5 December
2006 - As Japan's whaling fleet heads south to
begin its annual whale slaughter, Australian scientists
are heading to Japan to participate in a formal
International Whaling Commission (IWC) review
of Japan's first 18 year scientific whaling programme
in the Southern Ocean (JARPA).
Australian scientists have been
at the forefront of criticisms of Japan's scientific
whaling programme.
The formal IWC review by the
Scientific Committee in Tokyo this week is assessing
whether JARPA provided information necessary for
the management of whale populations and whether
this information could have been gained through
non-lethal research techniques.
Dr Nick Gales of the Australian
Government Antarctic Division will participate
in the review. Dr Gales and other authors have
already published in the prestigious science journal
Nature that scientific whaling was, and still
is unnecessary for the management of whales in
the Southern Ocean, and that management information
can be collected using non-lethal research techniques.
Australia's Minister for the
Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell,
said a recent Australian survey of the Southern
Ocean by the Australian Government Antarctic Division
had collected much of the information Japan says
they are seeking on the Antarctic ecosystem.
"It's clear beyond doubt
there is no legitimate rationale for killing whales
in the name of science," Senator Campbell
said.
"JARPA, which ended in
2005, killed 6500 Antarctic minke whales over
the 18 year programme for absolutely no scientific
gain.
"Now we have JARPA II which
has so far killed 853 minke whales and 10 endangered
fin whales in the Southern Ocean," Senator
Campbell said.
"The Japanese Antarctic
whaling fleet is expected to kill 935 minke and
10 fins this year.
"The humpback whales, which
Australians particularly identify so strongly
with, will be included on its hit-list next year."
Senator Campbell said the results
of the IWC Scientific Committee review will be
submitted to the IWC at its next annual meeting
in Anchorage, Alaska in May 2007.
Japan is not obliged to adhere
to recommendations arising from the review.
Rob Broadfield
