Let's Make Every Day Save The Whales Day

At the May 23 demonstration: they are voicing their opinion to elected officials about the proposal to resume commercial whaling. Will you? photo by Penny Elia

On Sunday, May 23rd, Save the Whales Day, concerned citizens took to the beaches, piers, harbors, streets and town halls in all 15 coastal counties of California to protest the IWC proposal to resume commercial whaling. Elected officials, authors, labor leaders, environmental groups including Sierra Club, Earth Island, Center for Biological Diversity, NRDC, Greenpeace, the California Gray Whale Coalition, American Cetacean Society, Heal the Bay, San Diego Coastkeeper and others spoke in opposition to the proposal.

Interesting to note that there was one common question that came from many that were asked to sign the petitions being prepared for mailing to President Obama: 'What do you mean President Obama supports resumption of commercial whaling?' Yes, in fact, the Obama administration is spearheading the proposal to allow whaling countries to kill whales legally for commercial purposes for the first time in a generation. Our collective voices must send a strong message to the White House, NOAA, our congressional leaders and all other decision-making bodies involved in this disastrous plan.

A little background so you can make a call or write a letter to oppose this proposal:

On April 15th the U.S. announced that it was leading an effort to broker an agreement that would allow commercial hunting of whales for the first time since a moratorium was enacted in 1986. This proposal would legalize commercial whaling and would leave enforcement of quotas to the same nations that have been in violation of the current moratorium - Japan, Iceland and Norway - and allow the killing of whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. This commercial whaling would be legalized for 10 years, presumably because the IWC has been unsuccessful in preventing illegal whaling. However, the proposal is fatally flawed in many ways, particularly because it fails to provide adequate compliance mechanisms or sufficient deterrents for violations.

The proposal also ties the current quotas on Gray Whales to the commercial quotas. Even though we know the Gray whale population may be experiencing problems because the calf counts have been down for the past four years and dead, emaciated grays are washing up on shore, these quotas would also be set for 10 years without the ability to periodically review those quotas and without current population data.

Here is a short statement you can use in your calls to the White House, NOAA and your congressional leaders

Hi, my name is _______________ and I'm calling from city, state. I am opposed to the IWC proposal to lift the ban on commercial whaling, instead of allowing whaling to begin again. Be a leader for the planet and save the whales!

Dr. Jane Lubchenco - Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 202-482- 3436

White House Comment Line: 202-456-1111.

Senator Barbara Boxer: Los Angeles 213-894-5000, Washington, D.C. 202-224-3553

Senator Dianne Feinstein: Los Angeles 310-914-7300, Washington, D.C. 202-224-3841.

Find your congressman.