Some Whale Species in Danger of Extinction

Forest and Bird, Issue 186, 1 November 1972, Page 7

Some Whale Species in Danger of Extinction

By

M. C. Cullen

CONSERVATION, pollution, man's impact on the environment, and the world's wildlife were all considered at the UN Conference on the Human Environment at Stockholm in June. The International Whaling Commission was asked to impose a 10-year ban on the hunting of whales. The whale had become at the conference the symbol of all the endangered species of wildlife in the wo'rld.

NEW ZEALAND has had a long history of whaling and in 1840 up to 500 men were employed in the industry. Whales can be considered to be native animals, as most of the whaling here has been from shore stations at sites all over New Zealand. The last three shore stations were at Whangamumu, Great Barrier Island, and Tory Channel. Mr H. F. Cook, of Whangamumu, used a very ancient method to catch his humpback whales. A rope was slung between buoys where the whales were known to swim. Netting was suspended below and the whales were entangled to become easy prey. The harpooners struck from rowing boats. Catches were small, the largest annual one being 19 whales. Mr J. Perano evolved a unique method of harpooning by gun which only stunned the animal. It was later killed with a l|-lb explosive before it regained consciousness. He used fast motor boats capable of 20 knots and caught mainly bull humpbacks. The average catch was 94 whales a season, and

they were caught as they moved through

Cook Strait from the Antarctic in winter. Humpback the Main Species The humpback whale has been the main species caught in New Zealand and was once the most important commercial whale. When the whalers moved to the Southern Hemisphere in the last century, the humpback and right whales were the first victims. Then, as whaling became more efficient with the invention of the harpoon gun, the blue, finback, and sei whales were caught and reduced to a remnant. The humpback was then caught again in the 1930 s owing to the decline in blue whale numbers. In 1963 it became a totally protected whale. The humpback is an ungainly creature in appearance, being very knobbly. ; Captain Scammon said in “The Marine Animals of the North-western Coast of North America” (1874) that it was “decidedly ugly”. It reaches a length of about 50 ft and it is mainly black

and white. The baleen plates are dark grey. When it dives it presents its short back fin in such a way as to give an impression of a hump; hence the name. Humpbacks are found in their largest numbers in the Antarctic during January, feeding on krill, a small shrimp about 2| in. long. Swarms of these creatures are the only food of all the whalebone whales. The krill are “filtered” from the sea and swallowed whole without taste. Breeds Every 2 Years The humpback breeds every 2 years and gives birth in the tropics after a pregnancy of 11 months. The calf is weaned after 5 months, when it is about 25 ft long. The

animal is fully grown in 10 years, though it may breed at 5 years of age. The future of the large whalebone whales is not bright, as their feeding habits are so specialised. A small ecological change could affect the krill on which they feed, and then they must starve. The smaller, toothed whales and dolphins will eat a greater variety of foods, including fish. Protection for whales is extremely important when it is known that the Greenland right whale has not yet recovered since it was protected at the beginning of this century and that it is expected to take the sperm whale 50 years to regain numbers. It would be a great pity if any species of Cetacea was extinguished because of man’s greed or his pollution of the oceans.

Successful Year for North Shore Conservationists

IN reporting on the past year’s activities to the North Shore Branch at its annual meeting in July the chairman, Mr C. W. Sievwright, commented on the remarkable increase in the public’s concern for the environment since the branch was constituted 3 years ago.

“Pollution, litter, threats to natural features, and over-population are now regular items of daily news,” said Mr Sievwright. “Disasters such as the Torrey Canyon, smog deaths, and seepage of nuclear wastes have brought home to the people at large that man can be his own destroyer.”

Mr Sievwright said that the massive opposition to despoliation of unique natural features, so apparent when the Society took up its petition opposing the raising of the level of Lake Manapouri, is likely to be no less apparent when other major conservation causes arise in New Zealand. He quoted the swift public reaction to the proposal to explore for oil off the Poor Knights Islands as an indication of that.

“Even the Government has now reacted to this developing public concern by the appointment of a Minister of the Environment,” said Mr Sievwright. “Some who advocated such an appointment had seemed to see it as the solution to the problems which concern conservationists,” he continued, “but for myself

I see it of little practical value. There is, to my way of thinking, only one way of ensuring that all the worthwhile features of our natural heritage are preserved—that is by a majority of the public being of such persuasion. The power of the ballot box still reigns supreme. No political party will remain in power if it offends the wishes of the majority.” The branch, in Mr Sievwright’s opinion, had been quite successful in doing its part over the previous year in making the public more aware of their natural surroundings and conscious of the need for caring for what was left of the original New Zealand. Meetings had attracted an average of 77 members and visitors, the greatest attendance being 120. Field trips, which provided members with an on-the-spot opportunity to learn about the native flora and fauna often took the group into areas remote to the average person. They were consistently well attended, with a record crowd of about 250 visiting Ngataringa Bay with Professor J. Morton. Membership stood at 509 at 30 September 1971, which, Mr Sievwright explained, made the branch the sixth largest in the country. Financially the year had been successful, a profit of $203 having been made. Mr Sievwright thanked the committee and members who had actively served the branch.