High North News (29.01.07):
The IUCN World Conservation Union has removed several species of whales from its Red List of threatened species. “This is good news for the whales and the whalers,” says High North Alliance secretary Rune Frøvik.

The World Conservation Union’s action has placed a number of whales species into the Least Concern category for “widespread and abundant” species. Amongst the species transferred to this category is the main target for current whale hunts - the minke whale. Until this assessment the minke whale was listed in the intermediary category Near Threatened.

“This is one more proof that sustainable whaling is a superb means of providing ecological food,” Rune Frøvik says. “Rather than fiercely protesting whaling, so-called environmentalists such as Greenpeace should promote sustainable whaling as an example to follow when it comes to environmentally-friendly food production.”

The minke whale is hunted by Greenland, Iceland, Japan and Norway.

The Red List contains three threatened categories: Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable.

Humpback whales were also taken off the list, when transferred from Vulnerable to Least Concern. The Japanese plan to start hunting humpback whales next year, and the Greenlanders also wish to engage in such a hunt.

Other species considered “abundant and widespread”, and thus placed on the abundant Least Concern list, include beluga, narwhal, white-beaked dolphin, Atlantic white-sided dolphin and common porpoise.

Fin whale remained on the Endangered list. The main reason being reduced numbers in Antarctica caused by over-exploitation in the last century. The listing is with respect to the global situation. However, it was commented that the fin whale should have been evaluated with respect to different ocean basins as the species is pretty abundant in the North Atlantic.

The Red List of Threatened Species has been published by the IUCN – The World Conservation Union for more than four decades. Last week about 60 international whale experts of the World Conservation Union met in San Diego, California, to review the status of the world’s whales, dolphins and porpoises. Amongst the participants were Dr Arne Bjørge, chair of the Scientific Committee to the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and Dr Greg Donovan, Head of Science at the IWC Secretariat.

“The meeting was constructive and the review was conducted with a purely scientific approach,” Dr Bjørge says.

“We congratulate The World Conservation Union for putting science first. We hope the IWC and CITES will also make future decisions based on science,” says Bjørn Hugo Bendiksen, president of the Norwegian Whalers’ Union.

For more information:
The Red List
http://www.iucnredlist.org/

High North Alliance”

(Michael Miersch)