TROUBLED WATERS - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

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8 Weather, sea condition and ship motions affecting accuracy in whaling Dr D.W. van Liere, CABWIM consultancy, Gansmesschen 33, 9403 XR Assen, Netherlands, dvanliere@cabwim.com Introduction The dimensions of exploding penthrite harpoons are such (Kestin 1995), that a harpoon shot into or through the body of a whale results in a wound at least 20 centimetres wide. This size triples when the harpoon barbs become extended and anchor the harpoon inside the body. Massive injury is caused when the penthrite grenade, fitted to the harpoon, detonates 60-70 centemetres inside the body (Knudsen and Øen 2003). A whale that is shot with such equipment will, therefore, be significantly injured and will suffer, if it remains conscious. The whale is then hauled towards the vessel, using the forerunner rope, which is attached to the harpoon. Thus, in addition to the injury, the restrained whale will be disabled and unable to control, predict or flee from the life threatening circumstances it faces. Loss of ability to predict and control are key psychological factors in evoking severe and pathological levels of stress in vertebrates (Weiss 1972; Wiepkema and Koolhaas, 1993). The efficiency of whale killing methods is evaluated by the IWC, primarily by measuring the time to death (TTD) according to the current IWC criteria (chapter 11). Gunners are advised to aim for the upper thorax of the minke whale. This is because it is assumed that a hit here renders the animal rapidly unconscious or immediately dead (Anon 1999, Knudsen and Øen 2003). According to Norwegian whalers, the latter is defined as dead within ten seconds after being hit by a harpoon (Øen 2003). Nevertheless, a significant proportion of harpoons are shot at other parts of the body (Knudsen and Øen 2003). The question of whether or not the animal is indeed brain dead or irreversibly and deeply unconscious is outside the scope of this chapter. While this uncertainty remains unresolved (chapter 11), Norway reports that 20 per cent of the minke whales that it takes are not killed instantaneously (Øen 2003). During the 2002 hunt this equated to 127 whales (of 634 whales caught). The figures are systematically higher in the Japanese hunt for Antarctic minke whales. During the 2002/2003 season, 60 per cent of the 440 minke whales killed, were not killed instantaneously (Ishikawa 2003). This equated to 264 whales. These poor instantaneous death rates occur despite technical adjustments to the harpoon and penthrite grenade (chapter 6) and the development of a training programme for the gunners over the past 20 years. The current high proportion of animals which are not killed instantaneously, and the systematic differences between Norwegian and Japanese whaling, even following 20 years of weapon research and training, indicate that the accuracy of the gunner may be significantly influenced by other major factors. Commercial and special permit whaling activities typically use a harpoon canon, mounted relatively high above the bow. The height from the cannon above sea level is at the least 6.5 metres in Japanese vessels (estimated on the basis of photos and unchallenged in Anon 2003) and four to six metres in Norwegian whaling (Øen 1992). The more vigorous and frequent the movement of a ship, the more WEATHER, SEA CONDITION AND SHIP MOTIONS AFFECTING ACCURACY IN WHALING 63
64 A REVIEW OF THE WELFARE IMPLICATIONS OF MODERN WHALING ACTIVITIES difficult it will be to hold and aim the harpoon. Accuracy will also directly depend on visibility. Precipitation and fog reduce visibility, while a rough sea hampers the ability of the gunner to see through the water and follow the course of the animal below the surface (Anon 2000). Thus in conditions of poor visibility the gunner may not be able to properly recognise and predict the position of the animal and its surfacing pattern, for an accurate shot. Weather and sea condition are major impediments to killing a whale instantaneously. This has repeatedly been stated by Japanese delegates to the IWC (Anon 1999,Anon 2001) and accepted in IWC resolution 2001-2. It is, therefore, pertinent that details relating to the circumstances of these hunts are systematically not included in the discussions about the way in which whales are killed. Furthermore, there is no analysis or any discussion regarding the relationship between the external variables, such as weather conditions, and the number of animals that are not killed instantaneously. This paper provides details about the weather and sea conditions under which Japanese whaling takes place. A first and preliminary insight is also provided of the motion on board a whale catching vessel. The research area in an Antarctic whaling ground The area considered in this chapter is limited to an Antarctic region called area V of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. This area includes the sea north of the Ross Sea. Its latitude is between 80° S and 60° S, while the longitude limits are between 130° E and 170° W. This includes areas where Japanese whaling took place, at least between 1946 and 1984 (Mierzejewska et al. 1997). Mierzejewska et al. (1997) show for these years that Japanese whaling vessels have been present in the area between 60°S and 70°S in the period from November to March. According to several Japanese sources, minke whale capture operations also took place in area V and in and close to the Ross Sea area between 1988 and 2001 (Anon 1991; Kojima 1993; Nishiwaki et al. 1995; Nishiwaki et al. 1997 and Anon 2001). These sources also indicate that whale catching can take place south of 60° S in March. Air temperature, probability of precipitation and fog, wind speed, wave height and wave period have been analysed for this sea area to provide averages for each month of the year, based on multi-year databases. Most data are from the Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (COADS), which primarily uses ship observations. Temperature data are recorded at Scott Island, a small, central island at 67.37° S and 179.97° W, by the weather station of the US National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programmes. In addition, descriptive statistics about wave features have been kindly provided by Oceanweather Inc. Details of the data sets and the analysis can be found in Van Liere (2003). The temperature at Scott Island The low temperatures at Scott Island are severe and vary between an average of 0.1° C in January (Antarctic summer) and -15.0° C in August (Antarctic winter). Ocean water with a salinity of 35gr per litre of water would freeze on deck at -1.9 ° C. That means that during most of the year, frost may hamper equipment, icy decks may become slippery and work on deck may be made difficult by the need to wear thick, insulating clothing. Stability and the speed of response of the gunner may, therefore, be affected by these factors. It is not clear how current Japanese operations deal with such problems. March (with an average of -2.3 °C) and November (average -5.3 °C) are likely to produce the most temperature-related difficulties during whaling operations in this area. Precipitation and fog in the researched area The chance of precipitation increases between January and April from 21 to 31 per cent, while the
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Appendix II Colour plates ©Mark Vo
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Figure 13. Processing minke whales
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