Hunting of whales that are not in danger of extinction.

In the past whales were hunted for raw materials such as their oil and meat which was used to make: Oil – Lamp oil, soap, perfume, candles and cosmetics Food – Cooking oil, margarine and whale meat Clothing – corsets and umbrellas and various other products including tools such as fishing hooks. A Brief Overview Of The Commercial Whaling Industry Although whales were being killed many centuries ago it is believed that (at the time) these mini hunting expeditions hadn’t caused much ecological damage due to limited technology. Most killings mainly remained limited to the coast line and surrounding ocean, and resources for hunting weren’t nearly as advanced as they became in more recent years. Eventual hunting methods became more sophisticated and people took to the ocean to hunt these large marine mammals. As technology, boats, and hunting equipment evolved between the 17th and 20th centuries the rate at which whales were being killed greatly increased. Hunting for oil became a very lucrative business and as a result created highly competitive (international) markets. These increasingly competitive markets eventually led to the growth of the whaling industry. In some ways you could say that the whaling industry existed well before the 17th century, but advances in technology and the increase in globalized commercial whaling during and after the 17th century played a major role toward the current condition of endangered whales. Also during the 1700’s the industrial revolution began which further increased the need for whale oil and helped cause a boom in the commercial whaling industry. Everything from trains and cars to lamps and soap saw the use of whale oil as an essential ingredient in their products. From the 17th century until the mid 1900’s commercial whaling took its toll on numerous species until tighter regulations and the eventual ban on commercial whaling put a stop on hunting whales and other marine mammals. The Current Condition Of Endangered Whales Whale oil is rarely ever used anymore by most countries due to the creation of alternative resources, the enforcement on illegal commercial whaling practices and the overall opposition against killing whales in many countries. Today small scale whale killings are done primarily as a way to obtain the whales meat and sell it as food in countries that either loosely monitor commercial whaling practices or by those that use legal loopholes to continue whaling. In some countries whale meat is even considered a delicacy and may be sold at a premium price. One loophole that has been known to be used for commercial whaling practices in the past is to capture a whale and claim that it is for research purposes then turn around and sell the meat with the explanation that it is the best way to get rid of the whales corpse. The purpose of gathering whales for research purposes is to better understand the health of local populations in order to determine their condition and suggest improvements aimed at protecting the species and improving their habitat. Some organizations and activists believe that this is simply a loophole that is being exploited which allows certain countries to get away with continuing their commercial whaling practices. Although numerous counties have adopted policies and laws that prevent commercial whaling there are a handful of countries known to still participate in commercial whaling to this day, however growing pressure from other countries and organizations appears to be causing a declining interest in hunting whales as people become more and more aware of the current situation and its affect on whale populations. The negative PR that countries participating in illegal whaling are receiving is also helping to discourage continued whaling efforts and some experts believe that these countries could become more profitable by creating a strong whale watching industry rather than continuing to hunt these marine animals for food. Thankfully the ban on commercial whaling has had a largely positive effect on improving the current condition of whales, however it remains uncertain which species will fully recover and which ones may not be able to repopulate fast enough to avoid possible extinction. Today the current status of endangered whales remains the cause and outcome of human actions. Whale Watching In the 1950’s a new era in the whale industry began known as whale watching. Whale watching is the act of watching whales in their natural habitat. As many of the species have become endangered humanitarians, scientist, whale lovers and other groups of people have become supportive of the protection of whales and consider whale watching an activity that allows them to further appreciate and enjoy whales as well as a way to bring in additional capital to existing and growing nations. Today whaling watching has become an annual billion dollar business bringing in thousands of works and serving millions of whale watchers each year. To further support the improvement of current whale populations some companies and organizations give away a percentage of their earnings to improve whale research, conservation efforts, anti-commercial whaling laws and whale habitats so that these marine mammals can continue to recover from past conditions. They also use whale watching and other tourism activities to educate people on the condition of existing whale populations and the importance of supporting these marine mammals and keeping the ocean clean. The extent to which these companies and/or organizations participate in helping the whale species varies in terms of education, financial backing and other forms of assistance. Sourceshttps://iwc.int...http://www.worldwildlife.org... http://www.seethewild.org...http://www.whalefacts.org... http://static1.squarespace.com...; data-image-dimensions="1504x1000" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" data-image-resolution="1500w" />