Leave the damn whales alone. Yes, all of them.
Genetic material from a large whale killed off the coast of Iceland has confirmed the creature was a rare hybrid. Campaigners had been concerned that the slaughtered animal was a protected blue whale, the largest species on the planet. Now DNA has shown it to be the offspring of a blue and a fin whale, as the whaling company had claimed. Researchers say these hybrids are rare and trading their meat is illegal.
While there is an international moratorium on killing all whales, Iceland doesn't agree that fin whales are threatened and gives permits for their hunting. Hybrids between fin and blue whales are a grey area, say specialists.
Iceland sells almost all of its whale meat to Japan; one of a handful of countries that reject the international consensus to protect whales. Now that this whale has been confirmed as a hybrid it means the meat can't be legally shipped anywhere. Under the international regulations that govern animal trading, it is the protected status of the hybrid parents that matter - so as it has blue whale parentage, the Japanese market would be closed to it. As this whale has been shown to be a hybrid, it is likely there won't be major repercussions for the whalers.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44809115
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"Hybrids between fin and blue whales are a grey area"
ReplyDeleterimshot.
I wonder what the genetic diversity of blue and fin whales is like these days. I fear they might be in a similar situation to cheetahs: vulnerable to extinction from single vectors.
It's a tragedy all round.
ReplyDeleteNot deliberately killing them? What do you call seismic blasting along their migration routes?
ReplyDelete