Guest guest Posted August 5, 2001 Report Share Posted August 5, 2001 Brought to you by Gray Whales with Winston http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Jungle/1953/index.html http://www.theprovince.com/newsite/edpage/5032240.html Japanese don't rescue dolphins, they eat 'em The Province Annelise Sorg The Province It's ridiculous for the Vancouver Aquarium to claim the new dolphin brought to Stanley Park was rescued from a fishing net. Dolphins in Japan are eaten, not rescued. Japan has killed more than 18,000 dolphins since the 1986 global moratorium on whaling, plus the country has killed another 600 whales (including endangered species) for " scientific purposes " every year. These dead dolphins and whales are served at sushi bars in Tokyo where people pay exorbitant prices for the meat and blubber. Every year hundreds of dolphins are herded on to the beach and speared to death in the bloodiest display of cruelty in Japan. A few dolphins are always set aside and kept alive to sell to dolphinariums around the world. The Vancouver Aquarium's new dolphin, named Spinnaker, was most certainly caught in the Japanese dolphin-drive fisheries. Which makes me wonder, who named the dolphin Spinnaker? Chances are that while this animal was kept captive in the dolphinarium in Osaka, he was called some Japanese name like " delicious with rice. " Annelise Sorg, , Coalition For No Whales In Captivity, Vancouver ========================= http://hoovnews.hoovers.com/fp.asp?layout=displaynews & doc_id=NR20010804670.2 _dd1800069bfa47af Oil exploration in Russian Far East harms rare whales - Greenpeace August 4, 2001 5:36am 08/04/2001 Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax Moscow, 3 August: Greenpeace of Russia has called on US oil company Exxon to immediately stop seismic exploration in the area of the northeastern shelf of the island of Sakhalin. It is here that the smallest population of grey whales comes to eat. In addition, the environmentalists say that the seismic exploration conducted by the US company in Russian territorial waters is illegal. Greenpeace has sent inquiries to the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, the Russian government and the Natural Resources Ministry regarding this. The environmentalists recall that the World Conservation Union (IUCN) has recognized the Okhotsk-Korean grey whale population as close to extinction. Fewer than 100 of these animals come to Sakhalin to eat, and only 12 of them are capable of producing offspring. Many whales are extremely malnourished: their bones can be seen through their thin fat layer, and environmentalists are saying that the number of such animals is growing. The idea of conducting seismic exploration in places where this unique population comes to eat is in itself blasphemous and is absolutely unacceptable, Greenpeace of Russian coordinator Oganes Targulyan said. Seismic exploration in the whale feeding ground can have a negative influence on their ability to eat normally. Many whales are already extremely malnourished, and a subsequent decrease of their weight will reduce their reproductive abilities and will lead these animals to extinction, the environmentalist said. Source: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in English 1123 gmt 3 Aug 01 ============================== http://www.vancouversun.com/newsite/opinion/5038957.html Saturday 4 August 2001 OPINION Letter of the day: Dolphin dilemma While the president of the Vancouver Aquarium defends its acquisitionof Spinnaker, a reader recalls a joyful encounter with dolphins in the wild Tonnae Hennigan Vancouver Sun I would like to clear up some of the misinformation being spread by Annelise Sorg, of the Coalition for No Whales in Captivity (Aquarium gets new dolphin from Japan, Aug. 1). Ms. Sorg has made unsubstantiated claims and it is a shame The Sun continues to be a venue for her rhetoric. Her suggestion that aquariums that manage dolphins keep " inadequate records " is untrue. It is ludicrous to suggest dolphins are not individually identifiable. If we could not identify them, how could we possibly properly care for them or obtain the necessary permit to import them? Individual ID numbers, genetic records, care records (like those maintained by doctors for humans) and other individual forms of documentation are standard practice in accredited aquariums in North America and Japan. Ms. Sorg's claim that Spinnaker " likely " came from a drive fishery verges on libel. Spinnaker was rescued in 1991 from a fishing net and we have all of the proper documentation to prove it. Your article also implies we breached our agreement with the park board. Nonsense. We notified the appropriate people at the board in advance, but requested confidentiality to ensure a quick and expedient transport. The health and safety of our animals must be our first priority. We have upheld our agreement in full. It's too bad that board chair Laura McDiarmid's support was not given equal billing to the rantings of Commissioner Roslyn Cassels. The Aug. 2 editorial, " Do we want another dolphin? " , is also unfair. Spinnaker was not taken out of the wild for display as the editorial implies. He was brought here from another aquarium and was a rescued animal. Your editorial also states that " zoos and public aquariums are falling out of public favour. " How interesting then that a front-page story the same day boasts, " Shadow the grizzly boosts zoo attendance, " at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. Our annual pass and membership sales for July are up 25 per cent over the same month last year. I think the public has spoken. John Nightingale President Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre ¥ Dolphins belong in the wide-open ocean, not in a tank in a zoo. My husband and I sailed around Vancouver Island this summer, a glorious trip in the true wilderness, surrounded by sealife and wildlife of every description. We felt we were visitors in their territory -- although we loved it, we were not residents and certainly not on an equal footing with the wild creatures we saw. On the way north to Cape Scott, we had the exquisitely beautiful experience of sailing with a whole school of Pacific white-sided dolphins. Our sailboat is a cruising catamaran with the standard two parallel hulls joined by a bridge deck, and these playful creatures obviously were intrigued by the two visitors, as they played with us for about 40 minutes. They careened toward the side of one hull, their beautiful black and white sides and " gleeful faces " visible just under the surface of the water, raced under the boat and surfaced just before the bow of the second hull. It was obvious racing our speeding hulls through the water was a great game for them. They leapt, swam and blew all around us, keeping us racing from one side of our boat to the other to see the action, and leaning over our forward net to talk to them. It was a thoroughly joyful experience that set the tone for our whole trip. We will always remember it. This is the way for humans to experience wild creatures, be they grizzly bears or dolphins or orcas -- Êin the wild. With all of our vast technology, we can also see and almost (but not quite!) experience the beauty of these creatures via video documentaries, which are readily available in libraries, video stores and educational institutions. To confine a wild creature like the Pacific white-sided dolphin, which is used to the wide-open spaces of the sea, in a tank is an unbearable and unconscionable wrong. Tonnae Hennigan Vancouver ============================ http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2001/8/5/world/0542whal & sec=w orld Sunday, August 5, 2001 S.Africa to uphold ban on whale hunting JOHANNESBURG: Conservationists have warned that the 15-year-old international ban on whale hunting could be overturned within a few years. However, South Africa has no plans to support efforts to overturn the ban, according to Herman Oosthuizen from Marine and Coastal Management, which falls under the Department of Environmental Affairs. " South Africa is standing as a non-consumptive country and will not participate, " he said, adding that the country would definitely back the International Fund for Animal Welfare's (IFAW) cry for help to save the whales. The IFAW says Japan has started lobbying for a reduction in the level of protection afforded to whales at an annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in London, UK last week. The meeting closed with fears that a vote buying policy initiated by the Tokyo government was close to securing majority support for a resumption of full-scale commercial whaling. Head of the Japanese Fisheries Agency Maseyuku Komatsu admitted that Tokyo granted overseas aid to small nations in return for support in the IWC. With suggestions that Tokyo might recruit as many as ten more nations in the coming months, it is likely that Japan will command majority support when it hosts the IWC next year. " Within a few short years, Japan could have the three-quarters support necessary to overturn the ban, " the IFAW said. The IWAF, the world's largest animal welfare organisation, said it believed that next year's meeting could see the beginning of the unraveling of global whale protection agreements.--SNNi/Bua News ============================ Ships May Have to Skip Glacier Bay Story Filed: Sunday, August 04, 2001 11:05 PM EDT ANCHORAGE (AP) -- Thousands of cruise ship passengers who booked vacations to Glacier Bay National Park this summer may have to bypass the bay or reschedule their trips because of a federal judge's order that fewer ships visit. The ruling by U.S. District Judge James K. Singleton on Friday could affect up to 32 of the 42 cruise ships still scheduled to visit the popular Southeast Alaska destination this season. Each ship carries about 1,500 passengers. ``We know there's going to be some effect. We don't know how much of an effect there is going to be,'' said National Park Service spokesman John Quinley. He said as few as 10 or as many as 32 ships could be banned from the bay this year. John Hansen, executive director of the NorthWest CruiseShip Association, said he wanted to know more about the judge's decision before commenting. Glacier Bay National Park is a popular destination for Alaska cruise ships because of its majestic fjords and glaciers. About 350,000 cruise passengers visit the park each year, Quinley said, most touring the scenic waters for a half day before steaming on. Friday's injunction stems from a 1997 lawsuit brought by the National Parks Conservation Association, which argued that the Park Service should have done a full-scale environmental review before increasing the number of cruise ships allowed into Glacier Bay. The group says increased big-vessel traffic in the bay heightens the risk of spills and air pollution, and of possible collisions and other harm to endangered humpback whales. A whale was recently found dead from head injuries near the entrance to the park, and park officials suspect a ship ran into it. Until 1996, the number of cruise ships was limited to 107 during the peak months of June, July and August. In 1997, park managers boosted the limit to 139 ships. The Park Service based that decision on an environmental assessment, not a more rigorous environmental impact statement. In February, a federal appeals court ruled that the 1997 decision violated the law and ordered the Park Service to lower the number of ships to 107 until it completed the impact statement. The court left it to Singleton to decide when the reduction should be made. 2001 Associated Press Information Services, ============================ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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