Japanese whaler reported missing

Name: Dean (49712059)

Date: 8/1/2009

Article# 13

From: BBC

Japanese whaler reported missing

(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7812820.stm)

My reaction:

The news is about a tragedy that happened in whaling ship in the Antarctic. A sailor was missing for several until now.

At the beginning, I think that whaling is one of the most dangerous industries in the world. Alike fishermen, the whalers have to deal with the problem most of their time: The weather. As we know, weather always plays a role of death in the sea world because of its unpredictable character. Sometimes it is sunny, sometimes it is stormy. You can't predict it even though you have sophisticated equipment. Therefore, the seamen depend on the seasons that often happens hurricanes or other disasters. However, the time which harvests the most is in the hurricane season. Thus, some of the sailors would take risk sailing. If you win the weather, you will get your reward; otherwise, you will pay your life. That sounds like gambling, but it is true.

Next, it is about living problem. Since the sail takes several months or maybe a year, it is crucial to store medicines. In a wild sea, there is no way to seek for help if something happens. For instance, scurvy is a common disease which is found among sailors. If someone suffers from it, you have no way to help unless you get any medicines.
Then, why the whalers risk their life working? I think it is because of the high profit. Since whale's whole body can be made into something like lipsticks. It consists the fat of whales' and the cost of extraction is low; In addition, women like making-up. They would spend all of their money on cosmetics. Then lipsticks would become their target. This business is worth millions of dollars.

On the other hand, many environmentists and animal protectors go against with them because of the way of hunting whales. The way they use is cruel. They drag the wounded whales and kill them alive. It is a bloody scene. The animals should not suffer this kind of pain and we, human, have no rights to do this. Therefore, the animal protectors often shoot that video in other to sue the whaling companies. (190words)