Celebrating whales

By Selena Randall

This week the UN International Court of Justice ruled that Japan must cease it’s ‘Scientific Whaling’ program in the Southern Ocean off Antarctica. Since 2005 Japan has used a loophole in the international moratorium on whaling to continue killing them under the auspices of ‘biological research’. Their lack of publications from this so called research showed the program for what it truly was. They sold the meat to fund the program, which they said was necessary to understand the impact of whales on fish stocks.

I know what you are thinking – why should I be interested in whales? I live in Manitoba, about as far from the coast as you can get?

With 70% of our Earth covered by water, oceans and what live in them are important to the health of the planet. Every living creature in the oceans is a critical part in the lifecycle, and removing large numbers of any part of it is a risky business. Canada can’t forget the collapse of the Cod industry due to over-fishing, and the impact that had on Atlantic communities.

Whales play an important part in making our oceans effective carbon sinks. Whale faeces drive the cycle of plant life in the ocean. Floating plants (a group called phytoplankton) are stimulated by the presence of the iron and nutrients in whale faeces, and as they grow they draw carbon from the air. Studies on Southern Ocean sperm whales suggest they contribute to as much as 400,000 tonnes of carbon sequestration each year – about as much as is produced by 40,000 cars each year.

Healthy phytoplankton help support fish, small fish are food for larger fish, or dolphins, or seals, or whales perhaps. Although it may come as a surprise to some that the largest whale, the Blue Whale feeds on krill (shrimp).

Without whales, the phytoplankton can’t support the small fish, which won’t support the big fish and mammals, and there is less, more expensive fish in the stores.

The majority of the fish you buy from the grocery store come from the oceans. Many of the fish you can find there come from dwindling stocks – tuna, halibut, cod, skate, swordfish, Chilean sea bass, Atlantic scallops to list a few. Quotas and restrictions on the types of equipment that can be used to catch fish have done little. Extra fish caught beyond a boat’s quota get tipped back, species caught unintentionally in nets drown. We are part of this cycle through the choices we make at the grocery store.

So today, I encourage you to celebrate the whales, and their role in reducing our carbon emissions from our houses and cars. And I encourage you to think about your fish choices next time you shop.

To check out the best sustainable choices see www.seachoice.org, or support our local fishermen fishing from 300 lakes across Manitoba say through Gimli fish (check out www.gimlifish.com ). Fish to try include pickerel (walleye), sauger, Lake whitefish, Northern Pike, Goldeye, Lake trout. Even better is to catch your own of course – fresh, frozen or smoked you can’t beat it.