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151-527: Whaling vessels were among the earliest and most consistent visitors to the islands in the 19th century. The first such vessel for which a record exists is the New Hazard in 1813. These ships came for fresh drinking water, firewood and food provisions. The prehistory of the Austral Islands is largely in the dark, as only a few archaeological excavations have been carried out so far. The date of

302-610: A moratorium on commercial whaling of great whales beginning in the 1985–86 season. Since 1992, the IWC's Scientific Committee has requested that it be allowed to give quota proposals for some whale stocks, but this has so far been refused by the Plenary Committee. At the 2010 meeting in Morocco, representatives of the 88 member states discussed whether to lift the 24-year ban on commercial whaling. Japan, Norway and Iceland urged

453-658: A British show of force, Oberea laid down peace offerings leading to cordial relations. On 2 April 1768, the expedition of Louis-Antoine de Bougainville , aboard Boudeuse and Etoile on the first French circumnavigation, sighted Tahiti. On 5 April, they anchored off Hitiaʻa O Te Ra and were welcomed by its chief Reti. Bougainville was also visited by Tutaha. Bougainville stayed about ten days. By 12 April 1769 Captain James Cook had arrived in Tahiti's Matavai Bay, commanding HMS  Endeavour . He had been sent on

604-597: A ban on nudity (obliging them to wear clothes covering their whole body), banned dances and chants (described as immodest), tattoos, and costumes made of flowers. In the 1820s, the entire population of Tahiti converted to Protestantism. Duperrey , who berthed in Tahiti in May 1823, attests to the change in Tahitian society in a letter dated 15 May 1823: "The missionaries of the Royal Society of London have totally changed

755-475: A boat was pulled approximately 120 km away towards Timor (see Nantucket sleighride ), while in another case, the hunted whale capsized the boat and forced the fishermen to swim for 12 hours back to the shore. When the commercial whaling moratorium was introduced by the IWC in 1982, Japan lodged an official objection. However, in response to US threats to cut Japan's fishing quota in US territorial waters under

906-407: A circumvention of the moratorium, Iceland ceased whaling in 1989. Following the IWC's 1991 refusal to accept its Scientific Committee's recommendation to allow sustainable commercial whaling, Iceland left the IWC in 1992. Iceland rejoined the IWC in 2002 with a reservation to the moratorium. Iceland presented a feasibility study to the 2003 IWC meeting for catches in 2003 and 2004. The primary aim of

1057-569: A few others the two business models exist in an uneasy tension. The live capture of cetaceans for display in aquaria (e.g., captive killer whales ) continues. Whaling began in prehistoric times in coastal waters. The earliest depictions of whaling are the Neolithic Bangudae Petroglyphs in Korea, which may date back to 6000 BC. These images are the earliest evidence for whaling. Although prehistoric hunting and gathering

1208-616: A fleet of five ships anchored in Rapa's Ahurei Bay . A strong group of armed men was put ashore to capture workers by force. But the inhabitants retreated to the mountain forts and the occupants had to leave without having achieved anything. A few days later, the Chilean schooner Cora arrived at Rapa. Thirteen chiefs met and decided to capture the ship and crew and hand them over to the French authorities in Tahiti. A group of warriors sneaked aboard

1359-461: A group of local craftsmen clan called ata molã, and the fishermen will mourn the "death" of their ships for two months. These days, the Lamalerans use a motor engine to power their boats; however, their tradition dictates that once a whale has been caught, fishermen will have to row their boats and the whale back to the shore. The traditional practices made whaling a dangerous hunt. In one case,

1510-595: A missionary and teacher, and starting in 1817, the Gospels were translated into Tahitian ( Reo Maohi ) and taught in the religious schools. In 1818, the minister William Pascoe Crook founded the city of Papeʻete , which became the capital of the island. In 1819, Pōmare II, encouraged by the missionaries, introduced the first Tahitian legal code, known under the name of the Pōmare Legal Code, which consists of nineteen laws. The missionaries and Pōmare II thus imposed

1661-407: A near-beach settlement was excavated beginning in 1995 under the direction of American archaeologist Mark Eddowes, probably from a very early settlement phase. Food remains from the waste pits suggest that the inhabitants fed mainly on shellfish (fish, mussels, crustaceans) from the lagoon . Other food animals included pigs, chickens and Pacific rat. The processing of mussel shells, probably also for

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1812-660: A population of 103,000 minkes in the northeast Atlantic. With respect to the populations of Antarctic minke whales, as of January 2010, the IWC states that it is "unable to provide reliable estimates at the present time" and that a "major review is underway by the Scientific Committee." Whale oil is used little today, and modern whaling is primarily done for food: for pets, fur farms, sled dogs and humans, and for making carvings of tusks, teeth and vertebrae. Both meat and blubber ( muktuk ) are eaten from narwhals, belugas and bowheads. From commercially hunted minkes, meat

1963-400: A scientific mission with astronomy, botany, and artistic details. On 14 April Cook met Tutaha and Tepau and the next day he picked the site for a fortified camp at Point Venus for Charles Green's observatory. Botanist Joseph Banks and artist Sydney Parkinson , along with Cook, gathered valuable information on fauna and flora as well as on native society, language and customs, including

2114-598: A ship leave Tahiti with Lieutenant Benarcosi and two translators, but they were prevented from landing in Mahanatoa Bay by several war canoes. James Cook discovered the island of Tubuai in March 1777 during his third voyage, but also failed to set foot on the island. His report was known to Fletcher Christian , the leader of the mutineers on HMS Bounty . After the mutiny of the Bounty on April 28, 1789, off Tofua,

2265-430: A short isthmus of Taravao. The northwestern portion is known as Tahiti Nui ("big Tahiti"), while the much smaller southeastern portion is known as Tahiti Iti ("small Tahiti") or Taiʻarapū . Tahiti Nui is heavily populated along the coast, especially around the capital, Papeʻete. The interior of Tahiti Nui is almost entirely uninhabited. Tahiti Iti has remained isolated, as its southeastern half ( Te Pari )

2416-535: A successful whaling industry. German whaling ships in the mid to late 19th century would generally not be staffed with experienced sailors but rather with members of more wealthy farming communities, going for short trips to Scandinavia during the end of spring and beginning of summer, when their labor was not required on the fields. This kind of whaling was ineffective. Many journeys would not lead to any whales caught, instead seal- and polar bear skins were brought back to shore. Communities often paid more for equipping

2567-521: A temporary ecosystem at the ocean floor. Despite rebounding whale numbers after the international ban on whaling, climate change and rising carbon levels continue to hinder the amount of carbon sequestered by whales. Whaling was a major maritime industry in Australia from 1791 until its final cessation in 1978. At least 45 whaling stations operated in Tasmania during the 19th century, and bay whaling

2718-525: A tendency to decline. The traces of culture originating from the Austral Islands are quite numerous and the works of art produced there have often been judged as the most remarkable produced in Polynesia However, almost none of these works can be found on these islands but in renowned museums in Western countries. Indeed, passing ships received numerous offerings but also plundered some of

2869-399: Is 45 km (28 mi) across at its widest point and covers an area of 1,045 km (403 sq mi). The highest peak is Mont Orohena (Mouʻa ʻOrohena) (2,241 m (7,352 ft)). Mount Roonui , or Mount Ronui (Mouʻa Rōnui), in the southeast rises to 1,332 m (4,370 ft). The island consists of two roughly round portions centered on volcanic mountains and connected by

3020-511: Is abundant in all seasons, and sunshine is uncommon every month of the year. The cool winters and strong winds prohibit ultra tropical fruits such as coconuts to thrive, as it has dropped to 8.5 °C (47.3 °F) in September. The Austral islands constitute the Tubuai tropical moist forests terrestrial ecoregion. The natural vegetation consisted of lowland and montane rain forests. Much of

3171-536: Is accessible only to those travelling by boat or on foot. The rest of the island is encircled by a main road which cuts between the mountains and the sea. Tahiti's landscape features lush rainforests and many rivers and waterfalls, including the Papenoʻo on the north side and the Fautaua Falls near Papeʻete . The Society archipelago is a hotspot volcanic chain consisting of ten islands and atolls. The chain

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3322-823: Is another highly eroded shield volcano consisting of basaltic lavas accumulated between 3.83 and 3.1 Ma. The lavas are intersected by post-shield dikes . Tahaʻa consists of shield-stage basalt with an age of 3.39 Ma, followed by additional eruptions 1.2 Ma later. Raiatea consists of shield-stage basalt followed by post-shield trachytic lava flows , all occurring from 2.75 to 2.29 Ma. Huahine consists of two coalesced basalt shield volcanoes, Huahine Nui and Huahine Iti, with several flows followed by post-shield trachyphonolitic lava domes from 3.08 to 2.06 Ma. Moʻorea consists of at least 16 flows of shield-stage basalt and post-shield lavas from 2.15 to 1.36 Ma. Tahiti consists of two basalt shield volcanoes, Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti, with an age range of 1.67 to 0.25 Ma. November to April

3473-516: Is categorized as 'aboriginal subsistence hunters' by the IWC. The Lamalerans hunt for several species of whales but catching sperm whales are preferable, while other whales, such as baleen whales, are considered taboo to hunt. They caught five sperm whales in 1973; they averaged about 40 per year from the 1960s through the mid 1990s, 13 total from 2002 to 2006, 39 in 2007, an average of 20 per year 2008 through 2014, and caught 3 in 2015. Traditional Lamaleran whaling used wooden fishing boats built by

3624-797: Is certainly the sculpture of the God A'a, discovered in Rurutu and currently exhibited at the British Museum in London. There is a reproduction on the island. It is composed of thirty small figures sculpted on its body; its back had a cavity that could accommodate twenty-four other small sculptures which were however destroyed in 1822. The Austral Islands are also known for their large vertical drums or "pahu" often decorated with human figures that often welcomed Christian explorers or missionaries. Numerous other figures carved in wood or even in stone for

3775-627: Is eaten by humans or animals, and blubber is rendered down mostly to cheap industrial products such as animal feed or, in Iceland, as a fuel supplement for whaling ships. International cooperation on whaling regulation began in 1931 and culminated in the signing of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) in 1946. Its aim is to: provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible

3926-643: Is generally considered to have had little ecological impact, early whaling in the Arctic may have altered freshwater ecology. Early whaling affected the development of widely disparate cultures on different continents. The Basques were the first to catch whales commercially and dominated the trade for five centuries, spreading to the far corners of the North Atlantic and even reaching the South Atlantic . The development of modern whaling techniques

4077-715: Is less species-rich. In the few areas undisturbed by man, Pisonia grandis palm, heliotropes of the species Heliotropium arboreum (synonyms: Argusia argentea, Tournefortia argentea ) and Pandanus tectorius predominate, with shrubby and creeping plants in the understory. At lower elevations, outside of cultivated areas, there are thickets of Hibiscus tiliaceus . Guava ( Psidium guajava ), probably introduced by Europeans, has also spread widely and forms extensive tangled stands up to middle elevations. However, large areas have been damaged by previous slash-and-burn and goat grazing, and open grasslands have formed with few low-growing trees. Dense stands of ferns have established in

4228-627: Is oriented along the N. 65° W. direction, parallel to the movement of the Pacific Plate . Due to the plate movement over the Society hotspot , the age of the islands decreases from 5 Ma at Maupiti to 0 Ma at Mehetia , where Mehetia is the inferred current location of the hotspot as evidenced by recent seismic activity. Maupiti, the oldest island in the chain, is a highly eroded shield volcano with at least 12 thin lava flows, which accumulated fairly rapidly between 4.79 and 4.05 Ma. Bora Bora

4379-423: Is politically divided into 5 municipalities (Communes des Îles Australes), which administer themselves. The official time zone is UTC −10. The 6,820 inhabitants (2012 census) live mainly in small villages ; there are no large cities in the Austral Islands. Unlike other regions of Polynesia, the population of the Austral Islands has declined since the mid-1990s. The reason is the high migration of young people from

4530-400: Is reported that demand for whale meat decreased in that year. Lamalera, on the south coast of the island of Lembata , and Lamakera on neighbouring Solor , are the two remaining Indonesian whaling communities. The hunters obey religious taboos that ensure that they use every part of the animal. About half of the catch is kept in the village; the rest is bartered in local markets. In 1973,

4681-574: Is required to adequately track whale products. It was revealed in 1994 that the Soviet Union had been systematically undercounting its catch. For example, from 1948 to 1973, the Soviet Union caught 48,477 humpback whales rather than the 2,710 it officially reported to the IWC. On the basis of this new information, the IWC stated that it would have to rewrite its catch figures for the last 40 years. According to Ray Gambell, then-Secretary of

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4832-469: Is sold through shops and supermarkets in northern communities where whale meat is a component of the traditional diet. Hunters in Hudson Bay rarely eat beluga meat. They give a little to dogs and leave the rest for wild animals. Other areas may dry the meat for later consumption by humans. An average of one or two vertebrae and one or two teeth per beluga or narwhal are carved and sold. One estimate of

4983-603: Is the hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber , which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution . Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16th century, it had become the principal industry in the Basque coastal regions of Spain and France. The whaling industry spread throughout the world and became very profitable in terms of trade and resources. Some regions of

5134-488: Is the wet season, the wettest month of which is January with 340 millimetres (13 in) of rain in Papeʻete. August is the driest with 48 millimetres (1.9 in). The average temperature ranges between 21 and 31 °C (70 and 88 °F), with little seasonal variation. The lowest and highest temperatures recorded in Papeʻete are 16 and 34 °C (61 and 93 °F), respectively. About 1.4 million to 870,000 years ago,

5285-510: The Assembly of French Polynesia . The capital of the Austral Islands administrative subdivision is Tupua'i . The Austral Islands form a chain of seven islands extending from southeast to northwest. They are the product of a hot spot beneath the still active Macdonald seamount, which rises 338 kilometers east-southeast of Bass Rocks (Marotori) to about 40 meters below sea level. The geologically oldest, more eroded and fractured islands are in

5436-628: The Beaufort Sea , 300 in northern Quebec ( Nunavik ), and an unknown number in Nunavut . The total annual kill in Beaufort and Quebec areas varies between 300 and 400 belugas per year. Numbers are not available for Nunavut since 2003, when the Arviat area, with about half Nunavut's hunters, killed 200–300 belugas, though the authors say hunters resist giving complete numbers. Harvested meat

5587-596: The Beluga whale article, Indonesia's catches of sperm whales, and bycatch in Korea. Most of the whale species in the table are not considered endangered by the IUCN ("least concern" or "data deficient"). Only the sei whale is classified as "endangered", and the fin whale is classified as "vulnerable" by the IUCN. Key elements of the debate over whaling include sustainability, ownership, national sovereignty, cetacean intelligence , suffering during hunting, health risks,

5738-755: The EU . Politically, the Austral Islands today belong to French Polynesia (Pays d'outre-mer – POM) and are therefore affiliated with the EU. They are administered by a subdivision ( Subdivision administrative des Îles Australes ) of the High Commissariat of the Republic in French Polynesia ( Haut-commissariat de la République en Polynésie française ) in Papeete, on the island of Tahiti. The archipelago

5889-713: The Köppen climate classification , Cfal in the Trewartha climate classification ). Despite being situated south of the Tropic of Capricorn, the remote location in the middle of a tropical ocean enables the climate to be moderated in all seasons. Summers and winters are slightly cooler than in the Tupua'i Islands, and cyclones are rarer, as the islands are located near the Horse Latitudes at thirty degrees south. Precipitation

6040-524: The Marquesas Islands, which he annexed in 1842. Also in 1842, a European crisis involving Morocco escalated between France and Great Britain, souring their relations. In August 1842, Admiral Du Petit-Thouars returned and landed in Tahiti. He then made friends with Tahitian chiefs who were hostile to the Pōmare family and favourable to a French protectorate. He had them sign a request for protection in

6191-576: The Second World War , German whaling was abandoned completely. In the early 1950s, Germany maintained one whaling vessel for testing purpose as it considered re-establishing a German whaling fleet, but abandoned these plans in 1956. The last remaining German whalers worked for Dutch vessels in the 1950s and 1960s. Iceland is one of a handful of countries which still host a (privately owned) whaling fleet. One company ( Hvalur hf. ) concentrates on hunting fin whales, largely for export to Japan, while

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6342-555: The South Pacific . Geographically, the Austral Islands consist of two separate archipelagos. From northwest to southeast they are: The islands of Maria and Marotiri are not suitable for sustained habitation. Several of the islands have uninhabited islets or rocks off their coastlines. The chain is associated with the Macdonald hotspot . The only active volcano is the Macdonald seamount (40m depth). In administrative terms,

6493-562: The Tahitian language ( Reo Tahiti ) is also widely spoken. Tahiti was called Otaheite in earlier European documents: this is a rendering of Tah. ʻo Tahiti , which is typically pronounced [ʔotaˈhɛiti] . Tahiti is the highest and largest island in French Polynesia lying close to Moʻorea island. It is located 4,400 kilometres (2,376 nautical miles) south of Hawaiʻi, 7,900 km (4,266 nmi) from Chile , 5,700 km (3,078 nmi) from Australia. The island

6644-656: The United Nations 's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) sent a whaling ship and a Norwegian whaler to modernize their hunt. This effort lasted three years and was not successful. According to the FAO report, the Lamalerans "have evolved a method of whaling which suits their natural resources, cultural tenets and style." Lamalerans say they returned the ship because they immediately caught five sperm whales, too many to butcher and eat without refrigeration. Since these communities only hunt whales for noncommercial purposes, it

6795-487: The 1890s and painted many Tahitian subjects. Papeari has a small Gauguin museum. In 1891 Matthew Turner , an American shipbuilder from San Francisco who had been seeking a fast passage between the city and Tahiti, built Papeete , a two-masted schooner that made the trip in seventeen days. In 1903, the Établissements Français d'Océanie (French Establishments in Oceania) were created, which collected together Tahiti,

6946-491: The 18th and 19th centuries; and the introduction of factory ships and explosive harpoons along with the concept of whale harvesting in the first half of the 20th century. By the late 1930s, more than 50,000 whales were killed annually. In 1982, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) decided that there should be a pause on commercial whaling on all whale species from 1986 onwards because of

7097-473: The 2022 Census recorded a population of 191,779. Tahiti is the economic, cultural, and political centre of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity and an overseas country of the French Republic . The capital of French Polynesia, Papeʻete , is located on the northwest coast of Tahiti. The only international airport in the region, Faʻaʻā International Airport , is on Tahiti near Papeʻete. Tahiti

7248-638: The Austral Islands (including the Bass Islands ) constitute an administrative subdivision, the Tuha'a Pae or Austral Islands ( subdivision administrative des (Îles) Australes ), one of French Polynesia 's five administrative subdivisions ( subdivision administratives ). Geographically, the administrative subdivision of the Austral Islands is identical with the constituency of the Austral Islands ( circonscription des Îles Australes ), one of French Polynesia 's six constituencies ( circonscriptions électorales ) for

7399-540: The Austral Islands has already been modified mainly by the Polynesian aborigines. On the uninhabited Maria Atoll, ancient, largely undestroyed native vegetation can be found. On Rapa, too, there are still small remnants of the original montane rainforest in inaccessible steep areas. On the four larger islands (Rapa, Raivavae , Tubuai and Rurutu ) the vegetation is dominated by secondary growth. Beach vegetation differs little from that of other Pacific island groups, but

7550-533: The Austral Islands in October 1819. Lewis was rewarded with Raivavae sandalwood. The clans were engaged in one of their usual tribal wars. Pomaré managed to mediate between the warring parties and resolve the conflict diplomatically. He left as governor one of his Tahitian chiefs, who prepared the ground for the LMS Protestant missionaries who followed from Moorea a year later. The conversion to Christianity

7701-637: The Caribbean (where people are advised not to exceed one serving every three weeks), in the Faroe Islands, and in Japan. Scientists have analyzed the ability of the oceans to sequester atmospheric carbon before industrial whaling and in modern times, hundreds of years after the most active whaling periods. Focusing on the amount of carbon stored in baleen whales, scientists determined that large marine mammals hold over 9 million less tons of carbon in

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7852-527: The Church of Saint Francis Regis (Église de Saint-François-Régis), and one more on Raivavae Island: the Church of Saint Peter (Église de Saint-Pierre). According to 1991 data, Protestant Christian groups represent the majority on these islands. The official language, as in the rest of France, is French. In everyday life, the Austral language , which belongs to the Polynesian languages , is often spoken, but with

8003-475: The Cora and seized the captain. The crew surrendered without resistance. Five sailors decided to stay on the island as guests. A subsequent attempt by the barque Misti to capture the work was abandoned when the captain learned of the Cora's fate. Queen Pomaré IV of Tahiti ceded part of her sovereignty to France. As a result, France formally declared a protectorate over Tubuai in 1874 and Raivavae in 1876. With

8154-663: The Fathers successfully begged to be taken back to Lima. During his final visit in 1777 Cook first moored in Vaitepiha Bay. From there he reunited with many Tahitian clans and established British presence on the remains of the Spanish mission. On 29 September 1777 Cook sailed for Papetoʻai Bay on Moʻorea. On 26 October 1788, HMS  Bounty , under the command of Captain William Bligh , landed in Tahiti with

8305-408: The IWC moratorium lifted on certain whale stocks for hunting. Anti-whaling countries and environmental activists oppose lifting the ban. Under the terms of the IWC moratorium, aboriginal whaling is allowed to continue on a subsistence basis . Over the past few decades, whale watching has become a significant industry in many parts of the world; in some countries it has replaced whaling, but in

8456-523: The IWC, because in its opinion, the IWC had failed its duty to promote sustainable hunting as the culture within the IWC moved towards an anti-whaling, pro-conservation agenda. Japanese officials also announced they will resume commercial hunting within its territorial waters and its 200-mile exclusive economic zones starting in July 2019, but it will cease whaling activities in the Antarctic Ocean,

8607-460: The IWC, the organization had raised its suspicions with the former Soviet Union, but it did not take further action because it could not interfere with national sovereignty. Whales are long-lived predators, so their tissues build up concentrations of methylmercury from their prey. Mercury concentrations reach levels that are hazardous to humans who consume too much too often, since mercury also bioaccumulates in humans. High levels have been found in

8758-743: The Japanese claim of research "as a disguise for commercial whaling, which is banned." The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has attempted to disrupt Japanese whaling in the Antarctic since 2003 but eventually ceased this activity in 2017 due to little achievement in creating change. Other NGOs such as the Australian Marine Conservation Society and Humane Society International continued to campaign against Japan's scientific whaling program and block votes at IWC to bring back commercial whaling. The stated purpose of

8909-537: The Polynesian islands further north, as the Tupua'i islands are around the Tropic of Capricorn . Summers are hot and muggy, with an abundance of precipitation caused by thunderstorms from easterly winds. In addition, the islands can be affected by cyclones in the austral summer (between November and April). Winters are warm and humid, with easterly winds still creating high precipitation amounts. Far from any landmasses,

9060-520: The Southern Ocean, which was declared a whale sanctuary in 1994. Opponents of the compromise plan want to see an end to all commercial whaling but are willing to allow subsistence-level catches by indigenous peoples . These totals include great whales: counts from IWC and WDC and IWC Summary Catch Database version 6.1, July 2016. The IWC database is supplemented by Faroese catches of pilot whales, Greenland's and Canada's catches of narwhals (data 1954–2014), belugas from multiple sources shown in

9211-423: The Tahitian population, which shrank rapidly, ravaged by diseases and other cultural factors. During the first decade of the 19th century, the Tahitian population dropped from 16,000 to 8,000–9,000; the French census in 1854 counted a population just under 6,000. On 5 March 1797, representatives of the London Missionary Society landed at Matavai Bay ( Mahina ) on board Duff , with the intention of converting

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9362-414: The Tupua'i islands have a low absolute temperature range – a record high of 32.7 °C (90.9 °F) in March and a record low of 9.2 °C (48.6 °F) in August. The southern Bass Islands have a have a tropical rainforest climate ( Af in the Köppen climate classification , Arab in the Trewartha climate classification ), bordering on a very-mild winter humid subtropical climate ( Cfa in

9513-466: The absence of their Queen, before then approaching her and obliging her to ratify the terms of the treaty of protectorate. The treaty had not even been ratified by France itself when Jacques-Antoine Moerenhout was named royal commissaire alongside Queen Pōmare. Within the framework of this treaty, France recognised the sovereignty of the Tahitian state. The Queen was responsible for internal affairs, while France would deal with foreign relations and assure

9664-417: The annual gross value received from Beluga hunts in Hudson Bay in 2013 was CA$ 600,000 for 190 belugas, or CA$ 3,000 per beluga, and CA$ 530,000 for 81 narwhals, or CA$ 6,500 per narwhal. However the net income, after subtracting costs in time and equipment, was a loss of CA$ 60 per person for belugas and CA$ 7 per person for narwhals. Hunts receive subsidies, but they continue as a tradition rather than for

9815-414: The anti-whaling side for the continuation of scientific whaling. Deputy whaling commissioner, Joji Morishita, told BBC News : The reason for the moratorium [on commercial whaling] was scientific uncertainty about the number of whales. ... It was a moratorium for the sake of collecting data and that is why we started scientific whaling. We were asked to collect more data. This collusive relationship between

9966-431: The arrival of the Europeans, the island was divided into territories, each dominated by a single clan. The most important clans were the closely related Teva i Uta (Teva of the Interior) and the Teva i Tai (Teva of the Sea) whose combined territory extended from the peninsula in the south of Tahiti Nui. Clan leadership consisted of a chief ( ariʻi rahi ), nobles ( ariʻi ), and under-chiefs ( ʻĪatoʻai ). The ariʻi were also

10117-448: The beach. The structure of the settlements reflected the social order. There were strictly separate dwellings, built of perishable materials, for the aristocracy, the priests, the middle class (artisans, artists), warriors , adolescents and pubescent girls. Due to increasing tribal warfare, the beach settlements were abandoned, probably in the seventeenth or eighteenth century. The inhabitants retreated to heavily fortified settlements in

10268-519: The catch methods used to capture and kill the whales. The Inuit mastered the art of whaling around the 11 century AD in the Bering Strait . The technique consisted of spearing a whale with a spear connected to an inflated seal bladder. The bladder would float and exhaust the whale when diving, and when it surfaced the Inuit hunters would spear it again, further exhausting the animal until they were able to kill it. Vikings in Greenland also ate whale meat, but archaeologists believe they never hunted them on

10419-424: The catch. The average per year from 2012 to 2016 was around 150 minke and 17 fin whales and humpback whales taken from west coast waters and around 10 minke from east coast waters. In April 2009 Greenland landed its first bowhead whale in nearly 40 years. It landed three bowheads each year in 2009 and 2010, one each in 2011 and 2015. In 2021 the Sermersooq municipal council banned whaling in Nuup Kangerlua , one of

10570-406: The chief of the new colony. He threw Pritchard into prison, and later sent him back to Britain. The annexation caused the Queen to be exiled to the Leeward Islands, and after a period of troubles, a real Franco-Tahitian war began in March 1844. News of Tahiti reached Europe in early 1844. The French statesman François Guizot , supported by King Louis-Philippe of France , had denounced annexation of

10721-404: The crew mutinied on the initiative of Fletcher Christian . The mutineers seized the ship and set the captain and most of those members of the crew who remained loyal to him adrift in a ship's boat. A group of mutineers then went back to settle in Tahiti, after which the Bounty, under Christian, sailed to Pitcairn Island . Although various explorers had refused to get involved in tribal conflicts,

10872-672: The defence of Tahiti, as well as maintain order on the island. Once the treaty had been signed there began a struggle for influence between the English Protestants and the Catholic representatives of France. During the first years of the Protectorate, the Protestants managed to retain a considerable hold over Tahitian society, thanks to their knowledge of the country and its language. George Pritchard had been away at

11023-559: The earliest known forms of whaling date to at least 3000 BC, practiced by the Inuit and other peoples in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. Coastal communities around the world have long histories of subsistence use of cetaceans , by dolphin drive hunting and by harvesting drift whales . Widespread commercial whaling emerged with organized fleets of whaling ships in the 17th century; competitive national whaling industries in

11174-722: The earliest settlement is unclear, as radiocarbon dates are scarcely available. However, due to their peripheral location in the Polynesian Triangle , scholars suspect that the Austral Islands were colonized relatively late, possibly by visitors from the Society Islands , Mangareva , or the Cook Islands . The Noble families of the Austral Islands and the clans of the Society Islands share kinship . For example, chief Tamatoa of Tubuai believed that he

11325-488: The end of the Pomaré dynasty-the last king of Tahiti was Pomaré V-the islands were annexed in 1880 and became a French colony . One exception was two small islands that the colonial powers of France and Britain had apparently overlooked. Rurutu, under King Teuruarii IV, and Rimatara, under Queen Tamaeva IV , initially remained independent kingdoms. After an exchange of diplomatic notes and after Britain expressed no interest in

11476-456: The exchange of goods with other settlements, was an integral part of the economy. Dating of charcoal remains yielded dates of 1453 (±150 years) and 1113 (±50 years). According to the current state of research, an initial settlement of the Austral Islands can be assumed at the beginning of the second millennium AD . After initial settlement in caves and rock ledges near the coast , a stratified tribal society developed rapidly in settlements near

11627-449: The existence of cetaceans. Large ships and boats make a tremendous amount of noise that falls into the same frequency range of many whales. Bycatch also kills more animals than hunting. Some scientists believe pollution to be a factor. Moreover, since the IWC moratorium, there have been several instances of illegal whale hunting by IWC nations. In 1994, the IWC reported evidence from genetic testing of whale meat and blubber for sale on

11778-635: The extreme depletion of most of the whale stocks. Contemporary whaling for whale meat is subject to intense debate. Iceland, Japan, Norway, First Nations people in Canada, Native Americans in the USA, and the Danish dependencies of the Faroe Islands and Greenland continue to hunt in the 21st century. The IWC ban on commercial whaling has been very successful, with only Iceland, Japan and Norway still engaging in and supporting commercial hunting. They also support having

11929-642: The first European visit to Tahiti, was under the command of Captain Samuel Wallis . While circumnavigating the globe in HMS ; Dolphin , they sighted the island on 18 June 1767 and then harbored in Matavai Bay between the chiefdom Pare - Arue (governed by Tu (Tu-nui-e-aʻa-i-te-Atua) and his regent Tutaha) and the chiefdom Haʻapape , governed by Amo and his wife "Oberea" ( Purea ). The first contacts were difficult, but to avert all-out war after

12080-569: The hunt of one whale every two years from the Hudson Bay-Foxe Basin population, and one whale every 13 years from the Baffin Bay-Davis Strait population. The traditional whale hunt, known as grindadráp , is regulated by Faroese authorities but not by the IWC, which does not claim jurisdiction over small cetaceans. Around 800 long-finned pilot whales ( Globicephala melaena ) are caught each year, mainly during

12231-615: The inland hills , comparable to the Pā of New Zealand. On Rapa Island, for example, 15 such castles have been recorded. The Norwegian archaeological expedition to Easter Island and the eastern Pacific in 1956, led by Thor Heyerdahl, determined an antiquity of between 200 and 300 years for a fortified settlement on Rapa's Morongo Uta hill and dated the Hatututi castle complex of Raivavae to 1700 AD. Numerous wars and probably also overexploitation of natural resources may have drastically reduced

12382-720: The island in 1772. He would ultimately send three expeditions aboard the ship Aguila , the first two under the command of navigator Domingo de Bonechea . Four Tahitians, Pautu, Tipitipia, Heiao, and Tetuanui, accompanied Bonechea back to Peru in early 1773 after the first Aguila expedition. Cook returned to Tahiti between 15 August and 1 September 1773. Greeted by the chiefs, Cook anchored in Vaitepiha Bay before returning to Point Venus. Cook left Tahiti on 14 May 1774. Pautu and Tetuanui returned to Tahiti with Bonechea aboard Aguila on 14 November 1774; Tipitipia and Heiao had died. Bonechea died on 26 January 1775 in Tahiti and

12533-550: The island of Rekareka to the southeast of Tahiti. Hence, although the Spanish and Portuguese made contact with nearby islands, they may not have arrived at Tahiti. The next stage of European visits to the region came during the period of intense Anglo-French rivalry that filled the twelve years between the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War . The first of these visits, and perhaps

12684-475: The island of Tahiti was formed as a volcanic shield . The first Tahitians arrived from Western Polynesia sometime before 500   BC. Linguistic, biological and archaeological evidence supports a long migration from Southeast Asia via the Fijian, Samoan and Tongan Archipelagos using outrigger canoes that were up to twenty or thirty metres long and could transport families as well as domestic animals. Before

12835-713: The island was visited by the United States Exploring Expedition . One of its members, Alfred Thomas Agate , produced a number of sketches of Tahitian life, some of which were later published in the United States. In 1836, the Queen's advisor Pritchard had two French Catholic priests expelled, François Caret and Honoré Laval . As a result, in 1838 France sent Admiral Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars to obtain reparations. Once his mission had been completed, Admiral Du Petit-Thouars sailed towards

12986-772: The island. The war ended in December 1846 in favour of the French. The Queen returned from exile in 1847 and agreed to sign a new covenant, considerably reducing her powers, while increasing those of the commissaire. Thus, the French reigned over the Kingdom of Tahiti. In 1863, they put an end to the British influence and replaced the British Protestant Missions with the Société des missions évangéliques de Paris (Society of Evangelical Missions of Paris). During

13137-453: The islands so far, and the tourist infrastructure is still underdeveloped. The islands can be reached by regular supply boat from Tahiti and by light aircraft from Tahiti-Faa'a airport. There are airfields at Rurutu , Tubuai, Raivavae and Rimatara. The currency is (still) the CFP franc , which is pegged to the euro . The administrative budget of the Austral Islands is largely financed by France and

13288-495: The islands' sites, notably the missionaries of the London Missionary Society, anxious to eradicate all traces of ancient worship. The marae, Polynesian places of worship, were thus excavated and gradually disappeared. In Raivavae , for example, out of sixty-two marae present at the beginning of the 20th century, only twenty-three remain visible today. The best known work of art stolen from the Austral Islands

13439-468: The islands, Rurutu came under French suzerainty on March 27, 1889, and Rimatara on March 29, 1889, The final annexation took place in 1900, Rimatara and Rurutu also became French colonies . The Tuha'a Pae or Austral Islands ( French : Îles Australes or Archipel des Australes ) are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia , an overseas collectivity of France in

13590-636: The isolated archipelago to other parts of Polynesia or to France for their better job prospects. The majority of the population is Christian mostly belonging to various Protestant groups and the Catholic Church . Catholics follow the Latin rite and administer 4 churches under the Archdiocese of Papeete , 2 on Tubuai Island: the Church of Mary and the Church of Saint Joseph (Église de Maria no te Hau; Église de Saint-Joseph) one on Rurutu Island:

13741-408: The king of Tahiti. It was the first time that Tahiti had been united under the control of a single family. This marked the end of Tahitian feudalism and the military aristocracy, which were replaced by an absolute monarchy. At the same time, Protestantism quickly spread, thanks to the support of Pōmare II, and replaced the traditional beliefs. In 1816 the London Missionary Society sent John Williams as

13892-540: The kingdom, and when in 1880 the governor Henri Isidore Chessé, supported by the Tahitian chiefs, pushed him to abdicate in favour of France, he accepted. On 29 June 1880, he ceded Tahiti to France along with the islands that were its dependencies. He was given the titular position of Officer of the Orders of the Legion of Honour and Agricultural Merit of France . Having become a colony, Tahiti thus lost all sovereignty. Tahiti

14043-465: The lands that now constitute modern French Polynesia. In 1791, HMS  Pandora under Captain Edward Edwards called at Tahiti and took custody of fourteen of the mutineers. Four were drowned in the sinking of Pandora on her homeward voyage, three were hanged, four were acquitted, and three were pardoned. In the 1790s, whalers began landing at Tahiti during their hunting expeditions in

14194-477: The largest fjords in inhabited areas of Greenland. The council did not want hunting to kill the humpback whales seen by the local tourism industry. Before local humpback hunting resumed in 2010 there had been nine humpbacks in the fjord during summer. When hunting resumed some were killed and others left. Sermersooq has not banned whaling elsewhere in the municipality, which is the world's largest municipality, at 200,000 square miles on both coasts. Originally one of

14345-556: The marae, carved wooden fly swatters generally with anthropomorphic figures, sometimes even with ivory handles, large decorated spoons as well as highly decorated bowls have been found in the archipelago . Overall, these works are finely decorated with great complexity and often with anthropomorphic figures. Other objects used to dress the people or personalities of the islands have been discovered, such as elaborate hairstyles as well as large crowns and necklaces of hair or feathers with shell or ivory pendants. Whaling Whaling

14496-565: The mission of carrying Tahitian breadfruit trees ( Tahitian : ʻuru ) to the Caribbean . Sir Joseph Banks , the botanist from James Cook 's first expedition, had concluded that this plant would be ideal to feed the African slaves working in the Caribbean plantations at very little cost. The crew remained in Tahiti for about five months, the time needed to transplant the seedlings of the trees. Three weeks after leaving Tahiti, on 28 April 1789,

14647-424: The money, and the economic analysis noted that whale watching may be an alternate revenue source. Of the gross income, CA$ 550,000 was for beluga skin and meat, to replace beef, pork and chickens which would otherwise be bought, CA$ 50,000 was received for carved vertebrae and teeth. CA$ 370,000 was for narwhal skin and meat, CA$ 150,000 was received for tusks, and carved vertebrae and teeth of males, and CA$ 10,000

14798-479: The morals and customs of the inhabitants. Idolatry no longer exists among them, and they generally profess the Christian religion. The women no longer come aboard the vessel, and even when we meet them on land they are extremely reserved. (...) The bloody wars that these people used to carry out and human sacrifices have no longer taken place since 1816." When, on 7 December 1821, Pōmare II died, his son Pōmare III

14949-631: The most successful whaling nations, German whaling vessels started from Hamburg and other smaller cities on the Elbe River, hunting for whales around Greenland and Spitsbergen . While 1770 is recorded to have been the most successful year of German whaling, German whaling went into steep decline with the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars and never really recovered. After the Napoleonic Wars, Germany tried but could never re-establish

15100-519: The mutineers from the Bounty offered their services as mercenaries and furnished arms to the family which became the Pōmare Dynasty . The chief Tū knew how to use their presence in the harbours favoured by sailors to his advantage. As a result of his alliance with the mutineers, he succeeded in considerably increasing his supremacy over the island of Tahiti. In about 1790, the ambitious chief Tū took

15251-667: The narrow, moist crevices. The higher elevations in the lee of the mountains are arid in places. The inhabitants of the Austral Islands live mainly from subsistence agriculture . The very fertile soils and the warm and humid climate make it possible to grow vegetables , tubers (taro and yams) and tropical and subtropical fruits. The products are mainly consumed by the farmers themselves, and small surpluses are exported to Tahiti. In addition, fishing and livestock (chickens and pigs) are raised for local consumption. Some copra, coffee in small quantities ( Raivavae and Rurutu) and vanilla (Rurutu) are grown for export. Tourism has barely touched

15402-412: The nearest major landmass is Australia . Divided into two parts, Tahiti Nui (bigger, northwestern part) and Tahiti Iti (smaller, southeastern part), the island was formed from volcanic activity; it is high and mountainous with surrounding coral reefs . Its population was 189,517 in 2017, making it by far the most populous island in French Polynesia and accounting for 68.7% of its total population;

15553-595: The northwest Pacific Ocean, and the Australian Whale Sanctuary . Tahiti Tahiti ( English: / t ə ˈ h iː t i / ; Tahitian [taˈhiti] ; French pronunciation: [ta.iˈti] ) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia . It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and

15704-413: The northwest, the younger ones in the southeast of the chain. The geological age of the basaltic rocks ranges from 28.6 million years on Rimatara in the northwest to 3.3 million years on Marotiri in the southeast. Marotiri, the youngest island, is merely a group of rugged volcanic rocks with no protective coral reef. Maria, on the other hand, the oldest, is an atoll whose volcanic central island sank into

15855-417: The ocean than during the pre whaling era (9.1 x 10^6 tons). Whales play an important role in the carbon cycle in life and death. Living whales cycle carbon and nitrogen throughout the water column via whale feces where it can contribute to primary productivity at the surface. In death, their carcasses can become part of a whale fall and sink to the bottom, bringing their carbon with them to help form

16006-441: The only other one hunts minke whales for domestic consumption, as the meat is popular with tourists . Iceland has its own whale watching sector, which exists in uneasy tension with the whaling industry. Iceland did not object to the 1986 IWC moratorium. Between 1986 and 1989 around 60 animals per year were taken under a scientific permit. However, under strong pressure from anti-whaling countries, who viewed scientific whaling as

16157-455: The open market in Japan in 1993. In addition to the legally permitted minke whale, the analyses showed that 10–25% of tissues sampled came from non-minke baleen whales . Further research in 1995 and 1996 showed a significant drop of non-minke baleen whales sampled to 2.5%. In a separate paper, Baker stated that "many of these animals certainly represent a bycatch (incidental entrapment in fishing gear)" and stated that DNA monitoring of whale meat

16308-547: The orderly development of the whaling industry. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was set up under the ICRW to decide hunting quotas and other relevant matters based on the findings of its Scientific Committee. Non-member countries are not bound by its regulations and conduct their own management programs. It regulates hunting of 13 species of great whales and has not reached consensus on whether it may regulate smaller species. The IWC voted on July 23, 1982, to establish

16459-472: The organisation to lift the ban. A coalition of anti-whaling nations offered a compromise plan that would allow these countries to continue whaling but with smaller catches and under close supervision. Their plan would also completely ban whaling in the Southern Ocean . More than 200 scientists and experts have opposed the compromise proposal for lifting the ban and have also opposed allowing whaling in

16610-457: The original forest has been mostly cleared for pasture and agriculture. The islands are home to several endemic plants and animals, including the Rimatara reed warbler ( Acrocephalus rimatarae ), Rapa fruit-dove ( Ptilonopus huttoni ), and Kuhl's lorikeet ( Vini kuhli ). Most of the islands are surrounded by coral reefs. The islands constitute a distinct marine ecoregion . The flora of

16761-787: The other Society Islands , the Austral Islands , the Marquesas Islands and the Tuamotu Archipelago . During the First World War , the Papeʻete region of the island was attacked by two German warships . A French gunboat as well as a captured German freighter were sunk in the harbour and the two German armoured cruisers bombarded the colony. Between 1966 and 1996 the French Government conducted 193 nuclear bomb tests above and below

16912-443: The pagan native populations to Christianity. The arrival of these missionaries marked a new turning point for the island of Tahiti, having a lasting impact on the local culture. The first years proved hard work for the missionaries, despite their association with the Pōmare, the importance of whom they were aware of thanks to the reports of earlier sailors. In 1803, upon the death of Pōmare I , his son Vairaʻatoa succeeded him and took

17063-501: The point when Protestantism truly took off on the island. In about 1810, Pōmare II married Teremoʻemoʻe daughter of the chief of Raiatea , to ally himself with the chiefdoms of the Leeward Islands . On 12 November 1815, thanks to these alliances, Pōmare II won a decisive battle at Feʻi Pī (Punaʻauia), notably against Opuhara, the chief of the powerful clan of Teva. This victory allowed Pōmare II to be styled Ariʻi Rahi , or

17214-479: The population even before the arrival of Europeans . Rurutu was the first of the Austral Islands to be discovered by Europe in 1769. James Cook reached the island, which he named Ohetiroa, during his first voyage to the Pacific on August 14, 1769. After HMS Endeavour anchored off the island for the night, Cook launched the pinnace the next day under the command of Lieutenant Gore . Naturalist Joseph Banks

17365-401: The powers of the traditional hereditary chiefs. In the context of the republican assimilation, these councils tried their best to protect the traditional way of life of the local people, which was threatened by European influence. In 1877, Queen Pōmare died after ruling for fifty years. Her son, Pōmare V, then succeeded her on the throne. The new king seemed little concerned with the affairs of

17516-511: The proper name of the island. Cook also met many island chiefs. Cook and Endeavour left Tahiti on 13 July 1769. Cook estimated the population to be 200,000 including all the nearby islands in the chain. This estimate was reduced to 35,000 by Cook's contemporary, anthropologist and Tahiti expert Douglas L. Oliver. The Viceroy of Peru , Manuel de Amat y Juniet , under order of the Spanish Crown, organized an expedition to colonize

17667-590: The protection of England. In November 1835 Charles Darwin visited Tahiti aboard HMS Beagle on her circumnavigation, captained by Robert FitzRoy . He was impressed by what he perceived to be the positive influence the missionaries had had on the sobriety and moral character of the population. Darwin praised the scenery, but was not flattering towards Tahiti's Queen Pōmare IV. Captain Fitzroy negotiated payment of compensation for an attack on an English ship by Tahitians, which had taken place in 1833. In Sept. 1839,

17818-399: The religious leaders, revered for the mana (spiritual power) they inherited as descendants of the gods. As symbols of their power, they wore belts of red feathers. Nonetheless, to exercise their political power, councils or general assemblies composed of the ariʻi and the ʻĪatoʻai had to be called, especially in case of war. The chief's spiritual power was also limited; each clan's practice

17969-648: The research program is to establish the size and dynamics of whale populations. The Japanese government wishes to resume whaling in a sustainable manner under the oversight of the IWC, both for whale products (meat, etc.) and to help preserve fishing resources by culling whales. Anti-whaling organizations claim that the research program is a front for commercial whaling, that the sample size is needlessly large and that equivalent information can be obtained by non-lethal means, for example by studying samples of whale tissue (such as skin) or feces. The Japanese government sponsored Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), which conducts

18120-506: The research, disagrees, stating that the information obtainable from tissue and/or feces samples is insufficient and that the sample size is necessary in order to be representative. Japan's scientific whaling program is controversial in anti-whaling countries. Countries opposed to whaling have passed non-binding resolutions in the IWC urging Japan to stop the program. Japan claims that whale stocks for some species are sufficiently large to sustain commercial hunting and blame filibustering by

18271-431: The same period about a thousand Chinese, mainly Cantonese , were recruited at the request of a plantation owner in Tahiti, William Stewart, to work on the great cotton plantation at Atimaono. When the enterprise resulted in bankruptcy in 1873, some Chinese workers returned to their country, but a large number stayed in Tahiti and mixed with the population. In 1866 the district councils were formed, elected, which were given

18422-406: The sea long ago, leaving only four motus. The remaining islands are classic atolls with a central island, a coral reef and a fringe of coral islands in the various stages of development. The northern Tupua'i islands have a tropical rainforest climate ( Af according to the Köppen climate classification , Arab according to the Trewartha climate classification ), but relatively cool compared to

18573-493: The sea. Greenlandic Inuit whalers catch around 175 large whales per year, mostly minke whales, as well as 360 narwhals, 200 belugas, 190 pilot whales and 2,300 porpoises. The government of Greenland sets limits for narwhals and belugas. There are no limits on pilot whales and porpoises. The IWC treats the west and east coasts of Greenland as two separate population areas and sets separate quotas for each coast. The far more densely populated west coast accounts for over 90% of

18724-525: The ship first headed for Tubuai, but only stayed there for a week before sailing for Tahiti. Armed with provisions and several Tahitian women, the mutineers returned to Tubuai to settle. However, internal disputes and bloody clashes with the islanders, in which 66 Tubuans were killed, caused the Bounty to depart only three months later. Rapa Iti was discovered in 1791 by George Vancouver , Marotiri in 1800 by George Bass , Rimatara in 1811 by British Tahitian sandalwood trader Samuel Pinder Henry, and Maria Atoll

18875-581: The situation to change the way in which powers were arranged, and to make the Tahitian monarchy closer to the English model of a constitutional monarchy. They therefore created the Tahitian Legislative Assembly, which first sat on 23 February 1824. In 1827, the young Pōmare III suddenly died, and it was his half-sister, ʻAimata, aged thirteen, who took the title of Pōmare IV . The Birmingham -born missionary George Pritchard , who

19026-438: The southern hemisphere. The arrival of these whalers, who were subsequently joined by merchants coming from the penal colonies in Australia, marked the first major overturning of traditional Tahitian society. The crews introduced alcohol , arms and infectious diseases to the island, and encouraged prostitution , which brought with it venereal disease . These commercial interactions with westerners had catastrophic consequences for

19177-615: The study was to deepen the understanding of fish–whale interactions. Amid disagreement within the IWC Scientific Committee about the value of the research and its relevance to IWC objectives, no decision on the proposal was reached. However, under the terms of the convention the Icelandic government issued permits for a scientific catch. In 2003 Iceland resumed scientific whaling which continued in 2004 and 2005. Iceland resumed commercial whaling in 2006. Its annual quota

19328-419: The summer. Other species are not hunted, though occasionally Atlantic white-sided dolphin can be found among the pilot whales. Most Faroese consider the hunt an important part of their culture and history and arguments about the topic raise strong emotions. Animal-rights groups criticize the hunt as being cruel and unnecessary and economically insignificant. Hunters claim that most journalists lack knowledge of

19479-617: The terms of the Packwood -Magnuson Amendment, Japan withdrew its objection in 1987. According to the BBC , the US went back on this promise, effectively destroying the deal. Since Japan could not resume commercial whaling, it began whaling on a purported scientific-research basis. Australia , Greenpeace , the Australian Marine Conservation Society , Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and other groups dispute

19630-488: The time. He returned however to work towards indoctrinating the locals against the Roman Catholic French. In 1843, the Queen's Protestant advisor, Pritchard, persuaded her to display the Tahitian flag in place of the flag of the Protectorate. By way of reprisal, Admiral Dupetit-Thouars announced the annexation of the Kingdom of Pōmare on 6 November 1843 and set up the governor Armand Joseph Bruat there as

19781-408: The title of Pōmare II. He allied himself more and more with the missionaries, and from 1803 they taught him reading and the Gospels. Furthermore, the missionaries encouraged his wish to conquer his opponents, so that they would only have to deal with a single political contact, enabling them to develop Christianity in a unified country. The conversion of Pōmare II to Protestantism in 1812 marks moreover

19932-560: The title of king and gave himself the name Pōmare . Captain Bligh explains that this name was a homage to his eldest daughter Teriʻinavahoroa, who had died of tuberculosis , "an illness that made her cough ( mare ) a lot, especially at night ( pō )". Thus he became Pōmare I , founding the Pōmare Dynasty and his lineage would be the first to unify Tahiti from 1788 to 1791. He and his descendants founded and expanded Tahitian influence to all of

20083-406: The value of 'lethal sampling' to establish catch quotas, the value of controlling whales' impact on fish stocks and the rapidly approaching extinction of a few whale species. The World Wide Fund for Nature says that 90% of all northern right whales killed by human activities are from ship collisions, calling for restrictions on the movement of shipping in certain areas. Noise pollution threatens

20234-474: The vessels in the first place than making money with the goods brought back to shore. Today, local historians believe that German whaling in the late 19th century was more a rite of passage for the sons of wealthy farmers from northern German islands than an action undertaken for true commercial reason. German whaling was abandoned in 1872. Prior to the First World War , the newly established German Empire attempted to re-establish large scale German whaling. This

20385-595: The whaling industry and the Japanese government is sometimes criticized by pro-whaling activists who support local, small-scale coastal whaling such as the Taiji dolphin drive hunt . In September 2018, Japan chaired the 67th IWC meeting in Brazil and attempted to pass a motion to lift the moratorium on commercial whaling. Japan did not receive enough votes and the IWC rejected the motion. Subsequently, on 26 December 2018, Japan announced that it would withdraw its membership from

20536-448: The world's oceans, along the animals' migration routes, had a particularly dense whale population and became targets for large concentrations of whaling ships, and the industry continued to grow well into the 20th century. The depletion of some whale species to near extinction led to the banning of whaling in many countries by 1969 and to an international cessation of whaling as an industry in the late 1980s. Archaeological evidence suggests

20687-462: Was 30 minke whales (out of an estimated 174,000 animals in the central and north-eastern North Atlantic ) and nine fin whales (out of an estimated 30,000 animals in the central and north-eastern North Atlantic ). For the 2012 commercial whaling season, starting in April and lasting six months, the quota was set to 216 minke whales, of which 52 were caught. Iceland did not hunt any whales in 2019, and it

20838-498: Was also on the ship. A large number of armed warriors were walking along the shore. As Cook had ordered to avoid any risk, the Pinasse returned to the ship without having attempted a landing. The Spaniard Tomás de Gayangos was the first European to reach the island of Raivavae on February 5, 1775, with the ships Águila and Júpiter as part of an expedition to Tahiti initiated by Manuel de Amat y Junyent . The next day Gayangos had

20989-474: Was buried near the mission he had established at Tautira Bay . Lt Tomas Gayangos took over command and set sail for Peru on 27 January, leaving the Fathers Geronimo Clota and Narciso Gonzalez and the sailors Maximo Rodriguez and Francisco Perez in charge of the mission. On the third Aguila expedition, under Don Cayetano de Langara, the mission on Tahiti was abandoned on 12 November 1775, when

21140-640: Was conducted out of other mainland centres. Modern whaling using harpoon guns and iron hulled catchers was conducted in the 20th century from shore-based stations in Western Australia , South Australia , New South Wales and Queensland , also in Norfolk Island . Overfishing saw the closure of some whaling stations before a government ban on the industry was introduced in 1978 after a major campaign by conservationists. Canadians kill about 600 narwhals per year. They kill 100 belugas per year in

21291-422: Was descended from an ariki from the island of Raiatea. The American archaeologist Patrick Vinton Kirch has further suggested that the Austral Islands, the southern Cook Islands, and the Society Islands should be seen as one extended cultural family. New Zealand archaeologist Atholl John Anderson has argued similarly that the island of Rapa was settled around 1200 A.D. At Atiahara, on the north coast of Tubuai ,

21442-713: Was finally discovered for the Western Hemisphere in 1824 by Nantucket whaling captain George Washington Gardner . After the Pomaré dynasty consolidated its rule in Tahiti with British support and Pomaré II was crowned king in 1819, it decided to extend its sphere of influence to the Austral Islands. Captain Lewis' American brig brought the king, his court and several missionaries from the London Missionary Society (LMS) to

21593-490: Was nevertheless a special colony, since all the subjects of the Kingdom of Pōmare would be given French citizenship. On 14 July 1881, among cries of "Vive la République!" the crowds celebrated the fact that Polynesia now belonged to France; this was the first celebration of the Tiurai (national and popular festival). In 1890, Papeʻete became a commune of the Republic of France. The French painter Paul Gauguin lived on Tahiti in

21744-420: Was only eighteen months old. His uncle and the religious people therefore supported the regency, until 2 May 1824, the date on which the missionaries conducted his coronation, a ceremony unprecedented in Tahiti. Taking advantage of the weakness of the Pōmare, local chiefs won back some of their power and took the hereditary title of Tavana (from the English word "governor"). The missionaries also took advantage of

21895-539: Was organized around their marae (stone temple) and its priests. The first European to arrive at Tahiti may have been Spanish explorer Juan Fernández in his expedition of 1576–1577. Alternatively, Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós , serving the Spanish Crown in an expedition to Terra Australis , was perhaps the first European to see Tahiti. He sighted an inhabited island on 10 February 1606. However, it has been suggested that he actually saw

22046-481: Was originally settled by Polynesians between 300 and 800   AD. They represent about 70% of the island's population, with the rest made up of Europeans , Chinese and those of mixed heritage. The island was part of the Kingdom of Tahiti until its annexation by France in 1880, when it was proclaimed a colony of France , and the inhabitants became French citizens . French is the sole official language, although

22197-504: Was peaceful, as the chiefs assimilated the new religion quickly and without resistance. Christianization put an end to tribal warfare, but brought about decisive changes in the stratified tribal society. The omnipotence of the tribal leaders had been broken. The Austral Islands initially remained under Tahitian hegemony. In 1862, a two-year incursion of the so-called " Blackbirders " began, who took more than 3500 South Pacific islanders to Peru and Chile as slave labor. In December 1862,

22348-565: Was received for carved vertebrae and teeth of female narwhals. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation says: "Canada has pursued a policy of marine mammal management which appears to be more to do with political expediency rather than conservation." Canada left the IWC in 1982, and the only IWC-regulated species currently harvested by the Canadian Inuit is the bowhead whale. As of 2004, the limit on bowhead whale hunting allows for

22499-522: Was spurred in the 19th century by the increase in demand for whale oil , sometimes known as "train oil", and in the 20th century by a demand for margarine and later whale meat . The primary species hunted are minke whales , belugas , narwhals , and pilot whales , which are some of the smallest species of whales. There are also smaller numbers killed of gray whales , sei whales , fin whales , bowhead whales , Bryde's whales , sperm whales and humpback whales . Recent scientific surveys estimate

22650-502: Was the acting British consul, became her main adviser and tried to interest her in the affairs of the kingdom but the authority of the Queen, who was certainly less charismatic than her father, was challenged by the chiefs, who had won back an important part of their prerogatives since the death of Pōmare II. The power of the Pōmare had become more symbolic than real; time and time again Queen Pōmare, Protestant and anglophile, sought in vain

22801-400: Was undertaken with ships either going from Germany to Iceland or from the newly established German colonies to African waters. These attempts never were commercially successful and quickly given up. Only in the 1930s could Germany—with mainly Norwegian personnel—re-establish a large and successful whaling industry. More than 15,000 whales were caught between 1930 and 1939. With the beginning of

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