Since the late eighteenth century the Southern Ocean has been heavily exploited by the sealing, whaling and fishing industries. Seals were the first to be harvested, but the depletion of northern whale stocks, on-board processing of whale carcasses, large factory ships, and better harpoon technology soon resulted in a huge new whaling industry in the Antarctic.
The public perception of whales began to change in the 1970s. A popular movement to halt whaling gained momentum and this, combined with severe depletion of stocks and reduced economic gains from whaling, resulted in pressure on the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to act. In 1978 the Australian government adopted a moral stance that no form of whaling was acceptable, and since the Whale Protection Act was introduced in 1980 all cetaceans have been protected in Australian waters. On 1st August 1994 the maritime legislation amendment act declared an Economic Exclusion Zone and an Australian Fishing Zone off the Australian Antarctic Territory, providing cetaceans in these waters with the same protection that they already had around the Australian coastline.
In 1982 the IWC voted to suspend commercial whaling by way of moratorium, or temporary halt, to commercial whaling. It came into effect during the 1985/86 Antarctic season and although for other oceans, only Japan has continued since 1987 to take whales from the Southern Ocean under scientific permit.
In 1978 the Australian Government adopted a moral stance that no form of whaling was acceptable and since the Whale Protection Act was introduced in 1980, all cetaceans have been protected in Australian Waters.
In 1982 the International Whaling Commission voted to suspend commercial whaling. Only Japan continues whaling in the Southern Ocean under 'Scientific Permit'.
At the 1992 meeting of the IWC, the French government put forward a proposal to declare the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica a Whale Sanctuary; Australia was one of the first nations to support the proposal.
The Southern Ocean Sanctuary was overwhelmingly accepted in voting at the 1994 meeting and is due for reconsideration in 2044.
Today, Japan continues to hunt whales under scientific permit and Norway is considering recommencement of commercial whaling in defiance of the IWC rulings Cultures, such as Eskimos and Aboriginals are exempt from the whaling moratorium, as long as the whales are taken by those, whose "traditional, aboriginal and subsistence needs have been recognized".
If you would like to know more about whaling today, visit the International Whaling Commission - http://www.iwcoffice.org
It remains to be seen whether whales and dolphins can survive the dramatic changes to their marine habitat brought on by human activities. Their future success depends upon their ability to adapt to changing conditions and the key to their adaptability lies in their evolutionary history and the forces, which have driven their evolution in the Southern Ocean environment.
Whaling Today