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California Blue Whales Rebound From Whaling

Posted by Soulskill on from the now-plotting-revenge dept.

vinces99 writes: The number of California blue whales has rebounded to near historical levels, according to new research (abstract) by the University of Washington, and while the number of blue whales struck by ships is likely above allowable U.S. limits, such strikes do not immediately threaten that recovery. This is the only population of blue whales known to have recovered from whaling – blue whales as a species having been hunted nearly to extinction. Blue whales – nearly 100 feet in length and weighing 190 tons as adults – are the largest animals on Earth and the heaviest ever, weighing more than twice as much as the largest known dinosaur, the Argentinosaurus. They are an icon of the conservation movement and many people want to minimize harm to them, according to Trevor Branch, UW assistant professor of aquatic and fishery sciences. California blue whales, most visible while feeding 20 to 30 miles off the California coast, range from the equator to the Gulf of Alaska. Today they number about 2,200, according to monitoring by other research groups, which is likely about 97 percent of the historical levels.

4 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. See?! by CaptainLard · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Its totally possible to make changes in human behavior to minimize or reverse destructive impacts on ecosystems. Obviously every scenario will be different but lets keep it up!

    1. Re:See?! by i+kan+reed · · Score: 3, Insightful

      No amount of successes of environmentalism will ever be accepted will ever be accepted by the sorts that think this next measure is clearly unnecessary. In fact, once it works, they'll go back to denying the rather important sciences of the previous ones, if DDT is anything to go by.

      I don't know if it's possible to convince anti-environmental nutbars, but I have every reason to believe some douchebag will show up any second after this post to tell me how "silent spring was propoganda".

    2. Re:See?! by pthisis · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You're comparing raptors and protozoans, there.

      It could easily be true that both eagle populations recovered _and_ thousands of people died of malaria because of DDT restrictions (especially pre-2006, when the WHO endorsed the use of DDT to fight malaria). It could also be true that DDT can save lives by reducing malaria rates and also has a negative impact on fertility in humans and is carcinogenic and potentially carries other health risks.

      It is true that Carson never advocated for banning DDT and that the anti-malarial effects have been overstated by some, but it's probably also true that negative press surrounding DDT caused many deaths (though nowhere near Michael Crichton's "worse than Hitler" assessment).

      --
      rage, rage against the dying of the light
  2. It wasn't environmentalism ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How about someone pointing out that your romantic notion of environmentalism changing American business is bogus.

    American business gave up on whaling for economic reasons, because they could make more dollars elsewhere. Whaling declined in the US due to two major factors. The industrial revolution gave investors and workers more options than going to sea chasing whales, and petrochemical based products replaced whale based products.

    Look at those who are most enthusiastic about whaling today. Its primarily people who think whales are tasty, or one of the few available local foods (very northern latitudes). Americans never developed a real taste for whale, which probably contributed more to the survival of whales species than every environmentalist video put together.

    So while the videos were not necessarily propaganda, many did contain a somewhat accurate portrayal of whaling, they were not terribly important. Americans are not terribly sympathetic about the suffering of animals we think tasty, fortunately for whales we did not develop the taste.