Extinction of whales nearly here

[iceaura]

my view of conservation - - - - - - is that individual species conservation is utterly pointless because it does not consider the ecosystem as a functional unit with interdependent parts,

But there is no particular reason individual species conservation would not consider - be forced to consider - the ecosystem as a whole (functioning "unit" seems a stretch), is there?

Let's call it the spotted owl organizational principle (I've heard it called the "one square inch" effect, from what would be the consequences of establishing one square inch of guaranteed absence of machine noise in every National Park).

It's not going to get you everything you want, but to look on it as drawing money from other things seems unlikely: the whale saving money has probably attracted more money into trawling regulation, not diverted from it, for example.

 

[electrafixtion]

To be honest - in comparison to many other marine spoecies whales are ecologically irrelevant - they wouldn't make much of a difference to overall ocean ecology if they went - they simply don't perform as important a function as say sharks do.

But sharks arent cuddly and anthropomorphic so we couldn't give a fuck and kill 100,000,000 a year

So I'm going to be a bit contraversial and say - fuck the whales! - fuck them in their stupid arses! - Sideways with a rusty crowbar wrapped in barbed fucking wire! and do the same to the fucking whale huggers too!

Seriously though, I'd hate to see them go but the amount of attention they get is seriously disproportionate, and species conservation based on cuteness is apallingly stupid - we turn parts of our seas into deserts through bottom trawling but couldn't give a shit as long as we get a Mac Fillet for a pound - but a dolphin swims up a river, is too stupid to find its way back out to sea (just turn around you dumb fucker!) so it carks it and there's a national fucking media campaign.

While I wait for the nurse to bring my medication, I'll leave you with this little nugget:

http://www.divernet.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?id=3701&sc=&ac=d&an=

Are you sure about this SP? Don't whales because of their filtration feeding process help to greatly regulate and stabilize O2 and the vast microbial network "doin it's thang"

Although I understand that you do obviously understand marine (thanks to recent submitted pictures in a different thread) life, it's hard for me to accept whales as not being more so important to the oceanic eco system.

I could very well be wrong but I believe filter feeders are exceptional critters.

 

[one_raven]

As a human, however, it's a bit different. Humans are more important ONLY because we can kill the whales, whales can't actually kill us humans.

Might makes right?

 

[one_raven]

On the Clone thread:

So you admit that the ones with the biggest guns and the most power can determine what "rights" people have or don't have ......is that right?

I ask you the same question.
Is that right?

 

[Roman]

Might makes right?

Fuck yes it does!

 

[cosmictraveler]

Let's face it ....Humans suck giant donkey d**k!

Baron Max

Some do but then again there are a few who try to help out instead of trying to create more problems.

 

[Baron Max]

Might makes right?

Apparently it does, Raven. Take a look around some time, you'll be surprised.

Might protects man's "rights" just as much as might takes those same "rights" away.

So, yes, might makes right.

Baron Max

 

[Baron Max]

Some do but then again there are a few who try to help out instead of trying to create more problems.

And which side usually wins that contest?

Baron Max

 

[Baron Max]

I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what the f**k good whales are for anything?!

I've thought a lot about that, but I can't come up with anything but silly, mamby-pamby bullshit. And to make it even worse, humans killed off one specie of whales, didn't they? And if so, what happened? Did the world stop spinning? Did any major earthquakes happen as a result?

Baron Max

 

[iceaura]

I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what the f**k good whales are for anything?!

And you've been answered several times, including the obvious: they are good to eat.

I've seen people proposing some kind of krill processing, or algae harvest, to get food from the ocean. Whale's do that already, and turn it into delicious meat rather than some kind of pressed-plankton scum-cheese tofu substitute.

 

[synthesizer-patel]

Are you sure about this SP? Don't whales because of their filtration feeding process help to greatly regulate and stabilize O2 and the vast microbial network "doin it's thang"

Although I understand that you do obviously understand marine (thanks to recent submitted pictures in a different thread) life, it's hard for me to accept whales as not being more so important to the oceanic eco system.

I could very well be wrong but I believe filter feeders are exceptional critters.

well I did hold my hands up and admit I was ranting about that point - its just the frustration of a marine biologist (in training) with the general public's tendency to anthropomophise cuddly creatures and not give a shit about organisms that may have a far greater importance for the health of our oceans and for mankind itself.
Want a cancer cure? well lets stop driving sharks to extinction by killing 100,000,000 sharks a year so that the chinese can have gloopy gelatinous and tasteless soup full of heavy metals made from their fins and instead do some proper research on them - its bloody hard to chemically (or by another method) induce cancer in a shark, and when you do the shark metabolises the cancer immediately - but hey I've seen Jaws - sharks aren't nice and cute like dolphins - they're nasty - lets kills the fuckers
Sharks also selectively feed on weaker specimens of fish - selecting out of the population the worst of the gene pool - they actually have a potential to improve our fisheries by leaving only the biggest strongest most fecund and fastest growing fishes ina population.

Overall my point is that in order to protect and conserve whales we need to understand, protect, and conserve the whole ecosystem(s) that they inhabit rather than mess around with anti-whaling marches or spending money on pretty pictures of whales - unfortunately that kind of work takes a long time, costs a lot of money, isn't very sexy and doesn't make good TV.

Does that make sense?

 

[synthesizer-patel]

pee ess.

there has been a marine biologists conspiract theory doing the rounds for a few years now that the reason why Japan makes such a fuss about whaling is that they know the massive public outcry it creates diverts attention away from their destructive fishing practices and disregard for international fish catch quotas.

You'll get no comment from me of course