Photo:

Trish and Wally Franklin at their home in Byron Bay, Australia. Trish and Wally have studied the humpback whales of Hervey Bay for the past fifteen years. They are the founders of Oceania, a whale conservation and education project.

For the Love of Whales

    By Kelpie Wilson
    t r u t h o u t | Environmental Editor

    Wednesday 30 May 2007

    Once again, in what has become an annual rite, Japan, Iceland and Norway will try, at the meeting of the International Whaling Commission this week, to overturn the international ban on hunting whales, while a global coalition of whale lovers urges governments to stand firm against the move.

    This year the meeting takes place in Anchorage, Alaska, where Japan has introduced a new twist to the debate. Japan is asking the IWC to approve a quota for traditional cultural whaling along its coasts, similar to the quotas in place for traditional subsistence whale hunts in Alaska.

    Japan has also announced that it will be going after a self-administered quota of 50 humpback whales in the Southern Ocean next year. Japan began a program of so-called "scientific" whaling in 1987 after the IWC imposed the ban on commercial whaling. Japan kills around a thousand whales every year under this program, mostly the smaller minke whales.

    Targeting humpback whales is winning Japan no friends. Humpbacks are one of the most charismatic whale species. Known for their enchanting songs and acrobatic displays, they are a whale watcher's delight.

    Australian Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull called Japan's plan to kill humpbacks "needlessly provocative," and warned Japan that its whaling practices have a negative impact on public opinion in Australia.

    New Zealand Conservation Minister Chris Carter said, "World opinion is on the side of conservation, and the vast majority of people on Earth don't want to eat whales; they want to protect them at a time of global climate change. You know, killing whales shouldn't be happening."

   Trish and Wally Franklin run a whale conservation group in Byron Bay, Australia called Oceania. Fifteen years ago, they set out to study the humpback whales of Hervey Bay, a protected inlet on the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. The Franklins spend four months each year with the whales in Hervey Bay. They also run several different educational outreach programs with the goal of protecting the whales.

    I visited the Franklins at their home, and I asked Trish what prompted her to devote so much of her life to whales and dolphins. She said that initially she had been inspired by a story a friend told to her about a mythic journey with dolphins. She said, "I have devoted so much of my life to Cetacea because I cannot envisage a world without them. The planet would suffer one of the greatest losses in all of human history, and would have to live with the weight of the void left in their absence."

    Trish Franklin is not alone in her feelings, as the Franklins have discovered through their years of work with the humpbacks of Hervey Bay.

    One of the interesting things about humpback whales is that their tail flukes have unique markings on them that make it possible to identify individuals. The Franklins helped to start the Humpback Whale Icon project that has encouraged towns and communities on the east coast of Australia to adopt a whale of their own, picking an individual from the Franklins' catalog of images and tracking its history through the couple's annual expeditions.

    Many towns wanted to adopt an unnamed whale so they could name it themselves, Trish said. Before she studied whales, Trish had studied Australia's aboriginal people, and she was pleased that the communities were contacting aboriginal groups in their areas to find a name from their languages. Many of the first people had whale myths or dreamings - even, according to Trish, people who did not live near the coast.

    The Franklins have been amazed at how popular the Icon project has become. Some of the communities have asked their town councils to write to sister cities in Japan to tell them how much the whales mean to them. The Japanese whaling fleet could end up killing a town's adopted whale once the humpbacks leave Hervey Bay on the annual migration to their Antarctic feeding grounds.

    Wally Franklin claims that most Japanese people don't know about the Japanese government's whale-killing program and wouldn't condone it if they did. As for the issue of cultural whaling, while Japan did have a traditional coastal whale hunt at one time, the modern Japanese whaling fleet is fully industrialized. "The Japanese never did pelagic or deep ocean whaling before World War II," he said.

    But in Japan, as in the rest of the world, the culture is changing. Most Japanese don't eat much whale meat any more, and whale watching has become quite popular. Japan makes more money from whale watching tours than it does from selling whale meat. Some former whale hunters have already transitioned to work as whale watching guides.

    According to the Franklins, the real reason why Japan is being so "provocative" about its whaling program has much more to do with larger fisheries issues than with a cultural desire for whale meat. The Japanese government is worried that if they concede on the issue of whales, tuna could be next. The tuna fishery worldwide is in collapse. Tuna stocks have declined by 90 percent over the last 100 years. Out of those remaining stocks, Japan takes about 30 percent of the annual catch. The Japanese have a huge need for marine life because it is part of their staple diet. As fisheries continue to decline, Japan is in a precarious position.

    Wally Franklin said, "Japan has brought its fisheries problem to the table of the International Whaling Commission. They have abused the process. The real issue for Japan is fisheries, and whales are just a red herring - excuse the pun. The Japanese see an advantage in keeping whaling under discussion."

    Love for whales may take different forms in different cultures. An Eskimo hunter may pray to the spirit of the whale he kills to feed his family.

Dolphins Captive

Dolphins in Solomon Island

Dear Prime Minister Mannesah Sogavare:

It has come to my attention that as many as twenty dolphin were recently
captured in the Solomon Islands to export to meet supply and demand for the
epidemic of captive dolphin "amusement" parks popping up around the world.

The Solomon Islands has a ban in place, which prohibits the export of
dolphins from your country. This letter is to implore the Solomon Island
government to uphold the ban on dolphin exports from the Solomon Islands.
Also ask that the government do everything it can to insure the live release
of these captive dolphins back into their ocean home. I am writing as the
president of the advocacy organization "For the Love of Oceans!",  an
experienced sailor and advocate of the Dolphin, a necessary mammal in the
macro ecosystem of our oceans globally.  I look forward to hearing of the
continued support that the Solomon Islands has shown for the preservation of
our oceans, our earth, all mankind as you continue to ban the export of
dolphins from your country.

Fairest of Winds and Love,
Captain Donna Lange
USCG Licensed Captain
President 'For the Love of Oceans' Corps.

Critical Thinking it through

Here is a great bill to start to working with. All about youth safety and grass..  Public Grass!! and keeping it safe for kids to play without being hurt by the effects of pesticides, chemicals that are used to kill unwanted weeds and bugs.  But it is also damaging to young peoples bodies..

How do you feel about pesticides being used in areas where you might be walking or playing sports?

What do you know about Pesticides?

Using key words in Google like 'pesticides and healt risks''pesticides and chemicals effects ' and do some reading  about pesticides and their effects on your health. 

What are alternatives to Pesticides? Google words like Pesticide Alternatives

Do some creative thinking.  What could be some alternative solutions to the problems for which adults use pesticides on grass?

How difficult or easy would it be to adopt a different method of controlling weeds and unwanted bugs, or maybe you think that the bugs and weeds aren't as much a problem as the chemicals.  Give your ideas.

How much would it cost to use a different method of controlling the growth of the grass? 

Consider cost effectiveness including what it costs to deal with the loss of health of children exposed to the chemicals.

When using a source for information, be careful to look at who is giving the advice, the source of the information..as you want to find sources that do not have a commercial bias as they want to sell their own products.

Envision your own ideas for solutions and build a concept you can share with someone.

Introduce yourself in a letter. (examples to follow)

Write a letter, as if you are talking to  someone who you know cares about your concerns.  Site your reasons for concern and what you found in your research that has lent you to have the opinion and vision for the solution you have come to believe is a good solution.

Sign the letter sincerely and email it to donna@donnalange.org, plus mail the original to your representative in the legislature, depending on where you live.. I can help you find that person.. As ths site grows, all that information will be accessible.

You can also send off the letter to your local paper as an editorial as a citizen who is concerned about the upcoming decision to be made.

Share your concerns and ideas with your parents who may also choose to add a letter to reinforce your feelings or their own.

Cut and Paste