Dolphin. © Getty Images Dalls Porpoise hunt, Japan, 1999 Pilot Whale hunt, Faroe Islands, 1986

If you thought the whale had been saved - think again. Cetaceans - whales, dolphins and porpoises - need greater protection than ever, not only from the hunters, but also from the destruction of their environment.

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) originally agreed the moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982 on the basis of uncertainty about whale numbers and their ability to withstand any further depletion through hunting. Since that time substantial new scientific evidence has emerged demonstrating the severe degradation of our marine ecosystems. The survival of whales and dolphins is now threatened by the combined onslaught of pollution, over-fishing, accidental catches and ship strikes, global climate change, ozone depletion and a host of other human-induced problems in addition to continued threats from hunting.

For some time now the IWC has recognised that cetaceans face numerous direct and indirect threats as a result of human activities. Yet Japan and Norway are aggressively advocating the resumption of full-scale commercial whale hunting and international trade in whale products. Commercial whaling serves no pressing human need – either economic or nutritional or cultural – and methods to kill whales are unacceptably inhumane.

Against this background, the IWC has been developing a Revised Management Scheme (RMS), a scheme that would attempt to manage commercial whaling, if it resumed under the IWC. EIA is opposed to the completion and adoption of the RMS and is seeking an immediate suspension of current commercial whaling operations by Japan and Norway. We strongly advocate the development and progression of the IWC into a conservation regime that is able to meet the daunting challenges facing all cetaceans at the start of the 21st century.

While implementation of the moratorium on commercial whaling by the IWC in 1986 gave a much-needed respite for the great whales that had been decimated by commercial whaling, around 70 species of dolphin, porpoise and whale remained unprotected by international law (these species are often referred to as ‘small cetaceans’). In Japan, the cessation of large whale hunting was used as an excuse to massively increase the hunt for unprotected cetaceans in their coastal waters. In 1988, shortly after the moratorium, the Japanese hand-harpoon catch of Dall’s porpoise shot up to over 40,000, wiping out an estimated 67% of the entire Japanese population in just three years. EIA has long been at the forefront of the fight to gain greater protection for small cetaceans around the world. Japanese fishermen continue to kill an estimated 20,000 small cetaceans each year in poorly regulated and unsustainable coastal hunts. EIA’s campaign seeks to document and publicise these hunts, to reduce demand for cetacean products within Japan, and to put domestic and international pressure on the Government of Japan to better protect small cetaceans in its coastal waters.

Over the past 25 years, the battle to save the whales and dolphins has symbolised the dawning of a more environmentally conscious age with the determination to fight against those intent on destroying our natural world for short-term profit. EIA’s aim is to ensure the safety and survival of all the world’s remaining whales, dolphins and porpoises.

Latest from the Cetaceans Campaign:

Press Release: 13 Oct 08
ENVIRONMENTAL crime is 'a threat to our future.'

4 Sep 08
GLOBAL demos against Japan's secret dolphin hunts.

Campaign Update: 23 Jun 08
READ our blog from the International Whaling Commission.

MORE CETACEANS CAMPAIGN NEWS >>

Also see:

WHAT CAN I DO?
Cetaceans Campaign actions

REPORTS & BRIEFINGS
Publication produced by EIA as part of the Cetaceans Campaign

FURTHER INFORMATION
Background details and supplementary campaign information.