Introducing the yahoogroup: The Australian Cetacean Network

I found an excellent yahoogroup that deals indirectly with the whaling issue. It's an Australian-based group called "The Australian Cetacean Network." It mostly seems to be made up of scientists who do research on marine mammals, and cetaceans in particular. There are about 200 members in the group and it was founded in August 2002. It's quite an active group, with 1147 messages having been posted since its establishment. Membership in the group is subject to the approval of a site administrator. My membership is now awaiting approval, but, in the meantime, I'm able to view messages that have been posted. I looked through the messages which were posted over the last few months and I found that they could be categorized as follows:

• announcements of sightings of particular types of whales
• requests for volunteers to participate in cetacean research projects
• information about educational opportunities in cetacean research
• reports of the strandings or deaths of whales or dolphins
• announcements of the publication of journals related to marine mammals
• expression of opinions about some controversial issues, such as Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean

This mailing list gives us information that cannot be found easily in newspaper articles or general websites that concern whaling because the members are professionals who are exchanging timely information related to their area of specialty. I worry a bit that countries that still engage in whaling--such as Japan, Iceland, and Norway--will use the information posted on the list to help them hunt for whales.