Sharks International: Day 3 and 4

Posted on By David Shiffman
Science

The last talk of Sharks International just concluded.  Day 3 focused on genetic and molecular techniques, which have been used to answer all sorts of interesting questions about sharks.  I presented my research for the first time, and it was very well received (which is part of the reason why I haven’t posted in a couple of days- I’ve been very busy answering questions and celebrating being done with my talk).

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Sharks International: Day 2 Summary

Posted on By David Shiffman 3 Comments on Sharks International: Day 2 Summary
Science

The second day of Sharks International just concluded. This morning’s keynote address focused on how shark behavior research has changed in the last few decades, and how improved technology has made that possible. Scientists used to have to build their own acoustic tags and follow the tagged sharks around in a boat. Nowadays, tags can … Read More “Sharks International: Day 2 Summary” »

Is Sea Shepherd really saving whales?

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 51 Comments on Is Sea Shepherd really saving whales?
Conservation, Popular Culture, Science

Sea Shepherd claims that their actions in the Southern Ocean opposing Japanese whaling fleets has effectively reduced the number of whales killed. What always rubbed me the wrong way about these claims is that they always compare their success against the Institute for Cetacean Research (the Japanese organization that oversees ‘scientific whaling’) Quotas. So at some point you have to ask the question, in absolute numbers, has Sea Shepherd really reduced the number of whales killed?

To answer that we need three pieces of information:

  1. When did Sea Shepherd begin it’s campaign against Japanese ‘scientific whaling’?
  2. What are the ICR quotas for that time frame?
  3. What are the absolute catches for that time frame?

Sea Shepherd provides a comprehensive timeline for their whaling campaigns that indicates serious opposition in the Southern Ocean began in December 2002. For the two other questions, we turn to Whale and Dolphin Conservation International, who have produced a truly exceptional interactive graph of the history of whaling since the inception of the International Whaling Convention by the numbers. The relevant figure is reproduced below:

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