Iceland's Current Whaling

In 2013, after two years of no fin whaling, Iceland was reported to have killed 134 fin whales and 38 minke whales.
In 2011, Iceland's total whaling of 58 minke whales was down from its 2010 peak of 148 fin whales and 60 minke whales. The collapse of the Japanese market for fin whale meat demonstrated the true commercial nature of Iceland's industrial whaling as no market led to no hunt taking place. With up to 40% of the domestic market being made up of unsuspecting tourists, the real market for whale meat within the Icelandic community continues to decline.

Click here to add your voice to those who oppose whaling in Iceland.

Do whales hear their dinner?

A research project led by the University of Auckland's Institute of Marine Science hopes to confirm
that large marine creatures such as whales, sharks and dolphins use hearing as a way of locating food.
They will play back recordings of prey in the water and track how whales respond to them.

The world-first study, beginning next year, has the potential to reveal important insights into the relationship between large organisms and their food sources - and whether noise from humans can be a barrier.

See full article here.

Meet Luna

Luna, a wild orca whale who lives off the coast of Vancouver Island in Canada, attempts to communicate with humans by perfectly imitating a boat's motor. He's been living in the area ever since he got separated from his family when he was two.

Click here to see Luna

Praise for The Minke Connection

“Your plot is extremely well thought through and well executed – and the quality of the writing is fine.”

Dr. Cathie Dunsford, Dunsford and Associates

WRITING FROM AN ANIMAL’S POINT OF VIEW

`Do animals think? What happens in their minds if they are attacked?

While I will never know the answer to these questions, it was an important matter for me when I was writing the Romantic  Action Thriller – “The Minke Connection”,

In the first chapter a huge Sperm whale is deep diving to an amazing 1,200 metres to the sea floor to find food. In answer to my question, “How do I write from an animal’s point of view?” my writing tutor said, “Treat him as a human and personalise him!”

So that’s what I have done for the Sperm whale feeding and then being hunted and then being killed by a Japanese whaler in the Southern Ocean.

Also, I have used the same approach for the dolphins communicating with each other, the tragic birth of a deformed baby dolphin and the unbelievably brutal slaying of dolphin and porpoises by Japanese fishermen who drive the mammals onto the beaches of small coves where they club them to death.

No wonder environmentalists are so upset and angry. I found it very difficult to write these scenes which are spread throughout “The Minke Connection”.

So, if you want to find out more check go to Smashwords at www.smashwords.com/profile/view/MurrayKibblewhite  where you can order the book.

Review of The Minke Connection by Murray Kibblewhite

Someone is killing protected sperm whales.

John Daroux is a New Age intellectual, martial arts exponent and Reki master, a Renaissance man with an interest in all things Japanese.  Tasked by Greenpeace to investigate the reports, he is sent to Japan along with Carrie Ardley, a whale researcher dedicated to ending the whaling industry.  They join a Greenpeace ship to hunt down the factory ship and gain proof they are hunting protected whales.  Boarding the factory ship in mid ocean, John finds irrefutable evidence, almost loses his life and becomes Carrie’s lover. While in Tokyo they are followed by the dreaded Yakusa, evade being poisoned, and survive being frozen alive.

Mark Stafford is the chief of Greenpeace, competent and urbane.  He travels to Tokyo with his beautiful associate, Petra van de Roer, to find the reason why the giant trading company, Mosaka Corporation, is killing the protected Sperm whales. While unravelling the mystery he is confronted by the cut called the League of Blood and learns the more sinister reason behind the killings. 

Will the persistent efforts of the environmental protectors Greenpeace be enough to save the whales?

The Minke Connection is a thriller with plenty of action and romance and a spellbinding saga. While not strong on characterisation there is development of individual personalities. The main characters experience a variety of challenging situations which makes for exciting reading. The author has incorporated interesting and carefully researched details about whales, dolphins and the Japanese culture and history to make the story both credible and compelling.  It incorporates business versus environmentalism, big organizations versus small and expectation versus experience.   I’m eagerly looking forward to finding out what happens next.

Free the Arctic 30!

The Arctic 30 are released on bail, but they're not free.

They had been detained for over 1500 hours, more than 90,000 minutes for defending the Arctic for all of us. 

They still face years in jail for peacefully standing up against companies like Gazprom and Shell to protect the Arctic from oil drilling.

Now it's time for us to take a stand for them and demand that all the charges they still face are dropped.

Keep the pressure up until all charges are dropped.  Sign the petition here.

Protective measures for dolphins not enough

The smallest and rarest dolphin in the world, there are 55 Maui dolphins in the world.  Found off the coast of New Zealand, they are being threatened by fishing and disease.

The NZ government has proposed extending a protection zone to save the tiny, black and white cetaceans.

But researchers say the actions don't go far enough and argue the Maui's could be extinct within 20 years.

See full story here.