Sariah Porter

Everyone knows that there are endangered species, but did you know there is a certain marine species that increases the number of fish in the sea, eases climate change, feeds billions of marine animals, generates billions of dollars in revenue globally, plays a vital role in the marine ecosystem, and helps capture carbon? Those species are whales, and they are actively being hunted in countries like Japan, Norway, and Iceland.  Three important reasons why we need to urgently save these special species is because of the decline in the marine ecosystem, the decline in the economy, and the inhumane, cruel, unethical way of killing. 

My first point is that the overhunting of whales has caused a negative change in deep sea biodiversity, and even though there’s been a decline in whaling since the 20th century, commercial whaling still poses a problem today. Whales play an important role in the marine ecosystem where they provide at least half of the oxygen you breathe! Combat climate change, and sustain fish stocks. Each great whale sequesters an estimated 33 tons of CO2 on average, thus playing their part against climate change. Their poop also plays a similar role. Whale poop helps plankton in the ocean grow. Plankton helps capture carbon in the atmosphere as well. Additionally, whales also provide a balance to the ocean’s ecosystem, regulating food supply and keeping a check on the overpopulation of prey. Put simply, we need more whales in the ocean to help the world. The more whales there are, the healthier the oceans will be and the less carbon dioxide there will be in the atmosphere. 

My second point is that whale watching tourism is a major source of income for many nations. Tourism and associated economic activity may suffer if whale populations decline as a result of whaling because fewer visitors will have the chance to see these amazing animals in their natural habitats. Whales are immensely vital to developing countries' economies, thanks to whale watching. Whale watching provides millions, if not billions, of cash into these economies, which can subsequently be reinvested to aid with infrastructure development and whale protection. Furthermore, whale watching allows people to learn about the importance and beauty of whales, which increases support for protection and legal regulation. Whale watching generated over $2 billion in income worldwide in 2012, supporting around 13,000 jobs, such money vastly exceeds the value of whale meat, blubber, or other commercially sold products, proving the simple fact that a live whale is far more valuable than a dead one. 

We all know that whales are the largest creatures on the entire planet, but did you also know that they are one of the most intelligent and sensitive species, yet the way they are being killed is unethical, illegal, and inhumane? Previously harpooned whales would become fatigued in attempting to extricate themselves from the harpoon, allowing hunters to approach more closely and fatally knife the whale. Today's whaling operations employ mechanically shot explosive harpoons, though research indicates that this does not necessarily result in a faster or less painful death for the animals. According to Norwegian research, whales can die from this procedure in up to 25 minutes. 

Whales today live in damaged waters, with diminished and fractured populations, and face an attack of human hazards. Given all of this, we must approach any notion of recovery' with utmost caution. Commercial whaling is the one human hazard to whales that we can and should simply abandon. The world's remaining whale populations already face enough challenges, so let's get back to talking about whale conservation, and help save the whales for the safety of humanity!