sound has a range of adverse effects on marine life, from injury and mortality to behavioral effects, some of which

may occur at the population level. Effects are not yet fully understood, but are known to include strandings of marine mammals and reduced catch rates of commercial fish. There has been remarkable international activity on this issue in the past several years, with major intergovernmental bodies including the European Parliament, the UN General Assembly, the World Conservation Union, and the International Whaling Commissionrecognizing the threat posed by ocean noise and issuing calls to action and recommendations to help protect marine life from its harmful effects. Habitat Changes: There is little doubt that the worlds climate is changing. These changes are being seen most dramatically in the polar regions, where ice is receding at an alarming rate. As our planet heats and the ice caps melt, human and animal habitats and lives change forever. Polar bears, predicted to be one of the first casualties, will be followed by whales and other marine animals as seas heat, migration routes change and prey species disappear. The effects of climate change are potentially irreversible, but they can be slowed and even halted through human actions. The worlds cetaceans can be saved, but we must continue to take action. Unless there is a sustained will to protect cetaceans and their habitats, the marine ecosystem will collapse.

Please write pro-whaling countries to tell them that you oppose whaling because it is cruel, and that populations have not yet recovered from the days of mass slaughter. In addition, the meat can be highly toxic to consumers. Urge Japan to stop sanctioning the capture and slaughter of tens of thousands of dolphins and porpoises each year. Tell the countries that your respect for them is diminished because of their support of whaling. US Ambassador, Japanese Embassy 2520 Massachusetts Avenue N.W., Washington, DC 20008 US Ambassador, Royal Norwegian Embassy 2720 34th Street N.W., Washington, DC 20008 US Ambassador, Embassy of Iceland 1156 15th Street N.W., Suite 1200, Washington DC 20005 Also write to the US Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service to remind him that whales and dolphins serve as the barometer of the oceans, and healthy marine ecosystems are vital for the survival of the planet. Director, National Marine Fisheries Service 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

wHaLES & DOLPHINS

ANIMaL WELFaRE INSTITUTE

AWI

The Animal Welfare Institute is a nonprofit organization founded in 1951 to reduce the sum total of pain and fear inflicted on animals by humans. We seek to end the commercial exploitation and slaughter of marine mammals, as well as mitigate other anthropogenic threats to their survival.
For over three decades, our Save the Whales campaign has been symbolized by Flo the whale.

ABOUT US

Jeff Pantukoff

Animal Welfare Institute

Printed with Envirotech ink on recycled paper
cover: Flip Nicklen

Tens of thousands of common dolphins living in tropical and warm-temperate waters are incidentally killed each year in fisheries operations, especially from the destructive practices of purse seine fishing and trawling.

P.O. Box 3650, Washington, DC 20027 (703) 836-4300; fax: (703) 836-0400; www.awionline.org

wHaLES & DOLPHINS

ANIMaL WELFaRE INSTITUTE

A HEROIC BATTLE TO SAVE THE WHALES

Many of us had our first brush with activism as children, writing letters to save the whales facing extermination through uncontrolled whaling. In 1970, US Secretary of the Interior Walter Hickel placed the sperm whale and seven other great whales on the Endangered Species List. A year later, Rogers MortonHickels successorcalled for a moratorium on commercial whaling, prophetically stating that the United States should provide leadership to preserve the whale as a vital part of the marine ecosystem. At the first International Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm, Sweden in 1972, the United States proposed Secretary Mortons moratorium and won the vote by 53 to 0, with Japan and 11 other nations abstaining. The Save the Whales movement, led by the Animal Welfare Institute, was born. The renowned campaign quickly succeeded in alerting the public to the plight of the whales and the brutality of the killing methods. In 1986, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) instituted a global moratorium on commercial whaling. IWC member nations Japan and Norway led the opposition to the ban, and both continue their intransigence. Norway filed an objection to the moratorium and continues to regularly hunt over

500 whales a year for commercial purposes, including minke whales, the smallest of the larger great whales, who were passed over as not worth catching when other great whales were available. Japan has killed over 10 thousand minke, Brydes, fin, sei and sperm whales in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary and elsewhere, using a loophole in the IWC treaty that allows for self-allocation of lethal scientific research whaling quotas. Iceland started such special permit whaling after the moratorium came into effect and then left the Commission in 1992 to whale without oversight. Since 1986, a total of over 25,000 whales have been killed by these countries. In 2002, Iceland illegally rejoined the IWC and lodged an objection to the moratorium, similar to Norways. Since then, it has conducted research and commercial whaling, killing thousands of minke whalesand more recently, fin whales as well. Domestically, Norway and Iceland face a dwindling demand for whale meat and are looking to Japan for a market. All three countries are pressuring the Commission to overturn the ban. In addition, they are asking the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to overturn its ban on the international trade in whale meat, in place because of the moratorium. The great whales are not the only animals targeted by whalers. Each year, tens of thousands of dolphins and other small cetaceans are deliberately hunted in Japan and elsewhere. Some are driven to shore using noise. Once confined, a select few are chosen for sale to the aquaria industry. The rest are butchered for sale as meat (though they are often contaminated with pollutants such as mercury) or for use in pet food and fertilizer.

The trade in live dolphins is lucrative and the demand is perpetuating the practice. Additionally, cetaceans face tremendous pressure from myriad human-caused threats, including irresponsible fishing practices (such as overfishing of prey species and bycatch in fishing gear), ship strikes, underwater noise, and habitat loss due to climate change. Irresponsible Fishing Practices: Many global fish populations are in steep decline because of overfishing, which not only threatens the future survival of targeted fish species, but also wreaks havoc on entire ecosystems and those who depend on them for survival. Tens of thousands of cetaceans also die every year as bycatch, whereby animals are incidentally caught and killed by fishing gear. Ship Strikes: Intercontinental marine transportation has become easier and more prolific in the past halfcentury. The consequential increase in the number, size and speed of vessels plying our oceans has a direct correlation with the increase in ship strikes of marine mammals. Ship strikes are the number one threat to the survival of the North Atlantic right whale, of which there are estimated to be only 300 individuals left. Steps to reduce this threat are now being taken, though the animals ultimate survival remains uncertain. Underwater Noise: Man-made underwater noise is increasing exponentially, caused by sources such as shipping, oil and gas exploration, scientific research, and military sonar activities. Intense underwater

Picture courtesy Australian Customs

Antonio Jess Fernndez Rodrguez

Robert Pitman

The use of mid-frequency active sonar took off in the early 1960s, fueling an increase in noise-related stranding events. This Cuviers beaked whale stranded and died after a January 2006 naval exercise in Southern Spain.

In 2008, the Australian Government released this image of minke whales being hauled aboard a Japanese whaling ship, stating they were mother and calf. The Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research rebuffed the claim as emotional propaganda.

In Japan, cetaceans are driven into shallow bays to be butchered for meat and fertilizer. Some are hand-picked for sale to the aquaria industry, dramatically increasing the money to be made from the deadly dolphin roundup.