Whaling in the Philippines
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Whaling in the Philippines refers to the catching of whales in Philippine waters. Evidence of whaling in the archipelago was recorded as early as the seventeenth century. Whaling has been banned in the Philippines since 1997.


History

There is limited documentation of whaling in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. Filipino whalers often caught Bryde whales in the past. American and British whalers often caught
sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...
s in
Sulu Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Wilāya sin Lupa' Sūg''; tl, Lalawigan ng Sulu), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago and part of the Bangsamoro, Bangsamor ...
,
Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...
and the
Celebes Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu A ...
. British whaling in the Philippines were reported to have occurred from 1820 to 1840 while American whaling was reported to have happened in 1825 and 1880 alongside local whaling by Filipinos in
Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...
. There was a short period of commercial whaling in the Philippines from 1981 to 1986. Philippine whalers fished within Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) but it was reported that they also hunted Bryde whales in international waters. The Philippines was also a member of the
International Whaling Commission The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is a specialised regional fishery management organisation, established under the terms of the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) to "provide for the proper conservation of ...
from 1981 to 1988.


Ban on whaling

Whaling in the Philippines has been illegal since 1997 under Fisheries Administrative Order 185 which was issued in 1991. The order initially included only the catching, selling, or transporting of dolphins but this was amended in 1997 to include all
Cetacea Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel them ...
ns including whales. The calls for a ban on whaling and dolphin hunting in the Philippines were raised by both domestic and international groups after local whaling and dolphin hunting traditions of residents of
Pamilacan Pamilacan is an island barangay in the Philippines, situated south of Bohol island and surrounded by the Bohol Sea (also called Mindanao Sea). It is one of the of 17 barangays that compose the municipality of Baclayon. According to the 2015 censu ...
in Bohol were featured in newspapers in the 1990s. As a compromise for residents of Pamilacan who were dependent on whaling and dolphin hunting, whale and dolphin watching is being promoted in the island as a source of tourism income. Despite the ban, it is believed that the whaling industry in the Philippines did not cease to exist but went underground.


See also

*
Environment of the Philippines Today,​​ environmental problems in the Philippines include pollution, illegal mining and logging, deforestation, threats to environmental activists, dynamite fishing, landslides, coastal erosion, biodiversity loss, extinction, global warming ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whaling in the Philippines Environmental issues in the Philippines Economic history of the Philippines