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Science

Genetic Study Provides Estimate of Whale Populations 30

Posted by michael from the a-whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiite-whale dept.
ChopsMIDI writes "Many more whales were hunted in the 18th century than thought, a genetic study of the North Atlantic animals suggests. U.S. researchers say the International Whaling Commission may be underestimating by tenfold the number of whales in the seas before hunting began."
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Genetic Study Provides Estimate of Whale Populations More

Genetic Study Provides Estimate of Whale Populations

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  • I question the accuracy of the results. Even the article pointed out that the study may be flawed due to the assumptions made.

    But really, in the end, why does it matter how many whales were hunted in the 18th century, when hunting them is already banned? We're not trying to make a case for banning hunting or anything...so I don't understand. Unless we're going to start talking about paying reparations to whales in compensation for their ancestors' loss and hardship. In which case we still have more serio

    • Why the results matter (Score:5, Informative)

      by capoccia ( 312092 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @06:36PM (#6536786) Journal
      But really, in the end, why does it matter how many whales were hunted in the 18th century ...

      It matters because international treaties were signed that banned whale hunting until whale populations returned to 54% of what they were before mass whaling in the 18th century.

      So if this study is correct (and there are severe doubts on its accuracy) then no whaling will be allowed for at least another 50 - 100 years.

      If this study is wrong and the current numbers based on the number of whales recorded as killed by whalers is correct then some whales like the humpback may be allowed to be hunted in less than 5 years.

      The biggest reason this study's results are called into question is that it uses a new method with unknown accuracy to contradict by an order of magnitude the numbers that can be arrived at by the amount of whale oil sold. the amount of whale oil sold is considered to be a very reliable number.

      previously, the population was estimated by using the logbooks from the whalers. these results were generally in line with the amount of whale oil sold.

      • previously, the population was estimated by using the logbooks from the whalers. these results were generally in line with the amount of whale oil sold.

        I'm not going to defend the study's numbers, since I haven't read the study, except to say genetic studies of human populations have come to similar counts using different methods. This is only the first such study of whales so we need some more to have the level of confidence we need in the number. This is especially true considering it's disagreement w

  • Clueless in Seattle (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    To be honest, I don't know what to think of it. Please someone post an opinionated piece that will tell me what to think, I am not a bright guy when it's 18th century matters being discussed.

  • How to build up an animal population (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Alethes ( 533985 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @06:08PM (#6536608)
    If you can make it profitiable for companies to invest in breeding a speices, that speices will thrive. Horses would probably be extinct now if there weren't people intentionally breeding them for recreational use. I don't know enough about breeding whales to speak to this issue specifically, but I do know that there are probably a lot of creatures on this planet that thrive only because of economic motivation.

  • NSU (Score:4, Informative)

    by Henry V .009 ( 518000 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @06:43PM (#6536847) Journal
    Nature Science Update has a critical take: http://www.nature.com/nsu/030721/030721-14.html
  • Great. This probably limits my chance of being able to eat whale, unless maybe I go to Japan where they've been conducting whale research for years. Then I can add my data point for the "Just how tasty is whale?" study.

    Or maybe Norway; I think they are collaborating on the work.
    • I had some whalemeat in Pusan. It tasted like beef, but with a fishy overtone. I enjoyed it a lot.

      The meat is actually quite lean, I would say a bit leaner than beef, but not as lean as pork.

      If I could buy whale meat at the local grocery store, I would. I enjoy seafood, and I love beef.

  • Why hunt whales? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Tailhook ( 98486 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @07:36PM (#6537165)
    Why, in this day-in-age, would whale hunting be useful? What can be produced from a dead whale that doesn't have a better alternative in-use already? My limited knowledge of the history of whaling tells me the most important product was whale oil. It's really hard to believe that other forms of oil are more expensive to produce than what it must cost to hunt whales. The hide, perhaps?

    As far as the study goes, it is easy to have suspicions about the motives of the researchers. If the motive is to determine long-ago whale populations so that someone can either justify or prevent future whaling, a study coming from university is likely to be shifted toward the latter. In this case it's Stanford and one of the main researchers (Prof. Palumbi) is a "protected marine reserves" advocate.

    If this is junk science I don't really care if it prevents whaling; I'm fairly certain the world will survive without the practice. But extrapolating the history of species through genetic analysis is a young field and it would suck to have it be generally discounted before we see what is possible. The moment the political class decides that the results of research might actually matter politically, the who-what-when-where-why of research gets politicized too.
    • What can be produced from a dead whale that doesn't have a better alternative in-use already?

      Placebos.
    • The primary reason for hunting whales is food. Many Japanese consider whale meat to be a delicacy. Currently, the Japanese government circumvents the ban on whale hunting by claiming that it needs to catch and slaughter a few whales per year for research.

      Once the government agency catches and dissects a whale for this supposed research, it sells the whale meat to select restaraunts. The meat is expensive and garners a hefty profit.

      Here is another example of why human overpopulation is a problem. We

  • Because the whales on American beaches don't count!

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