The 2009 humpback whale season is wrapping up for me. I’m on the way to the airport shortly.
My last day on the water was a difficult one, with blistering winds and three- to four-metre swells in some areas. But…we found calf number 25, so it was worthwhile.
We named the calf Nofo, which carries two meanings. Nofo is one of our best friends here, and Nofo’a means “good bye” in Tongan.
It’ll take me some time to write up my Week 5 summary, as I’ll be in transit for the next few days.
Meanwhile, here’s a photo of me with the film crew from RTHK. I was doing my best to act naturally…but the big fuzzy thing sneaking up on me made me a bit nervous.
Fame at last Tony, looking forward to the summary. Travel safe mate.
congratulations on another successful Tonga trip (I suppose it was considering the number of ID’ed calfs)!
as I watched more and more documentaries on marine life, one theme comes up more than a few times – the Japanese whaling “expedition”. as a whale lover and researcher AND living in Japan, what’s your take on this? what do your Japanese friends think, especially after personal close encounter in Tonga? and what about the syndicate who hunt, capture and slaughter dolphins/whales in Taichi (correct spelling?) what can be done?
Hi Byron,
It was certainly a successful season from the calf-ID perspective! I’m sure the final tally will be above 25, as other people are helping this year. It’ll take some time for the other information to come in though, so the ID process will be ongoing for several months to come.
Most people in Japan don’t consume whale. The mass-media story line is exaggerated, distorted and inaccurate.
Whale/ dolphin watching is a big business in Japan. Whale/ dolphin eating is virtually non-existent.
There are a small number of people in Japan who orchestrate the whale and dolphin hunts every year, but tagging all of Japan as whale-killers is like saying that since some people in the US are murderers, all people in the US are. It’s flawed logic.
I realise this doesn’t fit the popular stereotype and narrative on this issue, but facts are facts, irrespective of how often mis-statements are made.
My Japanese friends love whales and dolphins, similar to many other people around the world. They’re generally puzzled by why so many people attack them for eating whale, when none of them do, and practically no one in the entire country does.
It’s a complex issue, much too involved to discuss in this format, but suffice it to say that most Japanese people do not consume whale/ dolphin products and all the media stories that say or imply that they do are false.
Cheers,
Tony
Hi Tony,
Thanks for the reply and nice to know that it’s not bad as been reported on those documentaries. It’d be really sad to know if these intelligent and gentle animals are being tortured/slaughtered. I don’t have a Japanese friend so I have no way to really ask and understand more.
When will your schedule for next year be out? I’d be interested to join.
Cheers,
Byron
Hi Byron,
I’ll post something soon about next year’s schedule, probably early next week.
Cheers,
Tony