ACS Conservation Committee Report

ACS Conservation Reports are selected summaries of current news articles on whales, dolphins, porpoises, and their environment. These reports are offered to you under the fair use provisions of U.S. copyright law.

  Whale Meat Used for Dog Food in Japan...   Meat from whales taken in Japan's scientific research whaling program is being turned into pet food, according to research by Professor Frank Cipriano, of San Francisco State University, a pioneer of whalemeat identification using DNA matching techniques.

Analysis carried out by Professor Cipriano on samples of pet food purchased by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) near Tokyo, revealed both Antarctic minke whale and dolphin meat.

In February, EIA purchased dog food products from supermarkets in Shizuoka and Otsuchi, Japan. DNA analysis showed that the dried dog food from Shizuoka contained Antarctic minke and a packaged dog food product purchased in Otsuchi contained dolphin DNA.

The new method for DNA analysis of highly processed products, which was used to analyze fertilizer and pet food samples, was presented to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) at this year's annual meeting.

"The fact that Japan is using whale meat for pet foods totally invalidates Japan's attempts to legitimize and increase their catches," said Clare Perry of the Environmental Investigation Agency.

Japanese whaling fleets take a self imposed quota of 440 minke whales in the Southern Ocean and 440 minkes in the North Pacific each year in addition to dozens of sperm, sei, and Bryde's whales - all as part of the scientific research whaling allowed under the International Whaling Commission (IWC) rules.

The IWC requires that all meat left after research is finished must be utilized, not discarded.

Sue Fisher of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society said, "We hear the same rhetoric year after year about distressed coastal whaling communities, and now we find that whales are being used as pet food."

An estimated 400,000 dolphins, porpoises and small whales have been killed in Japanese waters in the last 20 years.

The whale meat, whether consumed by humans or animals, will burden their bodies with a toxic load of mercury. Analysis of meat from toothed whales sold for human consumption in Japan, recently published by Japanese researchers, revealed that 100 percent of these products exceeded the allowed levels for mercury content.     Environmental News Service

  Japan's Fishing Industry In Peril...   Local fish stocks contaminated with toxins and a perilous drop in shellfish catches are signaling to millions of Japanese that their favorite food is in danger. Seafood per capita consumption in Japan is about 70 kilograms, among the highest in the world, and is a staple in Japanese homes.

It was quite shocking on June 3 when the Health, Welfare and Labor Ministry issued a statement advising pregnant women to limit their consumption of certain fish species because of fears of mercury poisoning. These include the bright-red sea bream called kinmedai and swordfish, both of which are expensive delicacies. The seven fish species that are the subjects of the warning also include cheaper tuna and shark, and sperm whale.

"The public is very concerned," said Kazuhiko Tsurumi, who is coordinating the warning and response effort. He said the ministry has been deluged by phone calls from the public. "We are trying to tell people that there is no reason to panic. The danger is only for pregnant women and even they do not have to fear if they limit their intake," he explained.

Already under pressure on the issue of whaling - this month's annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission blocked a bid by Japan to reintroduce commercial whaling, banned since 1986 - the fishing industry is alarmed too.

At the ministry, frantic inquiries came also from fishing companies worried about their sales. Since the official statement, the prices of the two expensive fish species on the list have plummeted in Tokyo's fish markets.

What worries environmentalists is the fact that the warnings were a result of surveys conducted on local catches. Given that species such as swordfish and tuna are on the top of the food chain and feed on smaller fish, which are known to have accumulations of poisonous methyl mercury, industrial pollution is once again under scrutiny.

Rampant overfishing (Japan claims the whales are responsible for the decline in fisheries-ACS) in the waters off Japan, the danger of remaining fish stocks being contaminated by industrial poisons, and the destruction of coastal marine life are all contributing to the environmentalists' fear that Japan's self-sufficiency in food is declining further.

The country is already the world's biggest importer of marine products. To ensure the supply of the 10 million tons of seafood consumed annually, Japan imports about 5.2 million tons, a sum that accounts for about a quarter of the global fish trade.

Indeed, as a percentage of total fish production, Japan's share has plunged from 17 percent in 1973 - the highest for any country - to about 5 percent and is further expected to drop to 4 percent by 2020, according to a forecast from the International Food Policy Research Institute and the WorldFish Center.

Rising prices and dwindling fish stocks, said the forecast, will also mean that by that time, Japanese will find themselves eating less fish, up to 10kg per capita less.     Inter Press Service

  Japan to decide on Whaling Commission in 2004...   Japan will decide before the general meeting of the International Whaling Commission next summer whether to withdraw from the organization, a fisheries ministry official said Monday.

Japan and other whaling nations such as Norway and Iceland are upset about an IWC decision at a meeting last month in Berlin to set up a panel to work with wildlife conservation groups to protect whales.

Whaling countries argue the panel moves the commission's agenda toward conservation, and away from its original mandate of organizing a return to sustainable commercial whaling.     ENN

  Japanese PM opposes leaving IWC...   Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on July 9 that Japan -- one of the world's biggest consumers of whale meat -- should not leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and should keep seeking support inside the group for its bid to restart commercial whaling.

Japanese officials said last month that Tokyo would consider withdrawing permanently from the IWC or refusing to pay its fees after anti-whaling nations pushed through new steps to protect the giant marine mammals at the organization's annual meeting.    

  Norwegian Whale Meat Exporter Files Bankruptcy...   The Lista Fish Export company in Norway has filed for bankruptcy, leaving 29 tons of whale meat in limbo with the lender trying to decide what to do with it.     NRK Sorlandet

  Northern Right Whales in Iceland...   The FIRST EVER Northern Right Whales seen on a whale watching trip in Iceland ! In early July, Sea Tours, a whale watching company from the Snaefellsnes Peninsula found the very first Northern Right Whales off the West Coast of Iceland, 52 miles out when searching for Blue Whales.

The last Northern Right Whale off Iceland was killed by Norwegian whalers in 1902. Since then, the only two other sightings took place about 20 years ago, during a international survey on whales conducted by the Marine Research Institute of Iceland.     The Husavik Whale Center

  One Orphaned Orca, Springer, Spotted off Vancouver Island: Luna Still Struggling...   Marine scientists in Canada say a whale released back into the wild a year ago in a high-profile rescue has survived the winter and has been fully accepted back by its family.

The young killer whale, A-73, nicknamed Springer by scientists, was found hundreds of miles from her normal territory last year. She had settled in a harbor in Seattle, near the busy shipping lanes of Puget Sound. Last July Springer was taken back to her native waters in British Columbia, Canada - in what was the first attempt by scientists to reunite a wild orca with its family.

There was no certainty that the whale's family would take her back, but their behavior last summer was encouraging and photographs taken this week show them swimming together as "A" pod arrived at its usual summer home. Researchers say Springer looks fat and confident. "Seeing her come back is clearly a big weight off our shoulders, and everything now looks good," said Clint Wright of the Vancouver Aquarium.

Normally the Pacific Northwest resident orca families stick together but ironically during this time, a second lone whale, L98, nicknamed Luna, has also been isolated hundreds of miles from his normal territory, living in a small harbor near Vancouver Island instead of in Puget Sound with the rest of the Southern Resident community. Earlier efforts to organize a rescue operation for Luna failed to coalesce, partly due to differences in circumstances and partly due to uncertainty as to whether Springer was "really" rescued. Springer's return has rekindled the debate on whether the same process may now be used to rescue Luna. Some scientists say he will have to be removed before he becomes too comfortable with humans.

Springer had to be moved from Seattle as she was getting too friendly with boats, and there were fears she might capsize a small vessel as she grew.     BBC News Online

  Solomon Islands Captured Dolphins...   Australia asked Mexico on July 17 to block the import of 200 dolphins captured in the lawless Solomon Islands and held in crowded, shallow pens after being bought by a Mexican consortium.

Environment Minister David Kemp, whose country is on the verge of leading 2,000 troops and police to help restore order in the strife-torn South Pacific nation, said the trade in dolphins was banned if it resulted in harm to the species.

"We are also communicating our concern to the Solomon Islands, however we believe that on-ground action in the Solomon Islands to prevent the export may be difficult in light of that country's current situation," Kemp said in a statement.

Animal rights groups say around 200 dolphins had been rounded up by Solomon Islands fishermen, dumped in open boats and then imprisoned in three-feet deep pens on Gela island. Pressure group Australians for Animals said the dolphins were being sold to a Mexican consortium. Australian newspapers have reported they are being sold for $263 cash a head.

The first batch of 33 "traumatized and terrified" dolphins was expected to be loaded on to a charter flight to Mexico in a few weeks, Australians for Animals said.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora, to which Mexico is a signatory, prohibits the trade in dolphins if it is detrimental to them and not subject to proper licensing and regulation.

The Solomons, a chain of 1,000 islands 1,200 miles northeast of Australia, has not signed up to the convention. Nor does it have a properly functioning public sector to efficiently oversee such things as export permits.

The former British protectorate is about to be virtually taken over by an international police and peacekeeping force, led by Australia, after years of ethnic violence and a 2000 coup sent it spiraling into anarchy and bankruptcy.     Rueters

note: ACS is participating in the push to put public pressure on both Mexico and the Solomons. We've written letters to government officials in both the Solomon Islands and Mexico, urging that the importation not take place, and that the dolphins be freed. We've also written responsible parties, such as Solomon Star, a pro-environment newspaper. Please contact us if you wish to assist.

  Dolphin Meat Widely Available in Peruvian Stores...   Bottlenose dolphin meat, a protected mammal under Peruvian law, is being sold in a squalid fish market near Peru's largest seaport. However, in practice, dolphin meat remains widely available under the counter from Peruvian fishmongers. At 40 cents a pound, it's a popular protein for the poor. Horsemeat, by comparison, costs 70 cents a pound; beef, $1.85.

By conservative estimates, 3,000 dolphins a year are trapped in Peruvian fishermen's nets, harpooned as they feed in shallow water or trapped, hauled to the beach and clubbed to death for human consumption. Fishermen kill many more for shark bait.

Although there are no reliable figures on the region's dolphin population or its losses, thousands more die throughout the eastern tropical Pacific in the nets of deep-sea tuna and marlin fishermen.

The environmental group Greenpeace estimates that 7 million dolphins have died in fishing nets in the eastern tropical Pacific over the past 40 years.

Among the varieties hunted and eaten in Peru are the bottlenose dolphin, dusky dolphin, Burmeisters porpoise and two breeds of the common dolphin.

Only three countries hunt dolphins for human consumption, according to Randall Reeves, the chairman of a specialist group for dolphins and whales for the World Conservation Union, based in England. In Peru and Sri Lanka the meat is sold to the poor, while in Japan it is considered a delicacy.

Mundo Azul, with help from Ripley, a large Peruvian department-store chain - but with almost none from international environmental groups - tries to enforce a 1996 Peruvian law against hunting, catching, transporting, selling or eating dolphins. The police have made some raids on the market, however, after word spread, vendors yelled insults at the authorities and had removed the dolphin meat.

Col. Carlos Herrera, the chief of the environmental-crimes division, said he wanted to do more enforcement but couldn't: "I have no budget. I don't receive money to pay informants or conduct inspections."     The Seattle Times

  Illegal Fishing with Driftnets Continues in Italy Despite EU Ban...   The EU banned the driftnetting fishery on January 1st, 2002, but illegal fishing with driftnets is still a problem around the Island of Ischia. Swordfish boats equipped with driftnets were monitored in the area since May 2003--between the 2nd and the 3rd of July a total of 22 boats were recorded equipped with driftnets. 13 of these boats had modified the sides of their vessels to hide the nets carried on board, making it difficult to evaluate the volume of visible coils on the deck.     Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society website

  Sound Issues Around the World ...  

  Porpoise Test Fuels Sonar Fears...   A porpoise found dead in May after Navy exercises near the San Juan Islands in Washington state showed signs of internal bleeding that naval sonar could have caused, environmentalists reported on July 15.

The Orca Network cited a recently completed radiological test on the carcass, which was later turned over to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Later this month the agency plans tests on that porpoise and on others found dead in the area to see whether Navy sonar might be implicated.     Seattle Post Intelligencer

  CASSIS project - Seismic Explorations off Vancouver Island...

note: This a particularly dynamic issue - right after this report was first prepared, the Canadian government postponed the following experiment pending further study of the issues. A new test date (in 2004) is expected to be announced in September. Two articles are posted below, Part I is before the postponement. Part II is an announcement of the postponement. For additional information on the CAScadia collaborative SeISmic experiment (CASSIS), see http://geosun1.seos.uvic.ca/cassis/intro.html.

PART I -- Beginning August 27, 2003, a joint venture between Japan and Canada proposes to conduct seismic explorations off the southern tip of Vancouver Island.

This "experiment" will involve both underwater explosions (airguns) as well as land-based detonations (dynamite). Environmental organizations (including ACS) are still gathering information on this study, but it has alarmed whale watch operators and fishermen alike in the San Juan Islands and Vancouver Island because of the time of year in which this is taking place: The Southern Resident Killer Whales are present, which are listed as "Depleted" under U.S. law and "conservation dependent" under the IUCN (Canadian). The U.S. has no jurisdiction in this territory and is not a participant in the study. It should be noted that other seismic tests have been conducted in this area previously; however, they have not taken place when the Southern Resident Killer Whales have been present.

The purpose of the tests is to get the geologist's equivalent of an x-ray image of a massive fault to determine whether it's locked, which would warn of a much vaster release of energy when it eventually slips and whether that energy might focus on Vancouver or Seattle. Obviously, foreknowledge is vital in planning future building codes and emergency responses that could help mitigate a catastrophic earthquake.

Yet if this study is of enormous importance to the 3.3 million who live around Puget Sound and the Georgia Basin, it's also a fascinating example of the increasing complexity of science and the competing interests it brings into play.

The $2-million experiment deploys a grid of at least 100 land and 80 underwater seismometers distributed over an area of 45,000 square kilometers of Vancouver Island and the adjacent seabed. In part, the scientists will use the devices to passively monitor the scores of tremors that shudder through the fracture zone on an almost constant basis.

However, for 10 days in August, these receiving stations will also record the waves from a series of 10 large dynamite blasts on shore and low frequency seismic pulses from an array of eight huge air guns aboard the Japanese research ship Karei. By studying the passage of seismic waves, scientists hope to create a three-dimensional image of the fracture zone in an attempt to gain further insight into the dynamics of much larger seismic events.

Some marine biologists are concerned by low frequency noise from the experiment. Based on past incidences around the world, there is great concern that this noise will injure the sensitive echolocation organs of whales that use sound waves to navigate, communicate and locate prey.

Just last month, Washington Governor Gary Locke wrote to the U.S. Navy expressing concern over an incident on May 5 in which porpoises and killer whales were observed fleeing the area where a missile destroyer was testing sonar. Seven dead porpoises later washed ashore. That incident was similar to one in the Caribbean where six whales beached themselves during sonar tests.

In October 2002, a U.S. federal court judge ordered American scientists to stop using air guns in a similar seismic research project in the Gulf of California after two rare beaked whales died. That ban is still in effect.

Marine biologist John Calambokidis, of Olympia, Wash., says his research shows that from 300 to 500 humpback whales will be feeding in the area off Vancouver Island just when seismic blasts are planned. Other species besides the orcas that congregate in those nutrient-rich waters include Pacific white-sided dolphins, Minke whales and a group of 250 grey whales that summer off Vancouver.

Calambokidis says sperm whales and beaked whales may also be present in the little-studied deeps just beyond the continental shelf. Seismic tests are to take place there, too.

John Pringle, the manager of marine environment and habitat at the Institute of Ocean Sciences, confirms threats to marine mammals, fish, invertebrates and even to plankton are being evaluated by federal scientists with a view to setting guidelines for the research.

"That's been one of our major concerns, in fact," concurs George Spence, of the University of Victoria's School of Earth and Ocean Sciences one of the CASSIS project's lead Canadian researchers. "We will follow any guidelines that are set by the department of fisheries and oceans." He says seismic testing can be done safely with proper mitigation measures.

The research is very important, as the threat of major earthquakes in the areas is quite severe. However, the timing is very bad for the marine species that inhabit this area. A positive development overall is that there was a time when scientists didn't worry about what they did. Now even the most serious research is subject to the same environmental controls as industry. If this is a welcome sign of our growing maturity in considering the consequences or creatures that share our ecosystem, it also signals the bewildering complexity that increasingly characterizes all human activities, including science itself.

This experiment is of particular concern as the government of Japan is putting extreme pressure on Canada to perform this study RIGHT NOW, otherwise funding ($2 million+) and the use of the seismic vessel will be withdrawn. There is concern that Japan has some hidden agenda in forming this bilateral arrangement with Canada at this point in time. The fact that Canada was at IWC-Berlin for the first time in years as an Observer raises a not insignificant question as to whether Japan is forging this relationship as part of its ongoing "vote-buying" strategy in the IWC in the hopes that Canada will join the IWC and be a sympathetic voice for, among other things, Japanese coastal whaling. (Canada allows aboriginal subsistence whaling on endangered bowheads even though it is not a member of the IWC.)     Research by Katy Penland, ACS Conservation Committee and information from the Orca Sighting Network website

PART II - July 23, 2003 Orca Network News Release: Seismological research project that would likely have injured or killed marine mammals, fish, birds and turtles has been POSTPONED!

According to George Spence, the lead scientist for this project at UVIC, the CASSIS project is now postponed for this summer. They are hoping to carry it out next summer but need to present more information regarding the project to the government and public prior to it going ahead.

DFO recommended to Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN) that the CASSIS project be postponed to protect marine mammals. As of this morning Ralph Currie, head of the Pacific Geoscience Centre, assigned to draw up the Environmental Assessment, said "There has been significant concern raised by members of the public and NGOs (non-governmental organizations)." The project was being rescheduled to allow time for more thorough examination of potential effects. The most likely reschedule will be to next year. We expect official word soon. The decision whether or not to continue with the research proposal will likely be made by September.

Nevertheless, it is still a good idea for scientists and the public to keep a close eye on this project and to request participation in the process for next year.

The whales, fish, birds and turtles are safe from the this project for at least another year. We have a variety of scientists and many concerned citizens on both sides of the border to thank for their prompt action, as well as several TV, radio and newspaper media who saw the danger in this project and allowed these serious questions to be broadcast.     Orca Sighting Network website

  Galapagos 'War Games' Protested...   Environmental activists in Ecuador have protested against US-led international naval exercises due to take place near the Galapagos Islands. The activists have called on Ecuadorean President Lucio Gutierrez to cancel the maneuvers, saying they could damage the unique ecosystems of the Galapagos and disrupt the mating season of the humpback whale.

There are also concerns from human rights groups that the "war games" could become part of a possible military intervention in Colombia where a rebel insurgency has raged for nearly 40 years.

However, the Ecuadorean Government says there will be no environmental damage, as the main exercises would be conducted some 200 kilometers (124 miles) off the Galapagos Islands.

About 2,000 troops from the US, Colombian, Chilean, Mexican and Ecuadorean navies are expected to be involved in the exercises which are due to start on in late July.

Ecuadorian Environment Minister Edgar Isch said the military had assured him that the exercises would not affect the marine reserve nor the Pacific corridor near the Manta coast, where hundreds of humpback whales gather at this time of year to mate or give birth.     BBC News Online

  Sharp Rise in Whale Deaths Leads to Call for Sonar Ban...   Calls have been made for a new international law to regulate marine sound pollution following a surge in the number of whale and dolphin strandings in the northwest of Scotland.

The discovery of the corpse of a rare Sowerby Whale on a beach near Durness in July brings to eight the number of dead cetacea washed ashore along the Sutherland coastline since January. They include two rare, beaked whales, which have previously been associated with beachings caused by Low Frequency Acoustic Sonar (LFAS), a loud submarine detection system being developed by US and UK navies. The sharp rise in strandings has rekindled concerns that they are linked to extremely loud sonar equipment used by military vessels that regularly practice off the coast.

"In an average year we would expect two to come ashore," said Bob Reid of the Veterinary Investigation Centre which examines the remains of any cetacea washed up along the northern coastline.

Local fears that military activity off the north-Atlantic coast during the NATO Joint Maritime Course (JMC) -- the annual land, air and sea exercise, involving several Western navies -- have been dismissed by the Ministry of Defence.

There appears to be no direct correlation between the military exercise and the beachings. The JMC, involving more than 30 Nato ships, took place between 16th and 27th of June after which three of the beachings were reported.

The high incidence of whale deaths has pushed LFAS and aquatic noise pollution up the environmental agenda. Sonar, propellers, seismic surveys, sea-floor drilling, and low-frequency radio transmissions have all turned the oceans into a noisy place. There has been concern for some years now that man-made sounds could make it much harder for whales, dolphins and other sophisticated marine animals to communicate, navigate and even detect predators and prey.

"Arguably, we are around the same stage that we reached with chemical pollution some 30 years ago," said Mr. Simmonds (WDCS). "There are many similarities, not the least of which is the lack of definitive evidence linking causes to effects, yet in the case of noise we are also dealing with a pollutant that can disperse over wide areas, with subtle and yet important consequences. The history of aquatic chemical pollution control shows that it is possible to respond logically to threats where data is poor and inconclusive."

Evidence linking whale deaths to military activity is increasing. Last year whales of various species beached and died on the Canary Islands -- the fourth mass whale strandings in the islands in the last 20 years. Each one of the incidents coincided with Nato naval exercises around the islands. In the summer of 2000, another 17 whales beached in the Bahamas just after a fleet of US destroyers had passed close by. Animal pathologists, found the mammals had suffered internal bleeding in the ears and the brain.

According to Reid, it is extremely difficult to link the Highland strandings to military sonar, other noise or environmental pollution because of the state of the corpses. "That last whale had been rolled around and battered on several tides before I saw it," said Reid. "To assess if there was any damage caused by LFAS you would need a fresh corpse and something like a medical scanner."

"They do not use the low frequency sonar during the exercise," said an official. "We do our best to mitigate effects of the marine environment and all the ships are issued with leaflets warning them about whales, dolphins and marine life and the adverse effects of getting too close to them during the joint maritime course."

Other marine experts point out that whales and dolphins are also susceptible to medium frequency sonars commonly deployed by military vessels and not just the low frequency boom being developed for the new generation of submarine hunters.

Biologists feel that sonar noise may induce panic, acoustic damage or the "bends" in whales -- if exposed to it for prolonged periods.

Last year the Royal Navy outraged environmental organisations by testing its own low frequency sonar off the north of Scotland. The LFAS 2087 is in development and will be fitted to Type 23 frigates by 2006.

According to a written answer from the Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram, a Royal Navy environmental impact assessment "indicated that the sonar has the potential to be harmful to marine mammals". The Minister added that the Royal Navy has developed a range of mitigation measures to minimize the impact and that the assessment was subject to review by independent academic and scientific bodies.     The Sunday Herald

  Canary Island Whale Deaths Linked to Navy Tests ...   Most whale deaths recorded in the Canary Islands since 1985 coincided with military navy maneuvers. This is the main conclusion of a Spanish report about the effect of sonic military equipment on marine mammals which has just been presented at the Antarctic Treaty meeting in Madrid. Post-mortems carried out after the last whale strandings in the Canaries found internal bleeding which may have been caused by acoustic trauma, said vets from University of Las Palmas.     El Correo

  LFA Sonar Lawsuit...   The permanent injunction hearing was held on June 30, 2003, in the San Francisco 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, to consider further evidence from both parties regarding the temporary injunction invoked last October against the US Navy for deployment of its SURTASS-LFA sonar in the northwest Pacific Ocean. No word as yet from the Court as to the judge's decision.     Katy Penland, ACS Conservation Committee

  Victoria (BC) Sewage is a Risk to Endangered Orcas...   Toxic chemicals from the United States are blamed for poisoning the orcas off Vancouver Island, but now there's evidence Canadians may be guilty, too. It's been estimated Greater Victoria dumps 45 billion litters of raw sewage into the ocean each year.

The environmental group Sierra Legal Defence Fund took samples of raw sewage near Victoria and found traces of PCB toxins. They say one gram of PCBs is enough to make one billion litters of water uninhabitable to marine wildlife.

"We think it's completely ridiculous for a developed country such as Canada to be dumping raw sewage into the marine environment," said Margot Venton of the Sierra Legal Defence Fund.

British Columbia recently gave municipalities three years to look into a plan to treat the sewage, but there's no time line for implementing it.

"I think it's misleading to the public to suggest that the source of these PCBs is the sewage," said David Cubberley, chair of the Capital Regional District's environment committee.

Cubberley adds it's misleading to call it raw sludge because it is treated before entering the pipes. He said municipalities rely on companies who dump sewage to make sure there are no toxins. The CRD checks 20 per cent of raw sewage to make sure it's not contaminated.

Andrew Trites of the UBC Marine Mammals Research Unit warns sewage isn't the only threat to the orcas. Depleted salmon stocks and increasing tourism are also taking a toll.     CBS Online

  Dolphin Watching Boosts Philippines Tourism...   Dolphin watching is now attracting more tourists in Bias City, the Philippines. Bais City Mayor Hector Villanueva claimed the number of incoming tourists, both foreigners and Filipinos, increased by as much as five times. The mayor ordered the deployment of more boats to accommodate tourists who will be brought to the Tanon Strait for whale and dolphin watching. A recent visit and whale watch by the President of the Philippines has helped advertise the attraction.     Cebu Daily News

  China Reserved on Whale Sanctuaries...   China supports international efforts to actively conserve and rationally exploit whales, but is reserving its decision on setting up whale sanctuaries until it receives more scientific data, a Chinese fisheries official said Wednesday.

A representative of China at the 55th annual conference of International Whaling Commission (IWC), Liu Xiaobing, a senior official from the fisheries department of the Ministry of Agriculture, said that the IWC failed to offer essential and accurate data about the mammals, which China considered crucial in decisions, such as whether to set up sanctuaries.

China hoped the IWC would provide a better scientific assessment of global whale stocks and come up with relevant management approaches on valid scientific grounds, Liu said. As a big fishing country, he said, China was committed to the conservation of endangered whale and dolphin species and had actively participated in the IWC decision-making process and activities on whale conservation. China urged the countries engaged in the whaling industry to comply with international laws and to work under the IWC framework.

The IWC conference in Berlin blocked joint bids from Australia and New Zealand to set up a whale sanctuary in the South Pacific, and from Brazil and Argentina for a sanctuary in the South Atlantic.

China banned commercial whaling in 1979, three years earlier than the IWC adopted the resolution to suspend global commercial whaling.     People's Daily