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From: Kate Wing <[log in to unmask]>
Marine Mammals
{Captive Orcas Die. In mid-June 1997, two of the 5 orcas
captured off Taiji, Japan, on Feb. 7, 1997, died in captivity.
On June 14, 1997, the youngest male orca captured died at Nanki
Shirahama Adventure World. On June 17, 1997, a female orca at
the same facility died; this whale was pregnant when captured,
but had a miscarriage in April 1997.} [personal communication]
{Mortality Events. In mid-June 1997, nine dead dolphins washed
ashore on Delaware beaches, many of them newborn animals. Cause
of the mortality could not be immediately determined. BETWEEN
LATE MAY AND MID-JUNE 1997, 17 ADULT HARBOR SEALS HAVE BEEN FOUND
DEAD ON BEACHED IN MARIN COUNTY, CA. THE CAUSE OF DEATH IS
UNDETERMINED.} [Assoc Press]
{Pirate Whaling? In mid-June 1997, NMFS requested an
investigation of reports that as many as 12 sperm whale carcasses
were sighted in the central Atlantic, 200 miles west of the
Azores Islands, with large orange buoys and radar
reflectors/beacons nearby. The Portuguese government is
reportedly sending a naval vessel to investigate. Dead whales
began to be reported by yachts on May 13, 1997, and two possible
whaling vessels operating without lights were reported on May
27-28.} [personal communication]
CITES - Whales. On June 13, 1997, delegates at the meeting of
CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora) Parties in Zimbabwe voted 27-51 by secret
ballot to defeat a Japanese proposal to sever linkage between
CITES and the International Whaling Commission, giving whale
conservation monitoring to CITES exclusively. {On June 16, 1997,
CITES delegates rejected by a 47 to 64 vote a Japanese proposal
to downlist eastern Pacific gray whales. On June 17, 1997, CITES
meeting delegates rejected additional proposals by Japan and
Norway to downlist several minke whale populations and allow
international trade in certain whale products. Norway's request
on minke whales failed on a secret ballot vote of 57-51, not
having achieved the two-thirds majority required. Delegates
voted 45-65 by secret ballot to defeat Japanese proposal on west
Pacific minke whales and voted 53-59 by secret ballot to defeat a
Japanese proposal on south Pacific minke whales. Subsequently,
Japan withdrew a third proposal to downlist Bryde's whales in the
northwest Pacific.} [Reuters, Dow Jones News, Assoc Press]
Hawaiian Whale Sanctuary. June 6, 1997, was the deadline by
which HI Governor Ben Cayetano was to have decided how much, if
any, of a proposed 1,680 square miles of state waters and
submerged lands should be included within the Hawaiian Islands
Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary and managed under its
federal management plan. [Assoc Press]
Norwegian Whaling. On May 26, 1997, a Dutch court rejected Paul
Watson's petition for release on bail at a hearing on his
possible extradition to Norway. The court is to submit its
recommendation concerning the Norwegian petition for extradition
within two weeks. Lofoten Islands police have announced that
legal proceedings in Lofoten County Court are scheduled against
Watson in Norway on Sept. 1, 1997, relating to alleged negligent
navigation and collision with a Norwegian coast guard vessel in
the summer of 1994. Compensation for damages of $120,000 with
possible interest is sought by the Norwegian Navy for this
collision. On May 28, 1997, the Norwegian Directorate for Nature
Management wrote a letter to the CITES Secretariat stating that
Norway will establish a DNA register for whales to better
identify whalemeat from whales taken under proclaimed Norwegian
quotas, as an addendum to Norway's proposal to downlist 2 minke
whale stocks. On June 9, 1997, a Dutch court decided not to
grant Norway's request for extradition of Paul Watson; Watson was
subsequently released. On June 11, 1997, Oslo district court
rejected whalers' arguments in a lawsuit against the Norwegian
government, and ruled that the government had the right to stop
whaling from 1988 to 1992. [Assoc Press, High North Alliance
News, Dow Jones News, personal communication]
Atlantic Large Whale Protection. In late May 1997, U.S.
District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock ruled that federal
agencies were making sufficient progress through proposed
regulations to address citizen concerns for better protecting
north Atlantic right whales. [Assoc Press]
....
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