IB Environmental systems and societies 7.1H Economic Interests Notes

Economic Interests Can Drive a Resource to Collapse: Whaling

Whaling shows how short-term economic demand can push a species to the edge of extinction.

Historical Context: Centuries of Hunting

1. For centuries whales were hunted for oil, blubber, meat and bone, used in candles, soap, lubricants and fuel.
2. Industrial whaling in the 19th century scaled the hunt up enormously.

Economic Drivers of Whaling

1. Oil-industry reliance
   1. Whale oil lit lamps and made lubricants before petroleum became widely available.
   2. Whales were treated as valuable assets rather than living animals.
2. Profit-driven exploitation
   1. Whaling nations including the USA, Japan and several European countries put profit above conservation.

Consequences of Overhunting

1. Populations collapsed, with blue whales cut by more than 90%.
2. Removing so many whales disrupted marine food webs.

International Responses: Regulating the Hunt

1. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was set up in 1946 to regulate whaling.
2. In 1986 the IWC introduced a global moratorium on commercial whaling to let populations recover.
3. Whale-watching tourism grew into an industry that earns money without killing whales.

Ongoing Threats

1. Japan hunted whales for years under a scientific-research exemption, then left the IWC in 2019 to resume openly commercial whaling.
2. Warming oceans are shifting the food supply and migration routes whales depend on.
3. Whales are still injured and killed as bycatch in gillnets and longlines.