Japan's government disguise
whaling as "science"
Japanese workers flense a whale on the deck
of a factory ship Nisshin Maru in the Southern
Ocean.
15/04/2005 — If you wanted a census of wild
birds, would you get a slingshot and kill
them to count them? This is practically what
the Government of Japan is proposing, yet
again. Wire reports reveal that a secret proposal
from Japan's Fisheries Agency sets a "scientific"
quota of double the current take of minke
whales. They also want to add endangered humpback
and fin whales. It's time for killing in the
name of science to stop.
Plans by the Government of Japan to 'sharply'
increase its take of minke whales, and to
resume catching both fin and humpback whales
under the guise of scientific research, are
a deadly slap in the face for the international
community, making a mockery of the International
Whaling Commission (IWC) and international
efforts to control whaling.
The secret proposal from Japan, which has
been submitted for consideration at the IWC
meeting beginning on May 27 in Ulsan, Korea,
will see new "scientific" quotas
with a minke whale take of 880 in the Antarctic
in addition to a catch of some 10 humpback
and fin whales. Let's just remember here that
populations of whales in the Antarctic are
at only 10 percent of what they were before
industrial whaling - it seems ludicrous to
kill them to count them, or find out what
they eat. Then again, it's not so ludicrous
if you're going to make millions from the
meat.
In 2003, the Fisheries' Agency's "research"
whalers reported revenues of over US$50 million
from a catch of 700 whales. Their catch this
year is expected to be 1,300.
Our resident whale expert, John Frizell,
said "For too long the 'scientific' loophole
has provided commercial whalers with a 'fig
leaf' of respectability. The IWC should move
to end the scandal of scientific whaling and
end the scientific exemption."
The submission to the IWC by Japan's Fisheries
Agency is designated "in confidence".
But since when was the science of environmental
protection and nature conservation best served
by secrecy? If it's so scientific, why are
they trying to hide it? Why not post it on
the internet so the world wide community of
whale researchers can review it. If they're
really stuck, perhaps the public could then
suggest ways to do the studies non-lethally?
The scientific whaling loophole isn't the
only problem plaguing the IWC's efforts. Over
the last month the Rainbow Warrior has been
in Korea to highlight another flaw in international
efforts to ban the hunting of whales. In 2003
the Korean fishing fleet "accidentally"
netted 84 whales, which were legally traded
and processed for domestic consumption. Korean
Government statistics show that between ten
and a hundred times more whales are "accidentally"
caught in Korea than in countries that do
not have a domestic whale meat market (Japan
has a similiarly high rate of "accidental"
catches, otherwise known as bycatch).
Even worse for these whales: scientists believe
that the Korean population of minke whales
is in serious decline. Research published
by the well-respected Royal Society shows
not only that minke whales in Japanese and
Korean waters are declining; but that they
will continue to decline even if hunting does
not resume, due to these high levels of "accidental"
bycatch - and the IWC scientists agree.
It has also been revealed that Korea is,
again on the quiet, proposing to build a whale
processing factory in the very city where
the IWC is to be held, which could be indicative
that, like Japan, they intend to pursue whaling
and brand it "science".
