Japan Invades Australian Territorial Waters

Japan refuses to recognise the Australian Antarctic Territorial waters - nice isn't it? You want to hunt whales so just say you don't recognise something! The Australian Antarctic Division maintains three stations - Mawson, Casey and Davis.

Japanese consider whalemeat to be a delicacy and an aphrodisiac, but the story they give is they hunt whales for scientific research and the only way to judge a whales's age is by killing it. Their so-called research is to see if the whale population has increased enough for commercial whaling to re-start - yeah right, and I'm the Queen of Sheba.

Whales were on the threatened list in 1950 and by 1963 were on the endangered list. Commercial whaling was banned in 1986 by the IWC (International Whaling Commission).

Yesterday, Japan rammed the Ady Gil, a small anti-whaling ship.


I lay no blame on the anti-whaling ship or its crew - Japan should stay out of our territorial waters and the damned government (ours) should get off its rear end and act.

Below: Research stations and territorial claims in Antarctica (2002).

The three most common whales seen in Australian waters are the Humpback, Southern Right and Orca (Killer) Whales. Humpback and Southern Right whales follow a similar route each year. Whales migrate to cold waters for feeding and travel to warmer waters to give birth.

Below: Migration routes of whales

Are you aware for example, that whales mate for life? And that the humpback whales are famous for their haunting songs which last for 20 minutes and can be heard from a distance of up to 185 km? It is only the male that sings - it is believed they sing to attract mates. Whales reach maturity when they are about 11.4 m long (about 4–10 years of age).

Below: Rare White Humpback Whale

Migaloo, whose Aboriginal name means "white fella", is believed to be the only completely white humpback whale in the world. (Photo AP 2005)

A pregnancy is around 12 months, and females calve once every three years, from June to October. The weight and size of a new-born calf is approx. 1.5 tonnes and 4.5 metres long. Weaning takes palce when the calf is around 11 months old and it can be up to 9 metres long.

Below:Southern Right Whale

A southern right whale and its calf swim in the waters off the east coast of Tasmania in early August 2009. (Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment)

Below:Orca Whale

These beautiful, gentle creatures along with others of their ilk have in the past been hunted almost to extinction, and yet Japan refuses to acknowledge the Antarctic Treaty and still sends out its whaling fleet to kill. How long will it be before they are no more?

These people are trying to stop whaling. Will you? The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) established in 1977, is an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization whose aim is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.