Latest news with #whaling
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
'I left Shetland to hunt whales in the Antarctic'
Gibbie Fraser was a teenager when he decided the best way to afford a motorbike like his friends on the west side of Shetland was to join the crew of a whaling vessel. Months later, at the age of 16, he was battling rough seas and violent storms in relentless pursuit of the largest animals on earth, 8,000 miles (13,000 km) from home in the South Atlantic ocean. Gibbie is one of several former Scottish whalers contributing to a new digital time capsule exploring the country's forgotten history in modern whaling. The Whalers' Memory Bank, launched in Dundee, aims to capture a snapshot of life onboard the whale-catching vessels around South Georgia and Antarctica between 1904 and 1965. "It was the highlight of my life," said Gibbie, who is chairman of the Shetland ex-Whalers Association. "I knew boys who had gone before and they came home the following summer with really nice motorcycles and I thought 'that's the way to do it'. "It was an adventure and when you are young, it is like a bit of a drug." 50 years on: Scots whaling recalled Now 83, he was among hundreds of Scots who joined boats along with largely Norwegian crew in the post-war years, when work was scarce. Many, like him, had grown up in small, coastal communities on Shetland, while others came from the Leith, in Edinburgh. The Edinburgh-based firm, Christian Salvesen, operated whale processing ports at the aptly named Leith Harbour at Stromness Bay in South Georgia, a British overseas territory about 870 miles (1,400 km) from the Falkland Islands. Gunners would fire harpoons aimed at killing and capturing blue, fin and humpback whales, which were brought aboard and processed at a centre in the island's main settlement, Grytviken. Gibbie began his career cooking and serving meals for the crew and cleaning the boat as a mess boy in the late 1950s. As the only non-smoker, he would also be sent above deck to steer at night while shipmates stayed below to play cards for cigarettes. He remembered the conditions on board being hard, but said there was a sense of "camaraderie" among the crew. "The catchers were wonderful boats and came through a lot of heavy weather, but you never walked along the aft end along the main deck, you had to go via the lifeboat deck because the main deck was awash most of the time," he said. "When you were in bed, you were not far from where the gun platform was. You were about a foot-and-a-half from where the sea was. You could hear it rushing by. "And it was daylight right round the clock. If you were among whales, then you kept going, you never stopped. It was right around the clock until the whales had disappeared." On one occasion, he recalled pursuing a fin whale in straight line for four hours before it was eventually captured. He said he "felt sorry" for the whales that were caught, adding he never wanted to see them suffer. "I realise that it was a warm-blooded animal that could feel pain like I could, and probably fear too," he said. "You always hoped that when the harpoon went in, that would kill it, it was never nice to see it struggle for a while." Gibbie completed four seasons aboard the boats and was only prevented from returning for a fifth when he suffered an arm injury in a crash involving his motorbike and a school bus at home in Shetland. The industry began to crumble in the early-1960s against the backdrop of more stringent government regulation and early environmental campaigns against the killing of the animals. However, by that point, whale stocks had become so low that the practice was "no longer deemed economically viable". The Edinburgh-based firm, Christian Salvesen, wound down its whaling operations in 1963. It is estimated about 176,000 whales were slaughtered and processed in South Georgia between 1904 and 1965. Historian Dan Snow helped launch the memory bank aboard the RRS Discovery in Dundee. The boat was built in the city as a research vessel which ferried explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton to the Antarctic in 1901. Dundee was centre of Scottish whaling throughout the 19th century when whale oil became an essential component for the softening of fabrics during jute production. Snow says elements of the Discovery's construction were inspired by the whaling vessels arriving in the city during that period. He told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland: "Discovery was an Antarctic survey vessel built in Dundee because it had that whaling expertise, built with all sorts of features that they learned from whaling ships. "It had things like rudders that lifted up into the hull and special strong hulls. "Through the memory bank, we've been able to save these stories, these testimonies about what it was like to go down there for months on end through the eternal summer of the Antarctic and chase whales, using world war two ships and radar equipment, it was like they were waging war on these whales." The memory bank has been produced by the South Georgia Heritage Trust and the South Georgia Museum. They worked with former whaling communities across Scotland to collect archive pictures and film, alongside several hundred items and oral histories and create a digital database, which can be viewed online. Helen Balfour, assistant curator of the museum, whose great-grandfather and grandfather were both whalers in South Georgia, said: "To understand more about what they saw, what they experienced and how they, their colleagues and families back home must have felt, is incredibly special. "It is amazing that over 60 years on from the whaling the camaraderie that exists between the whalers is just as strong." Whalers' Memory Bank
BBC News
15 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Whaling Archive: 'I left Shetland to hunt whales in the Antarctic'
Gibbie Fraser was a teenager when he decided the best way to afford a motorbike like his friends on the west side of Shetland was to join the crew of a whaling later, at the age of 16, he was battling rough seas and violent storms in relentless pursuit of the largest animals on earth, 8,000 miles (13,000 km) from home in the South Atlantic is one of several former Scottish whalers contributing to a new digital time capsule exploring the country's forgotten history in modern Whalers' Memory Bank, launched in Dundee, aims to capture a snapshot of life onboard the whale-catching vessels around South Georgia and Antarctica between 1904 and 1965. "It was the highlight of my life," said Gibbie, who is chairman of the Shetland ex-Whalers Association."I knew boys who had gone before and they came home the following summer with really nice motorcycles and I thought 'that's the way to do it'."It was an adventure and when you are young, it is like a bit of a drug." Now 83, he was among hundreds of Scots who joined boats along with largely Norwegian crew in the post-war years, when work was like him, had grown up in small, coastal communities on Shetland, while others came from the Leith, in Edinburgh-based firm, Christian Salvesen, operated whale processing ports at the aptly named Leith Harbour at Stromness Bay in South Georgia, a British overseas territory about 870 miles (1,400 km) from the Falkland would fire harpoons aimed at killing and capturing blue, fin and humpback whales, which were brought aboard and processed at a centre in the island's main settlement, Grytviken. Gibbie began his career cooking and serving meals for the crew and cleaning the boat as a mess boy in the late the only non-smoker, he would also be sent above deck to steer at night while shipmates stayed below to play cards for remembered the conditions on board being hard, but said there was a sense of "camaraderie" among the crew."The catchers were wonderful boats and came through a lot of heavy weather, but you never walked along the aft end along the main deck, you had to go via the lifeboat deck because the main deck was awash most of the time," he said."When you were in bed, you were not far from where the gun platform was. You were about a foot-and-a-half from where the sea was. You could hear it rushing by."And it was daylight right round the clock. If you were among whales, then you kept going, you never stopped. It was right around the clock until the whales had disappeared." On one occasion, he recalled pursuing a fin whale in straight line for four hours before it was eventually said he "felt sorry" for the whales that were caught, adding he never wanted to see them suffer."I realise that it was a warm-blooded animal that could feel pain like I could, and probably fear too," he said."You always hoped that when the harpoon went in, that would kill it, it was never nice to see it struggle for a while." 'No longer viable' Gibbie completed four seasons aboard the boats and was only prevented from returning for a fifth when he suffered an arm injury in a crash involving his motorbike and a school bus at home in industry began to crumble in the early-1960s against the backdrop of more stringent government regulation and early environmental campaigns against the killing of the by that point, whale stocks had become so low that the practice was "no longer deemed economically viable".The Edinburgh-based firm, Christian Salvesen, wound down its whaling operations in is estimated about 176,000 whales were slaughtered and processed in South Georgia between 1904 and 1965. Historian Dan Snow helped launch the memory bank aboard the RRS Discovery in boat was built in the city as a research vessel which ferried explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton to the Antarctic in was centre of Scottish whaling throughout the 19th century when whale oil became an essential component for the softening of fabrics during jute says elements of the Discovery's construction were inspired by the whaling vessels arriving in the city during that period. He told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland: "Discovery was an Antarctic survey vessel built in Dundee because it had that whaling expertise, built with all sorts of features that they learned from whaling ships."It had things like rudders that lifted up into the hull and special strong hulls."Through the memory bank, we've been able to save these stories, these testimonies about what it was like to go down there for months on end through the eternal summer of the Antarctic and chase whales, using world war two ships and radar equipment, it was like they were waging war on these whales." The memory bank has been produced by the South Georgia Heritage Trust and the South Georgia worked with former whaling communities across Scotland to collect archive pictures and film, alongside several hundred items and oral histories and create a digital database, which can be viewed Balfour, assistant curator of the museum, whose great-grandfather and grandfather were both whalers in South Georgia, said: "To understand more about what they saw, what they experienced and how they, their colleagues and families back home must have felt, is incredibly special."It is amazing that over 60 years on from the whaling the camaraderie that exists between the whalers is just as strong."
ABC News
15-06-2025
- Science
- ABC News
Researchers study southern right whale nursery off WA coast as population recovery stalls
Each winter, southern right whales arrive on Western Australia's southern coast to birth their young. In a remarkable natural habit, the mothers return to their place of birth to deliver their calves. It offers scientists a chance to study the species' breeding habits as they travel to the crystal clear bay at Point Ann, on the edge of the Fitzgerald National Park, 520 kilometres south-east of Perth. The study is key to understanding why the population has not bounced back like other species of whales since the end of commercial whaling in the 1970s. University of WA researcher Maxl Fabry said there were still very few southern right whales "compared to what there used to be and what there should be". The latest strategy for the research is to use drones and aircraft to help find answers. Mr Fabry and Katy Fannei run this leg of the project, each year surveying a 450km section of coast from Albany to the national park. Each year, they spot 30-70 mother and calf breeding pairs. "Unlike humpbacks, which have recovered from whaling to quite significant extent, southern right whales are still struggling to establish their pre-whaling population," Mr Fabry said. "Studies have shown that in the last 10 years, southern right whales are calving less and less, from every three years to every five years." The group hopes keeping records of mother and calf pairs along the coast will aid understanding of these developments. Photos and video will be added to international catalogues and shared with researchers across the world who study the species only found in the southern hemisphere. "We can put together a much more comprehensive idea of what southern right whales are doing, how they're covering and what the health of the population is," Mr Fabry said. "Southern right calving rates and their body conditions are really just a message in a bottle from the south coast, Antarctic waters and offshore waters. "It could be a lack of prey availability, it could be anthropogenic impacts, it could be all manner of things, both human-made and natural processes." A study by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Science (IMAS), the University of Tasmania and the Australian Antarctic Division found their population recovery seems to have recently stalled at a level far below pre-whaling. Researchers questioned whether it might be the "end of an era for southern right whale recovery". There are estimated to be about 2,000-3,500 southern right whales in the Australian population, but that is a long way off the estimated pre-whaling numbers of 70,000-160,000. Comparatively, there are an estimated 60,000 humpbacks in Australia's east and west populations. Point Ann is one of three large aggregation areas for the whales in Australia. Establishing long-term data sets to better understand the animals' recovery has proven difficult because the breeding patterns for each whale are not annual, making tracking numbers challenging. In 2021, the group spotted 70 mother and calf pairs. That dipped to 30 in 2023 and 60 last year. "There is no clear pattern as to whether they're increasing or declining, it's very fluctuating," Ms Fannei said. "They give birth every three to five years. "That's elevating in recent years … individuals don't visit the coast every year." Ms Fannei and Mr Fabry said the project relied on volunteers and the support of local business to continue its work. "For long-term studies, having local support is so important — we need to know in the next three or five years [whether] we can keep doing this," Ms Fennai said.
The Independent
11-06-2025
- The Independent
British activist who ‘didn't want whales to be murdered' facing jail
British activist Elyssia Phillips and her Iranian friend Anahita Babaei face potential jail time in Iceland after protesting whaling by climbing a whaling boat mast and staying there for 33 hours. The pair were charged with three criminal offences after being arrested in September 2023 for protesting the killing of endangered fin whales, a practice Iceland continues despite an international ban. Ms Phillips and Ms Babaei argue their actions were peaceful civil disobedience, while their lawyers claim Icelandic police are cracking down on protesters. 'We didn't want the whales to be murdered,' Ms Phillips said. The activists claim they were "manhandled" during their arrest and that police took their food and medical supplies during the 33-hour protest. Unable to apply for visas and facing potential legal fees, Ms Phillips and Ms Babaei have launched a GoFundMe to fight the charges.
The Independent
11-06-2025
- The Independent
British activist facing jail in Iceland after protesting against whale hunting
Two environmental activists are facing prison sentences after climbing onto the mast of a whaling boat and remaining there for 33 hours during a protest in Iceland. Elyssia Phillips, a British woman from Lewes, and her close friend Anahita Babaei, who is Iranian, travelled to the European country to campaign against the controversial practice of killing endangered fin whales. Only three countries in the world - Japan, Norway and Iceland - defy the International Whaling Commission 's ban on commercial whaling, which sees the enormous sea creatures killed with explosive harpoons and has been a cause célèbre for environmental movements for decades. Since being released on bail following their arrest in September 2023, they have been charged with three criminal offences, which could see them spend six months in prison or pay a hefty fine. Their lawyers, however, argue they are being made an example of as Icelandic police aim to crack down on civilian protests, in the wake of several anti-whaling and anti-fishery movements that have gained traction in the Nordic country. Speaking to The Independent, Ms Phillips, 36, said that she and Ms Babaei, also 36, had travelled to the port to board two vessels owned by the company Hvalur, the country's last whaling company. 'It is civil disobedience, we didn't hurt anybody or damage anything,' she said. 'It is us peacefully sitting up there saying we didn't want the whales to be murdered.' A report by Iceland's Food and Veterinary Authority last year found that using the harpoons to kill the large animals was taking too long, with some whales taking two hours to die after being hit several times by the devices. After remaining up on the 15-metre high masts for 33 hours, in which they claim the Reykjavik police took Ms Babaei's bag of food and medical supplies, they returned to ground level and were arrested and taken into custody. They also claim that they were 'manhandled' during the process of their arrests, despite complying with police orders and allowing themselves to be led to police vans. Their lawyer, Linda Emilsdóttir of the law firm Réttur, said: 'It's part of the anti-whaling campaign, but it's also a bigger sense that we feel the police are pushing cases against protesters in Iceland. 'Maybe that's because there are a lot of protests now, such as anti-whaling and fish farming but also against immigration law and Israel-Palestine and so on. 'They've been investigating for two years now and have now decided to take it to court but we don't really see why. It was just a peaceful protest and although they went up the mast on the ship, they didn't cause any damage, it's part of a political conversation, it was peaceful.' Their legal team has now applied to have the case dismissed, after the pair were charged with trespass and entering, breaking maritime law and refusing to obey police commands. 'Based on the provisions, they could be facing jail time or more likely a fine depending on the charges, but they didn't make any damage so there are no financial costs, there was no harm and the investigation has taken two years.' As a result, the two women have been unable to apply for visas while they have waited in limbo to understand the outcome of the case, with Ms Babaei unable to visit her family in Iran and both struggling to travel for work. Faced with the prospect of having to pay thousands in legal fees, they have now launched a GoFundMe to help fight their case. Ms Emilsdóttir added: 'A primary concern is that the prosecution has brought forward three separate charges, none of which can be justifiably linked to the conduct in question. The indictment lacks sufficient reasoning or evidentiary support in both its text and the accompanying case files. 'Furthermore, the defendants' actions, which consisted of a peaceful protest, caused no harm, did not breach public order, nor did they pose any threat to public safety. The initiation of criminal proceedings appears to be motivated not by the pursuit of justice, but by an intent to implement a punitive stance against individuals engaging in protest. 'It is also of serious concern that the case has remained under prolonged police investigation. Despite efforts to expedite the process, the investigation has been unnecessarily delayed. The mere status of being under prolonged criminal investigation imposes a significant burden on the accused and effectively constitutes a form of punishment.' They have now had to return to Iceland for court hearings, and are due to face trial in front of a judge in January 2026. The Foreign Office said it has not been approached for consular assistance but is ready to support. The Icelandic police have also been contacted for comment.
