Care to explain why they feel the need to harvest the whales under the guise of “scientific research”?
Need? What does need have to do with anything? How many things do you have or do that you might not need?
As eguns-com said, they do conduct scientific research, and that research is valuable in the scientific community. They also harvest the whales for commercial use. They are not hunting an endangered animal, certainly not over-hunting.
-B
They are actually doing research along with harvesting meat. Data from their research is used throughout the world, in fact.
The S.S. Bob Barker?!?! 
Whatever happened to good ol’ Irish beat cops clubbing hippies, and them waking up in boot camp? 
both Minke and Humpback whales are considered endangered(threatened) species. You guys are letting your hatred for the hippies cloud your judgment. The fact of the matter is that both parties are in the wrong and I have no respect for either.
Oh really?
Minke whales, though not at historic levels, remain plentiful. A population of 761,000 exists in the Southern Ocean, according to Japan, though some claim the number is closer to 268,000. Regardless, they exist in enough numbers that a return to commercial whaling of this species can likely be supported, assuming strict management of stocks and reasonable annual catch limits.
http://animal.discovery.com/tv/whale-wars/whaling/why-japanese-hunt-whales.html
Research activity combined a randomised lethal catch (400±10% minke whales each year) with concurrent line-transect sighting surveys. Operations alternated each year between Area IV + Area IIIE (35°E-130°E) and Area V + Area VIW (130°E-145°W). The most recently agreed population estimates from independent surveys were for Area IV in 1988/89 (74,700; 95% confidence interval 45,000 – 123,000) and Area V in 1985/86 (294,600; 95% CI 225,000 – 386,000). However, until a major reassessment is carried out in the next 1-2 years, the Committee agrees that it does not have current best estimates for Southern Hemisphere minke whales, noting that in some areas they may be appreciably lower.
http://www.iwcoffice.org/conservation/permits.htm#jarpa
Minke whales are the most abundant rorqual in the world, and their population status is considered stable throughout almost all of its range (especially when compared to other species of large whales). There are an estimated 185,000 minke whales in the Atlantic, and 510,000-1,400,000 in the Southern Hemisphere.
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/minkewhale.htm
More red, big font text to seem like you know what you are talking about, big surprise. Im surprised you have not added screaming audio to you posts so there will be no doubt that you are correct.
Dude you have nothing better to do than troll my posts?
these eco terrorists are lucky they arent attacking American ships who would be armed.
Which is why the japanese are carrying out scientific catches – to show that at least the Minke is not really endangered. The anti-whaling crowd seems to base this more on emotion than real facts.
Next time I go to Japan I am going to find a place to eat some whale. Just to try it. The wife says that whale bacon is really really good.
Probably because other people here DON’T know what they are talking about and DON’T know that they DON’T know.
The above post quotes data that is up to 25 years old and some of it, “… according to Japan…”, with population estimates varying between 45,000 and 1,400,000. Pretty much useless figures for the sake of this argument. What are the facts?
I think the Bob Barker is being criminally negligent and a bunch of people are going to end up dead. Sinking ships is not exactly eco-friendly either.
Fixed it for ya! 
So far as I know, they only hunt Minke whales, not humpbacks. Feel free to prove your point by providing sources.
I don’t give two shits about hippies, real or imagined, either. :rolleyes:
-B
well, if the population numbers are up then i have no problems with them whaling. but there seem to be conflicting reports everywhere i’ve looked.
Its impossible to count large numbers of whales in a huge body of water. There is simply no way to count them accurately. Several studies put them at close to traditional levels of several hundred thousand including the genetic study that said their numbers are close to the average for the last 100k years.
What is in consensus is the Minke whale is abundant, and one of the best if not the best in overall numbers of any whale species. What the Japanese are doing is not going to have anything but a negligible effect on their populations.
Personally as long as they are taken with conservation in mind I don’t care if they hunt them or not. People have been hunting whales for hundreds of years as a source of subsistence. Its really no different than any other sea critter we eat, cows, chickens, pigs, whatever. What I don’t want to see happen is the commercial whaling that brought many species close to extinction. But between 1850-1950 humans had some sort of tick that caused them to hunt animals to the point of extinction. Bison, bears, deer, geese, elk, wolves, etc were all commercially hunted extensively in the US as well as whaling off our coasts. Im glad conservation took over, and we no longer do that. I do not believe in preservation unless the species is seriously in danger of extinction.
I don’t care who you are, that’s funny, right there…
WRT the original story, every time I turn on “Whale Wars” I want to be able to reach through the TV screen and grab most of those people by the throat.
I applaud their dedication and enthusiasm to a cause they believe in. I just think that this is approaching Right to Life people who kill doctors/nurses at abortion clinics.
Time for everyone involved to retire to the beach and have a couple of MaiTais, IMHO…
Regards,
Kevin
I hate those dirty hair hippie’s, they are their worst enemy. I think groups like Green Peace and PETA could do more good if they weren’t so far out there in terms of conduct and expression. I think anyone that kills animals merely for pleasure are scum, plain and simple scum.
But I also think that whaling is stupid. It’s obvious that whales possess an intellect that we will never fully understand. I think that Japan is committing an egregious act of barbarism against the species and in no way could I support that. I can’t stand behind Japan whaling and calling it research. They love to eat fish and the like, call a spade a spade.
Regardless of their intellect they are still a food source, and have been for hundreds if not thousands of years.
Elephants are extremely smart, and I support killing them too if its going to feed someone.
They do conduct research. Quite a bit of their research is used in science including the IWC and many universities. They do also eat the animals they kill. Double win if you ask me.