Whalers in “A Post-Whaling World”: Sustainable Conservation of Marine Mammals and Sustainable Development of Whaling Communities—With a Case Study from the Eastern Caribbean

Abstract

The sustainable conservation of marine mammals depends not only upon considerations made for the marine mammals themselves. In many parts of the world, human societies have developed a deep reliance upon marine mammals as a food source. The sustainability and the equitable, sustainable development of these communities should be considered alongside efforts to conserve the marine mammals upon which people rely. As an example of the complexity inherent to simultaneous efforts on both fronts, this paper reviews and synthesizes two lines of research related to a small-scale whaling operation for odontocetes (dolphins and toothed whales) based in the Eastern Caribbean. The first considers the patterns of consumption and demand by the local public. The second analyzes the presence of mercury and other environmental contaminants in the tissues of the odontocetes. The results of this synthesis suggest that odontocete-based food products in the Eastern Caribbean are both highly popular and heavily contaminated, thus complicating an already-complex system in need of efforts toward both sustainability and sustainable development. The paper concludes with recommendations for both future research and future policy considerations.