hand, Australian whalers pursued whales in Antarctic waters. On the other, in
Western Australia, shore-station whaling was conducted by French and American
(Yankee) whalers. In the south of Western Australia, in Geographe Bay, the Castle
Bay Whaling Station, which operated between 1845 and 1872, is directly related to
the foundation of the town of Dunsborough. After all, Geographe Bay is a region
from which whales can still be seen from land (see Fig. 3.4).
Australia’s own experience with whaling and the detrimental effects of other
commercial whaling on whale populations have made the country a leading country
against any form of commercial whaling. It even went so far as to trigger legal
proceedings against Japan before the International Court of Justice due to Japan’s
whaling activities in the Antarctic (see Sect. 5.3.5). This being said, Australia has, at
least to my knowledge, not opposed marine mammal hunts per se. For example, it
has always supported aboriginal whaling while the culling of seals in Tasmania due
to their effects on the fisheries sector are considered. Nevertheless, Australia has
often clashed with other nations, for example within the IWC, for its rigid stance
against commercial whaling.
One outspoken pro-whaling country is St Vincent & the Grenadines, where also
aboriginal whaling of a handful of whales per year is conducted. This whaling takes
place on the island of Bequia and is a direct result of the lack of agricultural yield to
feed the approximately 5000 inhabitants. St Vincent & the Grenadines joined the
IWC in 1981. Since Bequia whaling predominantly focuses on humpback whales,
the adoption of the moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982, also affected this
whale hunt. It was only in 2013 that a quota of 4 humpbacks was assigned under the
Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling scheme. Since only traditional technologies such as
hand harpoons and open boats can be used to hunt these whales, the quota is hardly
ever met. Apart from humpbacks, small cetaceans such as orcas or dolphins are also
hunted in St Vincent & the Grenadines. When whales were plentiful in the waters
around Bequia, at its peak in the late nineteenth century, five whaling stations were
operated by Americans and Europeans. Especially Yankee whaling for baleen
whales embossed the hunting operations in Bequia. Still, the traditionality of Bequia
whaling was accepted by the IWC and does not seem to be contested by Commission
members.
3.3
The Commercial and Non-commercial Use of Marine
Mammals
The discussion above has shown that there are essentially two motivations for
hunting marine mammals: as a commercial commodity and as a means to fulfil
immediate dietary and other needs (subsistence). In the past, marine mammals were
considered a commercial commodity. This perception resulted in unsustainable
hunts that resulted in population declines and that has shaped the common narrative
of environmental degradation and cruelty. Questions remain, however, how ‘commerce’ and ‘subsistence’ are actually defined and in how far these are shaped by
idealisations, demonisations and simplified understandings of hunts of the past.
50
3 Marine Mammals and Humans
Western Australia, shore-station whaling was conducted by French and American
(Yankee) whalers. In the south of Western Australia, in Geographe Bay, the Castle
Bay Whaling Station, which operated between 1845 and 1872, is directly related to
the foundation of the town of Dunsborough. After all, Geographe Bay is a region
from which whales can still be seen from land (see Fig. 3.4).
Australia’s own experience with whaling and the detrimental effects of other
commercial whaling on whale populations have made the country a leading country
against any form of commercial whaling. It even went so far as to trigger legal
proceedings against Japan before the International Court of Justice due to Japan’s
whaling activities in the Antarctic (see Sect. 5.3.5). This being said, Australia has, at
least to my knowledge, not opposed marine mammal hunts per se. For example, it
has always supported aboriginal whaling while the culling of seals in Tasmania due
to their effects on the fisheries sector are considered. Nevertheless, Australia has
often clashed with other nations, for example within the IWC, for its rigid stance
against commercial whaling.
One outspoken pro-whaling country is St Vincent & the Grenadines, where also
aboriginal whaling of a handful of whales per year is conducted. This whaling takes
place on the island of Bequia and is a direct result of the lack of agricultural yield to
feed the approximately 5000 inhabitants. St Vincent & the Grenadines joined the
IWC in 1981. Since Bequia whaling predominantly focuses on humpback whales,
the adoption of the moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982, also affected this
whale hunt. It was only in 2013 that a quota of 4 humpbacks was assigned under the
Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling scheme. Since only traditional technologies such as
hand harpoons and open boats can be used to hunt these whales, the quota is hardly
ever met. Apart from humpbacks, small cetaceans such as orcas or dolphins are also
hunted in St Vincent & the Grenadines. When whales were plentiful in the waters
around Bequia, at its peak in the late nineteenth century, five whaling stations were
operated by Americans and Europeans. Especially Yankee whaling for baleen
whales embossed the hunting operations in Bequia. Still, the traditionality of Bequia
whaling was accepted by the IWC and does not seem to be contested by Commission
members.
3.3
The Commercial and Non-commercial Use of Marine
Mammals
The discussion above has shown that there are essentially two motivations for
hunting marine mammals: as a commercial commodity and as a means to fulfil
immediate dietary and other needs (subsistence). In the past, marine mammals were
considered a commercial commodity. This perception resulted in unsustainable
hunts that resulted in population declines and that has shaped the common narrative
of environmental degradation and cruelty. Questions remain, however, how ‘commerce’ and ‘subsistence’ are actually defined and in how far these are shaped by
idealisations, demonisations and simplified understandings of hunts of the past.
50
3 Marine Mammals and Humans