Well we never, A former Labour PM and a man of letters Geoffrey Palmer realises that you have to break a few eggs to make an omlette - even in diplomatic circles.
We have always believed that the solution to the percieved problem of Whaling would be found in a diplomatic solution that would see both sides give some ground. Court would be crap. The only winners would be the lawyers.
We think that allowing whaling on a commercial basis but deminishing over time is a good solution. About 30 years would be good.
Some points to remember...
Point 1 - the Japanese have a legal right to go whaling
Point 2 - the Japanese are indigenous whale hunters
Point 3 - many of the whale species can be harvested sustainably.
Point 4 - Westerners see Whales as the sacred cows of the sea.
Point 5 - some species that the Japanese harvest may benefit from a harvest moritorium
Point 6 - We like trading with the Japanese
Point 7 - The whales would be the ultimate beneficiaries of a solution.
So we reckon that Sir Geoffrey needs another knighthood if he can pull this off.
Go the whalers!
Note the picture is of bowhead whale harvest in Alaska.. Where it is legal and politicians there support the indigenous harvest.
UPDATE :
And a very rational point of view from economist Brent Wheeler - Here
And NOT PC has a question about prioritisation of endangered species here
Posts
3 comments:
I am surprised to hear that it is illegal to harvest whales in Alaska. I visited Barrow, Alaska (pop. about 4500) about eight years ago, at the time that there was a worldwide moratorium on whaling, brought about by the Japanese who claimed that if they could not take whales, then no one else should either. The local Inupiat, natives of the area, were perplexed by this state of affairs, as they are a truly subsistence living race of people. Barrow, which is the northernmost settlement on the American continent and 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle, can only be reached by air, by sea for a very short window of opportunity, or on foot across the tundra. It is a very long way from anywhere else in Alaska, and there are no roads in. Before air transport, the Inupiats lived solely on caribou, polar bear,seals,fish (none in plentiful supply), and bow head whales, which swim past Barrow in that same brief window that a handful of ships now use. To deny the Inupiats this vital food source is ridiculous in the extreme. If it is illegal to take whales (and here we are talking low single figures), then it is a very sensible and compassionate Government which chooses to look the other way. The winters in Barrow are very long and food storage critical.
kurt
thanks anon - it was a typo
"Point 2 - The Japanese are indigenous whale hunters."
I had no idea the Japanese are indigenous to the Sub-Antarctic.
Post a Comment