West Coast Publishing Ocean 2014 affirmative page

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Whales- Environment- Species/ Climate Change

Whales are key to the environment—special regulation and climate change

Whale Facts, whale and environmental protection organization, 2014, “Why Are Whales Important?”, Accessed April 28, http://www.whalefacts.org/why-are-whales-important/
Whales and the environment When it comes to the environment and the oceans ecosystem whales help regulate the flow of food by helping to maintain a stable food chain and ensuring that certain animal species do not overpopulate the ocean. A blue whale for example can consume as much as 40 million krill per day, so you can imagine the impact this would have on stabilizing the aquatic ecosystem if the blue whale species were to become extinct. When one species of animal that is important to the food chain dies it allows other species to thrive. At first it may appear that other species are benefiting from no longer having to face a predator such as whales, but over time these animals will overpopulate and possibly destroy the population of other species that it feeds on, so whales play an important role in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem by making sure other species do not overpopulate and destroy the species below them in the food chain. Even whale poop plays a large role in the environment by helping to offset carbon in the atmosphere. Studies have shown that the nutrients in sperm whale poop helps stimulate the growth of phytoplankton which pull carbon from the atmosphere to provide a cleaner and healthier breathing environment for all animals. Estimates state that as much as 400,000 tonnes of carbon are extracted from the air due to these whales each year! In additional to feeding carbon fighting phytoplankton the fact that whale poop stimulates the growth of phytoplankton means that it also helps feed other species that feed on phytoplankton for their survival. Phytoplankton helps feed the fish allowing them to thrive and reproduce, and the fish feed many other species that require fish to survive, thus keeping the food chain stable. In short whale poop plays a major role in maintaining the cycle of aquatic life and is just one of the many different things that make whales so important.

Whales- Environment- Laundry List

In addition to the moral implications of killing whales, they play a vital role in the environment- laundry list of reasons

Sara Mynott, professional science communicator, July 09, 2013, “Why Whaling? Why Save The Whale?”, Accessed April 29 http://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/saltwater-science/why_whaling_why_save_the
Arguments against whaling are perhaps more intuitive: many whale populations, such as those of the sei and fin whale, are under threat from human activities and we want to conserve them. Why though? Everybody loves a whale, but what do they add to the ecosystem and what value are they to us? Beyond the moral obligation that, as we are responsible for much of the decline in different whale populations, we should also be responsible for bringing whale numbers back up to a healthy level, where is the incentive? For starters, whales play an important role in ocean ecosystems: Ecology Whales have an important role to play in nutrient cycling. Their poo, for example, makes organic carbon more accessible to smaller organisms. Even a dead whale carcass is important in carbon cycling, particularly the export of carbon to the deep sea. The falling carcass (whale fall) brings carbon acquired at the surface (usually in the form of plankton) to the sea floor as the whale's body (a large carbon reservoir) sinks. The larger the whale, the more carbon-filled tissues it has, meaning that larger whales export more carbon. Whaling has reduced the size of whale populations and the size of whales. It has been estimated that bringing whale populations back to their natural level will mean 1.6 x 105 tonnes of carbon could be exported to the deep sea through whale falls - that works out at over 36 double decker busses worth of carbon per day! This is important in the context of global climate change as this export of carbon to the sediment means it can no longer interact with the atmosphere. As it falls to the sea floor, a whale carcass can provide food for hundreds of organisms as they flock to a food source that can keep them going in an environment usually devoid of such bountiful food resources. Here, scavengers such as hagfish sleeper sharks and many invertebrates chomp their way at the whale's soft tissue, removing 40-60 kg of it per day. Deep sea worms and crustaceans also feast on the whale carcass, until only the bones remain - the feasting is not over yet though, as this fuels a host of bone-munching microbes that break down the remains of the whale.

Whales- Economy

Whale populations are key to numerous economies around the world

Sara Mynott, professional science communicator, July 09, 2013, “Why Whaling? Why Save The Whale?”, Accessed April 29 http://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/saltwater-science/why_whaling_why_save_the
The Economy Okay, so whales are an integral part of marine ecosystems, but do whales have another value to us? Take a look to the Scottish Isles, or Canada's western coast for the answer to this one. Whale watching tourism is a lucrative business and while it's hard to put a value on a species, or on marine biodiversity, it has been estimated that it could generate 413 million US dollars in marine tourism annually. With much of Japan's whaling being located far from it's coast, tourism presents an unlikely alternative to the income from selling whale meat here, but many other whaling nations practice much closer to home, making marine tourism attractive, sustainable and economically viable. There are disadvantages to whale watching too, as approaching whales and other marine mammals too closely can disrupt their natural behaviour, including feeding patterns and time spent at the surface. Disruptions to these could have a negative impact on the whale's health, which is why the conduct of whale watching boats is carefully regulated in countries such as Scotland. Not all countries have strict regulations for this though, and we are still working to understand the impacts of tourism on whale health. While whale watching is not a perfect alternative, it is significantly less harmful to whale populations than commercial whaling and still provides an economic benefit. Their cuddle-factor aside, whales are important both ecologically and economically, making them important candidates for conservation. What other marine species do you think should be protected on these grounds?