CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA — The world's whales are more threatened by climate change, ozone depletion and pollution than by whaling, International Whaling Commission chairman Peter Bridgewater said Wednesday.
International efforts to revitalize whale populations, such as the establishment of sanctuaries and the IWC whaling ban, has led to a much healthier general population, Bridgewater said.
"The biggest danger to whales is . . . global change," Bridgewater said, addressing a lecture series on whales at the National Science and Technology Center. "By global change I mean not only climatic change, but also other effects, such as the ozone hole, and the spread of pollutants."
Bridgewater said evidence of the direct effects of chemical pollutants on whales, dolphins, and porpoises was still circumstantial. An IWC meeting in June will consider a report on the likely impact of climate change.