The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation recently found that 35 per cent of 200 major fisheries are over fished and 25 per cent are fishing to their limit.
There is no conclusive evidence showing whales are impacting on fishery yields. Most whale populations are today a small fraction of their pre-exploitation levels, due to unregulated whaling over the past 200 years.
Orcas
The argument that these comparatively small whale populations could impact on today’s fish resources can be dismissed. There are far more effective way to increase world fish stocks than by killing whales, such as by ensuring that fishing levels are sustainable, increasing age at first capture, increasing net mesh sizes and restricting access to areas important to young fish.
An effective method to give further protection to the whales is the creation of sanctuaries - areas where whaling is forbidden not just temporarily, but for the indefinite future and the benign study and conservation of whales is encouraged.
The Southern Ocean Sanctuary (SOS), established in 1994 by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) covers all waters surrounding Antarctica and protects three-quarters of the world's whales in their feeding grounds. The SOS protects depleted populations of Blue, Fin, Sei and Humpback whales and also protects the world's only large population of great whales which has not been seriously depleted by whaling - the Antarctic Minkes.
Other sanctuaries are currently being planned which would complement the SOS by giving permanent protection to the whales' breeding grounds and migratory routes thus giving the Antarctic whales full protection throughout their life cycle.
Whales & Whaling
