' and 'sadistic' grindadráp, SSCS were involved in several confrontations with Faroese authorities and publicly engaged with Faroese pro-whaling advocates in several discussions that were seemingly fruitless. Based on 3 months fieldwork during the campaign, this article describes a 'political ontology' of Grindstop 2014. What emerged was a 'hybrid' born of a clash between two fundamentally dissonant systems of ordering, which structured and were reinforced by various practices, both discursive and material. Activists on both sides were engaged in a cosmopolitical struggle to decisively enact their orderings, creating alternative stories of whales, Faroese whaling, the ocean environment and modernity. The aim is to understand what happened when these orderings met. This article argues that throughout the summer these two orderings moved apart, consequently hiding the diversity of opinion and discussion within Faroese society around grindadráp. As such, alternative orderings of grindadráp were suppressed, notably those voiced by Faroese activists arguing that the practice should cease because of the high levels of toxins in pilot whale meat.