28 March 2006 - New Australian
research shows there is no justification for Japan’s
so-called ‘scientific’ whaling, the Minister for
the Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell
said today.
As countries like Iceland and Japan continue to
kill large numbers of whales in the name of science,
Senator Campbell said an extensive Australian research
survey had shown there was absolutely no scientific
basis for the slaughter of whales.
“At the same time as the Australian survey was underway,
Japanese whalers were heading to the Southern Ocean
to begin their new so-called scientific whaling
programme with the slaughter of almost one thousand
whales,” Senator Campbell said.
“Australia remains opposed to commercial and scientific
whaling. Both Japan and Iceland continue to conduct
whaling under the guise of science while Norway,
which will increase its kill of whales this year,
simply defies a global ban on commercial whaling.
“Australia has long argued that gathering data about
whales and our marine ecosystems can be done non-lethally,
wherever it occurs.
“Now this 10-week Australian survey which covered
more than one million square kilometres gives us
by far the most comprehensive assessment of the
marine ecosystem in the whole eastern Antarctic
area – the very data that Japan claims it is seeking
to justify their lethal ‘scientific whaling’ in
the Southern Ocean.
“This latest information – obtained solely through
non-lethal means – now represents the most powerful
approach seen yet to understanding the role of whales
in their Southern Ocean ecosystem and puts Australia
at the forefront of international whale research.
“I will be taking this information to the next meeting
of the International Whaling Commission in St Kitts
and Nevis in June and making it very clear that
under no circumstances can this continued slaughter
of whales in the name of ‘science’ be justified,”
Senator Campbell said.
Japan has been killing whales in the name of ‘science’
for many years, increasing the number of minke whales
killed from 330 in 1994 to 440 in 1995. Japan continued
at this level until this year under its JARPA II
programme which will see an increase to 935 minke
whales and, in addition, 10 endangered fin whales.
From 2007-08 the plan is to take 50 fin whales and
to also take 50 humpback whales while at the same
time continuing the minke catch.
Iceland also undertakes scientific whaling, with
its take for 2005 being 39 minke whales. And in
blatant defiance of the moratorium on commerical
whaling, Norway conducts whaling, with its kill
quota this year increased by 250 to 1052 minke whales.
This latest Australian survey is the culmination
of a 10-year project that has investigated most
waters off Australia’s Antarctic Territory. The
comprehensive study has measured almost all aspects
of the Southern Ocean ecosystem including:
• visual and acoustic surveys of the distribution
and abundance of whales
• survey and analyse populations of krill – the
main food source for whales
Scientists carried out extensive whale surveys including
deployment of more than 140 sonobuoys to record
whale sounds as well as sightings of whales conducted
from the bridge of the research ship Aurora Australis.
Two recording platforms placed on the ocean floor
close to the Antarctic continent more than a year
ago were also retrieved.
“Japan claims that the major objectives for its
scientific whaling programmes are to monitor the
Antarctic marine ecosystem and to model possible
competition for food among whale species,” Senator
Campbell said.
“Ironically, the information required to meet these
objectives is precisely the type of data that Australia
has now collected. Not only have we now demonstrated
we have the information but it was also able to
be collected without killing a single whale.
“The information we have collected will allow scientists
to relate whale abundance and distribution to important
ecological factors such as the distribution of krill
and the presence of sea ice.
“Enormous uncertainty remains about how many whales,
particularly minke whales, are in the Southern Ocean
because estimating the numbers is very difficult.
“Data collected from this survey will help us better
understand whale numbers and interactions but that
is a very long way down the track, and to be out
there killing them in ever-increasing numbers in
absence of this information is simply unacceptable.
“It is clear that countries like Japan cannot credibly
argue the information gained from killing whales
is even remotely relevant to the stated objectives
of their scientific whaling programmes.
“Our research only adds weight to the heavy criticism
so-called scientific whaling has already received
by many within the international community.
“The cold hard and very sad reality is that the
slaughter of whales by Japan, Norway and Iceland
does nothing to assist the quality of non-lethal
marine ecosystem science.
“If the whaling officials of scientific whaling
countries are serious about better understanding
the role of whales in the Southern Ocean we encourage
them to further develop long-standing scientific
collaboration processes that, for example, Australia
and Japan already enjoys through our interactions
with their Japanese National Institute for Polar
Research, and cease the clearly commercial, non-scientific
killing of whales they conduct under a bogus research
justification,” Senator Campbell said.
A summary of the whale research component of the
survey is attached.
Baseline Research Oceanography
Krill and the Environment (BROKE-West) Antarctic
marine science survey January to March 2006.
The Australian Government’s BROKE-West marine science
survey was a comprehensive biological and oceanographic
assessment of the Eastern Antarctic ecosystem, led
by the Australian Antarctic Division and the Antarctic
Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre.
For 10 weeks, the research vessel Aurora Australis,
with 62 scientists from 14 countries aboard, surveyed
over one million square kilometres of the Southern
Ocean off Australia’s Antarctic Territory.
Eleven transects, each measuring between 200 and
400 nautical miles, were conducted between 30°
and 80° east longitude and from approximately
62° south latitude to the Antarctic continent.
These transects have produced a comprehensive set
of biological and oceanographic data that will allow
scientists to assess and further understand the
Eastern Antarctic ecosystem.
These data can also be used to relate whale abundance
and distribution to important ecological factors
such as the distribution of their major prey, Antarctic
krill, oceanographic circulation patterns, water
depth and bottom features, and the presence of sea
ice.
The diverse and comprehensive range of projects
conducted during BROKE-West included the following
studies:
Acoustic survey of marine mammals - sonobuoys and
long-term moored recorders
The sonobuoy survey consisted of recording samples
of underwater sound every 30 nautical miles along
the north-south transects. This led to a total deployment
of more than 140 sonobuoys and 250 hours of recordings.
Analysis for the presence and number of vocalising
marine mammals at each of these sampling locations
will allow scientists to assess relative distribution
and abundance of vocalising marine mammals over
the large geographical area of the study region.
Additionally, two bottom-mounted recording devices
were recovered and redeployed during BROKE-West.
These instruments have been recording low-frequency
sound, the frequency range where most baleen whales
produce sounds, continuously since February, 2005.
Together they have provided almost 18,000 hours
of recordings to be analysed. With their successful
redeployment, the recording devices should continue
to record until early in 2007 providing a two-year
continuous dataset of low frequency sound in the
region.
These recordings will assist scientists in assessing
the seasonality and relative abundance of vocalising
baleen whales in the region over long temporal scales.
Visual line-transect survey of marine mammals
A visual survey for marine mammals was conducted
by a research group from Deakin University during
daylight hours along the entire length of the BROKE-West
voyage.
Observations were made from the deck of the research
ship Aurora Australis with a data recorder logging
observations on the bridge. Following standard line-transect
survey protocol, observations of baleen and toothed
whales and pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) were
logged.
Along with the acoustic data collected, these visual
recordings will be used to assess the relative distribution
and abundance of marine mammals over the study region.
Krill survey
A survey of krill was conducted using scientific
echosounding equipment (which records echoes from
‘pings’ of sound emitted by the ship) and supported
by data from regular and targeted net trawls.
The aim was to estimate how much krill was in the
area and how it was distributed. Four echosounders
operated nearly continuously over the length of
the voyage (10 weeks). These data will provide a
record of krill abundance over the length of the
survey. The acoustic data was supplemented by 116
net trawls at regular sampling intervals, and additional
trawls that targeted particular patches of krill
to better understand and classify the echosounder
data collected.
The trawls also captured krill for further study
of growth rates, reproductive rates, development
rates, recruitment, and demographics in studies
on board Aurora Australis and at the Australian
Antarctic Division’s unique cold-water krill research
aquarium.
The combination of survey work, experimental research
and theoretical analysis provides a comprehensive
study of krill and its role in the Southern Ocean
ecosystem.
Marine Microbes
The ability of the Southern Ocean to sustain marine
life such as krill, fish and whales, is dependent
on the growth, abundance and distribution of microscopic
marine plants or 'phytoplankton', as well as protozoa
and bacteria.
During BROKE-West, marine biologists collected and
analysed water samples to determine the growth rate
of these organisms, the photosynthetic rate of phytoplankton,
the grazing activity of protozoa (which eat phytoplankton
and bacteria) and how many of these organisms there
are.
These data will be used to investigate the ecological
role of microbes, in fisheries models, and in wider
estimates of primary productivity of the Southern
Ocean. These studies will help to determine how
much food is available to krill and subsequently,
higher predators including whales.
Fish
Net samples were analysed for fish and fish larvae
in order to determine the distribution of Antarctic
pelagic species in relation to the environment and
to analyse pelagic fish diversity at the species,
population and ecosystem levels. In addition, with
analysis of the stomach contents of captured fish,
their role in the ecosystem as predators of phyto-
and zoo-plankton can be assessed.
Birds
Observations of seabirds were conducted along the
entire length of the voyage by observers from the
bridge of the research vessel. Species composition,
numbers and diversity of encountered seabirds were
logged allowing distribution and relative abundance
to be assessed over the study area.
Sea ice
Observations, video recordings, and still photographs
of sea-ice extent and type were made by a research
group from Deakin University at regular intervals
whenever sea-ice was encountered.
Oceanography
Oceanographic sampling was conducted at 118 sites
and provided a comprehensive look at the physical,
chemical and biological oceanographic processes
in the region.
The oceanographic team used a CTD probe (conductivity,
temperature, depth) to analyse the water column
and Niskin bottles to collect water samples at depths
from the surface to the bottom.
Changes in conductivity (salinity), temperature,
currents, particulate matter concentrations, fluorescence
were just a few of the many measurements of sea-water
properties that were collected to help understand
the chemical composition and biological processes
that occur throughout the water column.
These measurements will allow oceanographers to
model surface and three-dimensional water circulation
in the region and the physical and chemical processes
which drive biological processes in the ocean.
The projects listed above provide only a glimpse
at the comprehensive nature of the BROKE-West survey.
In total, the information collected represents one
of the most comprehensive datasets of any large
area of ocean and will allow a thorough analysis
of the structure of the marine ecosystem of this
region.
