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This blog is dedicated to all Tuvaluans. Our little corner to share and voice our concerns on any issue, even criticise government.

Monday 21 May 2012

Tuvalu should change to anti-whaling

HE IS OUT AND IS BACK WHERE HE BELONGS. Cheers for old Shepherd.

Jailing someone who has been doing a good deed is just absurd. Well, that just what happens to Paul Watson, the founder and leader of the aggressive and highly effective marine conservation group 'SeaShepherd.'  But now he is out of jail and can continue from where he left off.
Ecological Internet strongly supports the Sea Sherperd and their forthcoming global campaign to save sharks from extinction. We agree with Captain Hammarstedt that Captain Paul Watson belongs on a ship on the high seas protecting the sharks, whales and other marine life , not in some jail cell here in Germany.
 The Canadian national, whose group annually disrupts Japan's whale hunt, has been held in custody for more than a week as investigators examine charges against him that stem from a confrontation in Costa Rica in 2002.


I hate sharks because they are after all terrible things. They live in our waters and they have been known to eat sailors or fishermen whose boats had been capsized.  It is Shepherd’s efforts to protect marine life like whales that I really admire.Tuvaluans believe that whales are taboo mammals of the sea that shouldn’t be killed nor disturbed. They believe that they are helpers of the human race during times of disasters at sea. There have been stories told by fishermen in Tuvalu of how they have been saved by a whale when their boat capsized at sea during stormy weather. I remember how my uncle who was known as one the great fisherman on my island of Nanumaga in the Tuvaluan group, together with some men tried to help a whale which had washed up o n our shore. They tied ropes to its tail and pull with all their might and the whale slid back into the sea. I asked him then, why did you have to save that thing putting your life at risk? He answered, whales are human in many ways, and they cry, they have tears, they have hairs and they have been protecting our ancestors and their ancestors when they go out to sea. I thought then that it was utter stupidity.

Now, I think that they deserved a life just like we do because they are such cute and wonderful things to watch. Although in Tuvalu we don’t receive a lot of tourists or whale watching sites, my heart always goes out to children whom I always saw running on the shore saw following a school of whales they saw at sea.

Tuvalu and other countries like Palau, Cape Verde, Gabon, Nauru, and land-bound Mongolia joined the International Whaling Commission much to the dismay of countries like Australia who operates whale watching activities for tourist attraction. In an interview with the Secretary to Government, Panapasi Nelesone who was Tuvalu’s representative to the last  IWC meeting, he said Tuvalu stand is for the sustainable harvesting of whales.  This doesn’t make sense. If Japan and other pro whaling countries harvested the whales since it is a favorite delicacy in their restaurants or for fashion, will they kill in a sustainable way for the name of ‘money?’ I don’t think so. They will kill as much as they can because the more they kill the more they sell and the more money they get.

I feel that Tuvalu should change its stand to anti-whaling, considering that some families in Tuvalu still calls on the whales for help when they faced disasters at sea and to let the future generations of Tuvalu experienced the informal whale watching fun.

2 comments:

  1. This is hard to read because the type size is smaller than your earlier entries. It is better written, however. Use the full name: Sea Shepherd. Make sure you space after sentences. I can tell you some stories about Paul Watson.

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  2. Conserving whales is in fact vital in our various countries. Seen it as a harmless and rare creature in our ocean. The idea you have raised here is crucial for our various countries to consider. Harvesting of whales is not only happen in Tuvalu but other countries in the world which the issue becomes debatable. The issue has recently been a controversial one in the Solomon Islands where the government leaders have been accused for supporting Japan’s proposed plan to do scientific whaling in the country. Yes we should conserve whales as they also deserve a life. I believe the name of scientific research and sustainable harvesting pronounced by other pro whaling harvesting countries like Japan are only secret techniques to lure our support. We really don’t know what actually happens in our ocean when this so called sustainable harvesting or scientific research is conducted. Hence I think our governments should stand firm to oppose the harvesting or researching of whales.

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