SAVE OUR WHALES

LOUISA RUST

The HUMPBACK whales that delight Illawarra locals and visitors yearly on their migration past the NSW South Coast have become the target of Japanese whalers for the first time in 40 years.

The Japanese Government whaling fleet has departed for its biggest hunt since the moratorium on commercial whaling came into effect more than 20 years ago.

In the southern ocean, the fleet intends to kill 50 endangered mink whales, 50 threatened humpback whales and 935 mink whales.

Jervis Bay Whales (part of Dolphin Watch Cruises) manager Matt Cross said Australians should voice their opposition to the hunt.

“Australians have become a lot more interested in whale watching and have taken ownership of humpback whales.”

Mr Cross is concerned about the effect the hunting of humpback whales will have on local tourism.

“As a whale watching operator, it will have a direct effect on my business and the Illawarra,” he said. “When people come to Jervis Bay for whale watching, they spend dollars all the way up the coast.”

Mr Cross said he tried to inform his customers of the threats facing whales during his company’s tours.

“One day in October we saw 28 whales inside Jervis Bay, including some mothers with calves,” he said.

“It was incredibly overwhelming for everybody on board. Then when you tell them that many of these whales may not make it back next year, you get some pretty adverse reactions.

“It brought a tear to one customer’s eye, and I thought ‘that’s what I’ve got to do’.”

Mr Cross said Jervis Bay Whales worked in conjunction with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to pressure the Australian Government to take action against whaling.

Another Illawarra whale watching operator, Captain Roscoe of the M V Signa in Kiama, said while he appreciated the importance of cultural tradition, he didn’t believe Japan needed to kill whales for scientific research.

“If it were a group of Eskimos and they needed the mammals for their survival, then that would be a different story,” he said.

“According to marine biologists, they’ve only recovered to one third of their population in the 45 years since whaling stopped on the east coast (of Australia),” he said.

Estimates number 7000 humpback whales migrating along the east coast of Australia yearly, and 16,000 along the west coast. Greenpeace has vowed to take direct, non-violent action if Japan’s hunt in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary is not called off.

“Australian and international marine scientists have established we can find out all we need to know about whales without killing them,” Greenpeace executive director Steve Shallhorn said.

He has urged Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to take action.

Greenpeace has launched an anti-whaling petition. Visit www.greenpeace.org/australia/