Posted on 07/21/2010 7:49:38 PM PDT by sinanju
"..But the larger question is: Why does anyone bother to hunt whales anymore? The economics of whale hunting are simply dismal. No whaling nation profits from it. Japans annual, much-criticized Antarctic hunt hasnt involved private capital for years. As Leape notes: Japans is a very small industry, employing less than 1,000 people, catching many more whales than they can sell. They try to promote it with school children and free-whale-meat days and its not catching on.
In Norway, although government-subsidized coastal whalers have missed their annual quota nine times in the last decade, blubber stockpiles mount as consumers ignore state-backed ad campaigns for burgers, ham, and pastrami made of whale. The government cut off subsidies that paid for the whalers inspection program, leaving only an electronic system that the IWC deems unacceptable, according to Sink or Swim: The Economics of Whaling today, a 2009 study by the Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society.
That came weeks after Icelands Ministry for Fisheries & Agriculture announced that a report it had commissioned from the University of Icelands Institute of Economic Studies (neither the institute nor the ministry have posted it) said that the economically devastated country could benefit from killing 300 whales annually. Conceding that direct whaling profits were not quantifiable, the study attributed most of the projected gain to $94 million in additional fish that it estimated would be caught if some whales were killed, according to Iceland Review online."
(Excerpt) Read more at thebigmoney.com ...
That whale was swimming around for a while, about 1/2 an hour or so. They were probably watching it. So, it was VERY possible to take that picture.
A musher friend of mine said he carries small vials of seal oil, when he can get it, when he’s out on the trail. He said its tough to swallow, but has lots of calories and is excellent for energy and keeping you warm.
It isn't about whaling. It's about freedom. Can screaming-meemies tell a free person what they can and cannot do with their free time? Your argument can easily be applied to my firearms hobby, my neighbor's animal heart-and-eye collection (yes, I'm not kidding... don't ask), or my friend's ultra-weird (and inefficient, and probably not road-worthy) motor-vehicle "creations". Non-endangered whales have no more protections than any other wild mammal, fish, or bird. Should your misplaced emotional attachment to an entire class/genus/species supercede someone else's emotional enjoyment of hunting/killing/eating them?
I admit I did not read the article but the headline is full of BS. I just, last night, watched a Japanese TV show that airs here in Hawaii and on it some reporters went to a restaurant in Japan where they specialized in whale meat dinners.It showed them cooking it and serving it and people eating it.
The best place in America to see what the whaling life was like is Seaport Village in Mystic Connecticut
And if you want to read a truly harrowing true account read the book "in the heart of the sea"
“...they are big game and trophies for hunters.”
Yeah but it’s hanging ‘em on the wall’s the problem.
I’d try it.
No different than pickled octopus
OK. Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. I'll give up whaling, so long as they also promise to shut down everything you've mentioned, and you can add ALL farm subsidies to the list. The government shouldn't subsidize any industry except in the exceptionally rare instance where it protects or benefits our national security.
I'm fly with moose, salmon and all that - just never had a lot of opportunity to eat a lot of far North delicacies....
Whale humor ping!
>> I bet you could run a diesel engine on whale oil.
Yeah, it sounds like this:
blubberblubberblubberblubberblubberblubberblubberblubberblubberblubberblubber...
Whale meat is the other red meat. Very delicious.
Do enlightened Indian people tell white racists not to kill chickens and cows — or to demand that vegans not harm innocent vegetables and the microbes that live in them? NO! I say: kill the whales. Its just another form of tasty meat.
Why would one use something nasty for food like seal oil when salt pork probably has the same calorie count and actually tastes good.
The Japanese have been eating whale for a long time and don't seem inclined to stop.
Whales are responsible for some very nice homes and communities on Nantucket and elsewhere. They sacrificed a lot for the common good. They've slacked off in recent years however. Time for them to "make a difference" and "give something back" again.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.