ASEBL Journal – Volume 13 Issue 1 , January 2018
sights and the mindless compulsion to slaughter everything alive , from squirrels to elephants ... I admired them so much because I saw them as a natural people , living in at least some degree of harmony with the natural world . Now they seem nauseatingly anxious to renounce all that and throw themselves in to the stinking quagmire of our society , which has perverted everything natural within itself , and is now busy destroying everything natural outside itself . How can they be so bloody stupid ? How could I have been so blood stupid ?” ( Mowat 148 ).
With the U . S . Federal Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 , whaling was finally outlawed in this country . It was becoming general knowledge that many whale species , including the sperm whale , were endangered . The International Whaling Commission called for a moratorium on whaling in 1986 , although Japan , Norway , and Iceland still hunt whales .
There are many maritime museums in the United States , some of which seek to educate the public about whaling . Some museums , such as the New Bedford , MA , Nantucket , MA , Sag Harbor , NY and Cold Spring Harbor , NY Whaling Museums are dedicated solely to this enterprise ( mentioned because they are the closest to New York City ). Besides exhibits with artifacts , some have libraries that contain whaler captains ’ logbooks , which might reveal more about attitudes toward whales . Currently , whaling museums present whaling in ways to preserve a time in our history . For example , the mission statement of the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum ( 2012 ) is : “ Our mission is to explore the ever changing relationship between humans and whales through inquiry-based education and interpretation of artifacts that emphasize the cultural , scientific and environmental significance of Long Island and the sea . We help members and visitors make informed decisions about our marine environment .” As Philbrick mentions of people who visit Nantucket today , “ It is not whaling , of course , that brings the tourists to the island , but the romantic glorification of whaling ( Philbrick 235 ).
Whale watching companies have sprung up and seek to educate people about the wonders of whales and let people feel that they can get closer to these animals . Some aquaria , such as the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut , house whales that appear to be well adjusted ( personal experience ). The numbers of whales , and other marine mammals , seem to be bouncing back , ( although there have been disturbing deaths portrayed lately in the news , perhaps due to global warming ) and make it more likely for paying participants to sight whales , thus making whale-watching a profitable venture . Braga de Morais , et al . ( 2017 ) suspect in a recent review of whale catches in the western South Atlantic that the recovery of whales such as the humpback might be overestimated . This could be because historical whaling records from the 1600 ’ s to the 1900 ’ s might not have always be accurate .
In conclusion , many people ( except for those in three countries where whale hunting is a part of the culture ) have a positive attitude about whales and want to protect them . They would be appalled if we were to offer “ whale meat ” on the menu . I feel it is combination of not needing whales for oil or corsets , and listening to scientists regale us with information about how they are much like us , that has helped us reach this point in our cultural evolution about our attitude about whales . We can truly , at least
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