- Email: [email protected]
Minke whales
Marine Pollution Bulletin
ment? The answer is surely not, but nevertheless it is evident that generalizations must be avoided and all examples of pollution must be looked at individually. Some sewage sludge dumping programmes may well be improving conditions for the sulphide biome, at the expense of other benthic communities, but this is not necessarily harmful unless it can be shown that there are serious repercussions to the pelagic fauna above, including fish.
To end on a sourer note, we may conclude that although a planet-wide ecodisaster might not destroy all multicellular life in the sea, a scenario in which oxygen levels were low and reduced compounds high would probably exclude many predators at present high up in the food chain, including most of those of economic importance.
A. J. SOUTHWARD
Further threats to Antarctica's 14 million sq. miles are posed by the determination of many nations to divide up exploration rights for minerals by the end of this year.
Death Toll Mounts in Gulf As crude oil continues to pour out from damaged wells in the Arabian Gulf, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has described pollution as 'catastrophic'. While detailed scientific evaluations cannot be made in the area due to the continuing hostilities between Iraq and Iran, the WWF says the magnitude of marine life devastation observed by overflights of the Eastern Gulf coastline is greater than anything previously observed and it must be presumed that the death toll is a direct result of the oil spill. Surveillance flights by helicopter have found large numbers of dead turtles, dolphins, fish, sea snakes and birds. And with the sighting of at least 50 dead dugongs, it is feared that a large proportion of the Gulf population of this marine mammal has been wiped out. Scientists are also concerned that long-lasting damage is being done to coral reefs, mangrove swamps and shallows where fish and other marine animals breed. The Iranian Offshore Oil Company, which owns the damaged wells in the Nowruz field off north-west Iran, estimates that one well, damaged by a ship collision in February, is spilling up to 80 000 gallons (US) a day, while three other wells damaged in an Iraqi air attack in March are spilling the same quantity again.
Cold Continent is Top Conservation Priority Antarctica should be regarded as the world's number one conservation priority, the newly formed World Wildlife Fund's International Council was told when it met for the first time. Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, who made this appeal to the gathering in Switzerland, said "Antarctica should be the common heritage of mankind, as should oceans and space." Referring to the continuing controversy over the harvesting of krill, he added "Wouldn't it be absurd to save the whale only to make sure that the staple food of the whale ceases to exist?" Conservationists fear that if kriU catches grow too large and catches already total about 1m tonnes per y e a r - irreversible damage will be caused to this major source of food for five species of whale, three species of seal, twenty species of fish, three species of squid and numerous birds. 322
Tanker Owners List Spills In the annual report of the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd, just published, details are given of more than a dozen spills which the Federation has attended and given assistance at in the past year. The latest ITOPF Newsletter also gives more up-to-date information on the most recent spills to give cause for concern. It records that the largest tanker spill recently was from the Assimi which suffered a blaze in the engine room some 60 miles off Muscat in Oman. Whilst the ship was burning and during the subsequent towing operation, it constituted a pollution threat to the coast of Oman and also Pakistan. After the ship sank, it was apparent that there had been a very large release which could well have been made up of most of the oil cargo. But despite the fact that oil could be seen on the sea surface up to 45 miles from the site of the sinking, the spill did not result in any shoreline pollution. A smaller spill that caused considerable damage was from the Honam Jade, which lost about 2000 tons of Arabian heavy crude oil near Yosu, South Korea. The ITOPF Newsletter reports that after one of the clean-up crews deliberately set fire to the main slick, a very high proportion of the oil was removed from the surface but a significant amount also sank. The result was that some 16 tons were recovered from the sea bed and substantial damage resulted. In addition, a large amount of dispersant was used during cleaning and this undoubtedly contributed to the damage done by the oil in ecologically sensitive areas.
Minke Whales The annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) agreed a new quota of minke whales that can be killed in the next hunting season, but failed to resolve the controversy about Norway's use of the 'cold' harpoon to kill minkes. Norway is still using the non-explosive harpoon to catch these whales, despite a ban by the IWC. The 'cold' harpoon takes longer to kill the whale but the advantage to the Norwegians is that the expensive whale meat is left relatively undamaged.
Volume 14/Number 9/September 1983
,--~
-,
eO 0
.
"Someone is overdoing the reef-dumpingW
Although the IWC failed to clear up this issue, it did agree to allow Norway to kill 635 minke whales in the next season after rejecting the Norwegian's proposed figure of 885. Norway has consistently sought a higher quota of minke whales than offered, and last year the IWC failed to agree a figure. This year Norway's suggested figure of 885 would have been passed by consensus but for opposition by conservationists India and Oman which insisted on a vote. Britain surprised many delegate countries by supporting Norway in the vote instead of abstaining as other conservationist countries did. Meanwhile the IWC agreed on the number of whales in total to be caught under its aegis in the coming season - and the figure is 2000 down on last year's quota.
Conservation for Development Register The Conservation for Development Register has been established by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) to ensure that worldwide demand for experts in the many different aspects of conservation is efficiently matched with the wealth of available international expertise and that the shortage of suitably qualified people ceases to be such an obstacle to achieving conservation goals. The Register's development and management is the responsibility of IUCN's Conservation for Development Centre (CDC) and it is being developed and operated from both CDC/IUCN headquarters and the International Institute for Environment and Development's Washington office. The register has been developed for use throughout the world and is being promoted widely through multilateral
and bilateral development assistance agencies, non-governmental organizations, major multi-national corporations and developing country governments. IUCN has for many years been concerned with the identification of consultants and experts, mainly for use on World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and IUCN projects and drawing largely on membership, the Commissions and component Centres. The new Register aims to greatly expand and modernize the present system. CDC/IUCN and Joint Environmental Service (JES) Washington are therefore hoping to hear from experts in the natural and social sciences, in particular specialists whose services would be available for project work in the fields of natural resources management, protected area management, environmental law, environmental education, public health, agriculture, range management, impact assessment and other conservation and development related disciplines. Initial financial support for the register has been made available by the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA). As an example of the Register's use, a major programme of work is being undertaken with USAID, through the JES Washington office, to expand the Register and provide short-term advisory services in environment and conservation to USAID projects throughout the world. All nationalities are eligible for inclusion in the Register and a special effort is being made to locate as large a number of consultants from the developing world as possible. Any help that can be given in this respect would be greatly appreciated. Through the Register, consultants will be selected for both I U C N / J E S / W W F projects and for projects of outside users. Data on consultants is being stored in the form of a computerized list backed up by manual files. 323
ment? The answer is surely not, but nevertheless it is evident that generalizations must be avoided and all examples of pollution must be looked at individually. Some sewage sludge dumping programmes may well be improving conditions for the sulphide biome, at the expense of other benthic communities, but this is not necessarily harmful unless it can be shown that there are serious repercussions to the pelagic fauna above, including fish.
To end on a sourer note, we may conclude that although a planet-wide ecodisaster might not destroy all multicellular life in the sea, a scenario in which oxygen levels were low and reduced compounds high would probably exclude many predators at present high up in the food chain, including most of those of economic importance.
A. J. SOUTHWARD
Further threats to Antarctica's 14 million sq. miles are posed by the determination of many nations to divide up exploration rights for minerals by the end of this year.
Death Toll Mounts in Gulf As crude oil continues to pour out from damaged wells in the Arabian Gulf, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has described pollution as 'catastrophic'. While detailed scientific evaluations cannot be made in the area due to the continuing hostilities between Iraq and Iran, the WWF says the magnitude of marine life devastation observed by overflights of the Eastern Gulf coastline is greater than anything previously observed and it must be presumed that the death toll is a direct result of the oil spill. Surveillance flights by helicopter have found large numbers of dead turtles, dolphins, fish, sea snakes and birds. And with the sighting of at least 50 dead dugongs, it is feared that a large proportion of the Gulf population of this marine mammal has been wiped out. Scientists are also concerned that long-lasting damage is being done to coral reefs, mangrove swamps and shallows where fish and other marine animals breed. The Iranian Offshore Oil Company, which owns the damaged wells in the Nowruz field off north-west Iran, estimates that one well, damaged by a ship collision in February, is spilling up to 80 000 gallons (US) a day, while three other wells damaged in an Iraqi air attack in March are spilling the same quantity again.
Cold Continent is Top Conservation Priority Antarctica should be regarded as the world's number one conservation priority, the newly formed World Wildlife Fund's International Council was told when it met for the first time. Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, who made this appeal to the gathering in Switzerland, said "Antarctica should be the common heritage of mankind, as should oceans and space." Referring to the continuing controversy over the harvesting of krill, he added "Wouldn't it be absurd to save the whale only to make sure that the staple food of the whale ceases to exist?" Conservationists fear that if kriU catches grow too large and catches already total about 1m tonnes per y e a r - irreversible damage will be caused to this major source of food for five species of whale, three species of seal, twenty species of fish, three species of squid and numerous birds. 322
Tanker Owners List Spills In the annual report of the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd, just published, details are given of more than a dozen spills which the Federation has attended and given assistance at in the past year. The latest ITOPF Newsletter also gives more up-to-date information on the most recent spills to give cause for concern. It records that the largest tanker spill recently was from the Assimi which suffered a blaze in the engine room some 60 miles off Muscat in Oman. Whilst the ship was burning and during the subsequent towing operation, it constituted a pollution threat to the coast of Oman and also Pakistan. After the ship sank, it was apparent that there had been a very large release which could well have been made up of most of the oil cargo. But despite the fact that oil could be seen on the sea surface up to 45 miles from the site of the sinking, the spill did not result in any shoreline pollution. A smaller spill that caused considerable damage was from the Honam Jade, which lost about 2000 tons of Arabian heavy crude oil near Yosu, South Korea. The ITOPF Newsletter reports that after one of the clean-up crews deliberately set fire to the main slick, a very high proportion of the oil was removed from the surface but a significant amount also sank. The result was that some 16 tons were recovered from the sea bed and substantial damage resulted. In addition, a large amount of dispersant was used during cleaning and this undoubtedly contributed to the damage done by the oil in ecologically sensitive areas.
Minke Whales The annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) agreed a new quota of minke whales that can be killed in the next hunting season, but failed to resolve the controversy about Norway's use of the 'cold' harpoon to kill minkes. Norway is still using the non-explosive harpoon to catch these whales, despite a ban by the IWC. The 'cold' harpoon takes longer to kill the whale but the advantage to the Norwegians is that the expensive whale meat is left relatively undamaged.
Volume 14/Number 9/September 1983
,--~
-,
eO 0
.
"Someone is overdoing the reef-dumpingW
Although the IWC failed to clear up this issue, it did agree to allow Norway to kill 635 minke whales in the next season after rejecting the Norwegian's proposed figure of 885. Norway has consistently sought a higher quota of minke whales than offered, and last year the IWC failed to agree a figure. This year Norway's suggested figure of 885 would have been passed by consensus but for opposition by conservationists India and Oman which insisted on a vote. Britain surprised many delegate countries by supporting Norway in the vote instead of abstaining as other conservationist countries did. Meanwhile the IWC agreed on the number of whales in total to be caught under its aegis in the coming season - and the figure is 2000 down on last year's quota.
Conservation for Development Register The Conservation for Development Register has been established by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) to ensure that worldwide demand for experts in the many different aspects of conservation is efficiently matched with the wealth of available international expertise and that the shortage of suitably qualified people ceases to be such an obstacle to achieving conservation goals. The Register's development and management is the responsibility of IUCN's Conservation for Development Centre (CDC) and it is being developed and operated from both CDC/IUCN headquarters and the International Institute for Environment and Development's Washington office. The register has been developed for use throughout the world and is being promoted widely through multilateral
and bilateral development assistance agencies, non-governmental organizations, major multi-national corporations and developing country governments. IUCN has for many years been concerned with the identification of consultants and experts, mainly for use on World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and IUCN projects and drawing largely on membership, the Commissions and component Centres. The new Register aims to greatly expand and modernize the present system. CDC/IUCN and Joint Environmental Service (JES) Washington are therefore hoping to hear from experts in the natural and social sciences, in particular specialists whose services would be available for project work in the fields of natural resources management, protected area management, environmental law, environmental education, public health, agriculture, range management, impact assessment and other conservation and development related disciplines. Initial financial support for the register has been made available by the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA). As an example of the Register's use, a major programme of work is being undertaken with USAID, through the JES Washington office, to expand the Register and provide short-term advisory services in environment and conservation to USAID projects throughout the world. All nationalities are eligible for inclusion in the Register and a special effort is being made to locate as large a number of consultants from the developing world as possible. Any help that can be given in this respect would be greatly appreciated. Through the Register, consultants will be selected for both I U C N / J E S / W W F projects and for projects of outside users. Data on consultants is being stored in the form of a computerized list backed up by manual files. 323