Hagar & seyðamark. Drive Fisheries, Capture Results & Information. This page will attempt to compile fisheries data specifially for drive hunt fishing practices. Numbers posted for years 2000-2009 represent official statistics presented yearly in the "Japan Progress Report on Small Cetacean Researches" which can be found at the Japanese Fisheries Agency or in our References & Citations section at the bottom of this page.
Numbers posted for years 2010 to present are not official statistics but reflect estimates as given by witnesses on site. Interested in the live capture dolphins and where they are transported? Check out the Taiji Timeline. A breakdown of each year's hunt and the results by the day are noted below. 2014/2015 Season (01-Sep-2014 - ?? 2013/2014 Season Notes: 22-Dec-2014: Striped dolphins driven, possible dead bottlenose recovered from previous day's drive. 28-Nov-2014: White Risso's taken as live-capture, solid white male with black eyes (leucistic?). 23-Nov-2014: White Risso's taken as live-capture, pie-bald female with black eyes. 28-Sep-2014: Mass strandings of pilot whales may not be driven by kinship, DNA profiles show. Biologists since Aristotle have puzzled over the reasons for mass strandings of whales and dolphins, in which groups of up to several hundred individuals drive themselves up onto a beach, apparently intentionally.
Recent genetic research has shed some light on whether family relationships play a role in these enigmatic and often fatal beachings of otherwise healthy whales. One hypothesis regarding the reason for strandings is that "care-giving behavior," mediated largely by family relationships, plays a critical role. In this scenario, the stranding of one or a few whales, because of sickness or disorientation, triggers a chain reaction in which healthy individuals are drawn into the shallows in an effort to support their family members. A recent study published in the Journal of Heredity questions this explanation, using genetic data to describe the kinship of individual long-finned pilot whales involved in mass strandings in New Zealand and Tasmania.
Dolphins deserve same rights as humans, say scientists. 21 February 2012Last updated at 15:54 Recognising the rights of dolphins would end whaling and their captivity Dolphins should be treated as non-human "persons", with their rights to life and liberty respected, scientists meeting in Canada have been told. Experts in philosophy, conservation and animal behaviour want support for a Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans.
They believe dolphins and whales are sufficiently intelligent to justify the same ethical considerations as humans. Recognising their rights would mean an end to whaling and their captivity, or their use in entertainment. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote Science has shown that individuality - consciousness, self-awareness - is no longer a unique human property. End QuoteEthics Professor Tom WhiteLoyola Marymount University of Los Angeles The move was made at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Vancouver, Canada, the world's biggest science conference. 'Self-aware' Scientists say dolphins 'talk' like humans - Technology & science - Science - DiscoveryNews.com.
Dolphins do not whistle, but instead "talk" to each other using a process very similar to the way that humans communicate, according to a new study. While many dolphin calls sound like whistles, the study found the sounds are produced by tissue vibrations analogous to the operation of vocal folds by humans and many other land-based animals. Communicating similar to the way that humans do solves what would otherwise be a major dolphin problem.
"When we or animals are whistling, the tune is defined by the resonance frequency of some air cavity," said Peter Madsen, lead author of the research appearing in Royal Society Biology Letters. "The problem is that when dolphins dive, their air cavities are compressed due to the increasing ambient pressure, which means that they would produce a higher and higher pitch the deeper they dive if they actually whistle. " NEWS: Dolphin Whisperer Could Help Us Talk to E.T. "That is the same way that we humans make sound with our vocal cords to speak," he added. Citizen Whale? Group proposes basic personhood rights for cetaceans at Vancouver conference. Whales and dolphins are intelligent and cultural creatures and should be granted basic personhood rights, scientists will argue this weekend in Vancouver. Lori Marino, a professor at Emory University in Atlanta, and Thomas White of Loyola Marymount University in California plan to present the Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference in Vancouver this weekend.
The declaration aims to open a discussion about the ethical and policy implications of giving cetaceans basic personhood rights. According to the scientists, research has proven that whales have cultural and cognitive abilities similar to humans. Whales are self-aware – they can recognize themselves in mirrors – they understand symbolic language and they think about others in a way comparable to humans.
“They’re very similar to us: (they) have a sense of individual identity, personality, the ability to control behaviour and abstract thinking,” White said. BBC Nature - Killer whales live on after menopause to protect sons. 13 September 2012Last updated at 23:35 By Ella Davies Reporter, BBC Nature Killer whale mothers live longer lives in order to protect their sons, a study has found. Females give birth in their thirties but can live for a further 50 years after having their offspring.
Scientists from the University of Exeter used long-term records to identify possible reasons for this long non-reproductive phase of life. They found that the presence of mothers ensured greater survival of adult sons to breeding age. The findings are published in the journal Science. "Prolonged life after menopause remains one of nature's great mysteries," said Dr Darren Croft from the University of Exeter who led the study.
Killer whales, also known as orca, are of particular interest because, after humans, they have one of the longest post-reproductive life spans in the natural world. In killer whale society, the young never leave their mothers, remaining in a single group. Whales are people too – Opinion – ABC Environment. Science increasingly shows dolphins and whales to be intelligent animals with the ability to think and reason. Keeping them locked up for our own entertainment therefore raises a big ethical conundrum. ONE OF THE MOST important features of science is that scientific progress regularly leads to important ethical questions. This is particularly true with research about cetaceans — whales, dolphins and the like — because it has become increasingly apparent that the inner life of these nonhumans is more complex than most humans realise.
We have learned that their capacity for suffering is significantly greater than has been imagined—which makes much human behavior towards these nonhumans ethically problematic. There is now ample scientific evidence that capacities once thought to be unique to humans are shared by these beings. However, as the saying goes, there is good news and there is bad news. We are left, then, with an interesting—but troubling—conundrum. Thomas I. A bill of rights for dolphins: They're so smart we must treat them as 'non human persons' say scientists.
By Fiona Macrae Updated: 17:32 GMT, 24 February 2012 Dolphins are so intelligent that they should be thought of as ‘non-human persons’ and given their own bill of rights, it is claimed. A coalition of scientists, philosophers and animal welfare groups have come up with a declaration of dolphin rights which they hope will one day be enshrined in law. This would stop them being kept in zoos and waterparks, and being attacked by fishermen. Flippin' heck: A coalition of scientists are calling for a bill of rights to protect dolphins like bottlenose Fungie Whales would also be elevated above other animals by the list of rules, leading to whalers being classed as murderers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual conference heard in Vancouver. Given the opportunity, dolphins will watch TV and follow instructions delivered on the screen. 'Accordingly, dolphins should be regarded as “non-human persons” and valued as individuals.
Each piece of litter equated to one fish. Review: 'When Dolphins Cry' — the fight to end Japan's dolphin slaughter. Wars over whaling - The Japan Times. Japan’s annual whaling season is currently under way with the inevitable lurid reports and tangled accusations. The history of conflict between Japan’s whaling boats and anti-whaling protesters has not only gained newspaper headlines, but has inspired its own TV program, “Whale Wars,” on the American cable television station Animal Planet, now in its fifth season. The actions of both whale-hunting supporters and detractors have reached absurd proportions. Both sides should return to reasonable dialogue. While officially agreeing to a moratorium on whaling, Japanese whaling companies have continued to kill whales in the South Pacific by taking advantage of a loophole for research purposes.
If the current hunting is really being done, as stated, for scientific purposes, the results should be opened to public and professional scrutiny, as is done with all serious scientific research. This year’s confrontations have escalated in intensity. Dolphin tale. "A new business" … Solomon Islander Robert Satu says he is the best dolphin catcher in the world. Photo: Joe Armao Anchored in the cerulean shallows of a tiny islet in the Solomon Islands is a curious rectangular pool made from fishing nets. From a distance, it could be a swimming enclosure for a tropical tourist resort, and the image is enhanced by the tree house artfully perched in the rainforest overlooking the beach.
But this complex on Mbungana Island, about one hour's boat ride from the capital, Honiara, is no idyllic tourist retreat. Held captive inside the underwater enclosure are five wild dolphins - Tursiops aduncus or Indo-Pacific bottlenoses - beloved by dolphin handlers the world over for the ease with which they can adjust to captivity, and be taught marine-park tricks. As I approach the pen by boat, four tough-looking Solomon Islanders rush from the bush, one with axe in hand, ordering me and my fellow crew members to moor elsewhere. Advertisement. Whales in Japan : IKAN, a Japanese organisation, talks to Japanese people ; "Do not eat whale meat ! Safety first !"
Nanami Kurasawa, Secretary General of IKAN, whilst not denying the importance of international pressure groups, is convinced that the emphasis must be on Japanese activists making their own countrymen aware of the issues. In her paper "Greedy Whaling: Is the debate about whaling really a conflict of interests between Japan and Western countries? " she states "I think the best way of changing their attitudes is to shift ideas within ourselves and pulling out of whaling by our own efforts, rather than giving way under the pressure of foreign countries. Luckily, many young people love to swim with the wild dolphins and go whale watching …this young generation who have never eaten whale meat probably have the same sensitivities as those of the foreign countries who oppose whaling.
Although cetaceans were not moved, some success was recorded. The Dugong, of whom there are less than 50 in the wild, were moved. In the meantime vigilance continues on the plight of mammals of various kinds. Some people in Japan don't take mercury contamination seriously (Includes interview) 'Not all Taiji people are pro-dolphin hunting' – Sakae Hemmi (Includes interview) Cetacean bycatch, entanglement in fishing gear, marine mammals, whales. Did We Save the Whales? - Room for Debate. Whaling may be sunk by commercial reality. Whale "bacon" in supermarket display case Japan’s annual research whaling expedition is now being carried out in the Antarctic. As always, the controversy over whaling receives more coverage in the foreign press than it does in the Japanese media, which for all intents and purposes doesn’t normally pay attention unless arrests or violence is involved.
However, Tokyo Shimbun last week reported on some of the commercial aspects of the issue. According to the newspaper, in 2011 the amount of frozen whale in storage and designated for retail distribution exceeded 5,000 tons, which is almost three times the amount of frozen whale meat in storage 10 years ago. There are two sources of this meat: imports from other whale-catching countries, and the research whaling program carried out by Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research and the company Kyodo Senpaku. However, Tokyo Shimbun says that the main disincentive seems to be economic.