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Antarctic whaling
In fact the announcement of the was met by an increase in the "scientific" catch in the Antarctic by 100 whales that year.
At the June 2005 IWC meeting, the Japanese government announced plans to add endangered Antarctic fin and humpback whales to the growing list of great whale species hunted each year and to double its catch of minke whales.
In December of 2007, in the face of public outcry and diplomatic pressure from the US and Australia in particular, the government announced a temporary back-down on plans to kill 50 humpbacks in the 2007-2008 season.
So what is wrong with a “scientific” whale hunt?
Professor Toshio Kasuya, of Teikyo University of Science and Technology in Japan, gave his analysis in the Mainichi Shinbun newspaper in October 2005.
An increasing problem for the industry is the declining appetite for whale meat in Japan, resulting in a public relations offensive to convince the public that whaling is culturally and economically important to Japan.
It is also claimed that whales eat too many fish and threaten the conservation of fish stocks – an assertion for which there is no scientific basis.
Professor Kasuya says, “The Institute of Cetacean Research argues that lethal research is the only appropriate method to collect the needed data. But examination of biopsy samples reveals the amount of blubber or reproductive rate, and analysis of faeces provides information on what whales are eating.”
The fact is, whale meat is a luxury food in Japan – and has been for several decades. An opinion poll conducted in 1999 showed that only 11 percent of Japanese adults support whaling, with a similar number of 14 percent of Japanese adults opposing it.
More recently, according to the Japanese Hamburger Association, Japanese people eat 40 times more hamburger than they do whale meat.
This is not just because of the influx of Ronald McDonald – the Washington Post reported in 2005 that “last year, the [whaling] industry put 20 percent of its 4000-ton haul into frozen surplus.”
Research by the Japanese Bureau of Statistics suggests that the consumption of beef, pork and chicken was rising, and that of whale meat dropping, from as early as the mid-1960s.
Japan is not the only place where whaling - “scientific” or otherwise – is conducted. Norway resumed commercial whaling in 1993 and Iceland announced, after a 14 year hiatus, that it would resume “scientific” whaling in August 2003. (Iceland had previously ended its illegal commercial hunt in 1989 following worldwide boycotts and economic pressure.) Both countries want to export whale meat to Japan.
A resumption of international trade in whale products would have far-reaching implications. Pirate whalers will have an even greater incentive to hunt whales covertly, as it will become easier for them to smuggle illegal whale meat into Japan.
Even with the current trade ban in place, illegal whale meat from both abundant and endangered species of whales is regularly discovered on sale in Japan.
Whale sanctuaries are places of refuge, off-limits to whaling, where whale populations can breed, feed and continue their slow recovery from years of exploitation. Sanctuaries offer critical opportunities to promote whale conservation and real, non-lethal scientific research.
Sanctuaries can also offer attractive economic benefits. They aid the development of whale watching, the only economic form of activity involving whales which is actually sustainable.
And we’re not the only ones who like the idea - whale watching is a thriving industry, with more than 87 countries running whale watching operations , and generates US$1 billion in revenue worldwide each year.
But whaling is impacting the whale-watch industry in a negative way. When Iceland resumed whaling, whale watching bookings dropped by 90 percent.
The Iceland Whale Watching Association blamed this on Iceland's whaling industry and called for an end to whaling. The plans for large-scale whaling were shelved and the whale watching industry is recovering.
Many coastal nations have benefited from the development of whale watching operations. For instance, the Dominican Republic alone nets US$5.2 million from its eco-tourism, an industry that was given a boost by the creation of the Silver Bank Humpback Whale Marine Sanctuary.
In Australia, the last whale was caught in Albany in 1978. Since then, Albany has transformed the former Cheynes Beach Whaling Station into a high profile whale watching site, attracting more than 1.3 million visitors.
At the June 2005 IWC meeting, the Japanese government announced plans to add endangered Antarctic fin and humpback whales to the growing list of great whale species hunted each year and to double its catch of minke whales.
In December of 2007, in the face of public outcry and diplomatic pressure from the US and Australia in particular, the government announced a temporary back-down on plans to kill 50 humpbacks in the 2007-2008 season.
Weird science
So what is wrong with a “scientific” whale hunt?
Professor Toshio Kasuya, of Teikyo University of Science and Technology in Japan, gave his analysis in the Mainichi Shinbun newspaper in October 2005.
“The annual expenses of the research program amount to
around 6 billion yen, or more than US$50 million, of which 5
billion yen is covered by the sales of whale meat produced from the
catch by the scientific whaling. Government subsidy and other funding
make up the remaining 1 billion yen.
Without the earnings from the meat sales, the whaling organization that undertakes the government-commissioned research program would be unable to continue operation, and the shipping company that provides the fleet for the program would not be able to recover costs for whaling vessel construction.
This is nothing other than an economic activity. It leaves no room for researchers to carry out research based on their own ideas. It certainly does not conform to the scientific purpose authorized by the Convention.”
Without the earnings from the meat sales, the whaling organization that undertakes the government-commissioned research program would be unable to continue operation, and the shipping company that provides the fleet for the program would not be able to recover costs for whaling vessel construction.
This is nothing other than an economic activity. It leaves no room for researchers to carry out research based on their own ideas. It certainly does not conform to the scientific purpose authorized by the Convention.”
An increasing problem for the industry is the declining appetite for whale meat in Japan, resulting in a public relations offensive to convince the public that whaling is culturally and economically important to Japan.
It is also claimed that whales eat too many fish and threaten the conservation of fish stocks – an assertion for which there is no scientific basis.
Professor Kasuya says, “The Institute of Cetacean Research argues that lethal research is the only appropriate method to collect the needed data. But examination of biopsy samples reveals the amount of blubber or reproductive rate, and analysis of faeces provides information on what whales are eating.”
Going to the polls
The fact is, whale meat is a luxury food in Japan – and has been for several decades. An opinion poll conducted in 1999 showed that only 11 percent of Japanese adults support whaling, with a similar number of 14 percent of Japanese adults opposing it.
More recently, according to the Japanese Hamburger Association, Japanese people eat 40 times more hamburger than they do whale meat.
This is not just because of the influx of Ronald McDonald – the Washington Post reported in 2005 that “last year, the [whaling] industry put 20 percent of its 4000-ton haul into frozen surplus.”
Research by the Japanese Bureau of Statistics suggests that the consumption of beef, pork and chicken was rising, and that of whale meat dropping, from as early as the mid-1960s.
Whaling in Norway and Iceland
Japan is not the only place where whaling - “scientific” or otherwise – is conducted. Norway resumed commercial whaling in 1993 and Iceland announced, after a 14 year hiatus, that it would resume “scientific” whaling in August 2003. (Iceland had previously ended its illegal commercial hunt in 1989 following worldwide boycotts and economic pressure.) Both countries want to export whale meat to Japan.
A resumption of international trade in whale products would have far-reaching implications. Pirate whalers will have an even greater incentive to hunt whales covertly, as it will become easier for them to smuggle illegal whale meat into Japan.
Even with the current trade ban in place, illegal whale meat from both abundant and endangered species of whales is regularly discovered on sale in Japan.
Solutions – Whale Sanctuaries and Whale Watching
Whale sanctuaries are places of refuge, off-limits to whaling, where whale populations can breed, feed and continue their slow recovery from years of exploitation. Sanctuaries offer critical opportunities to promote whale conservation and real, non-lethal scientific research.
Sanctuaries can also offer attractive economic benefits. They aid the development of whale watching, the only economic form of activity involving whales which is actually sustainable.
And we’re not the only ones who like the idea - whale watching is a thriving industry, with more than 87 countries running whale watching operations , and generates US$1 billion in revenue worldwide each year.
But whaling is impacting the whale-watch industry in a negative way. When Iceland resumed whaling, whale watching bookings dropped by 90 percent.
The Iceland Whale Watching Association blamed this on Iceland's whaling industry and called for an end to whaling. The plans for large-scale whaling were shelved and the whale watching industry is recovering.
Many coastal nations have benefited from the development of whale watching operations. For instance, the Dominican Republic alone nets US$5.2 million from its eco-tourism, an industry that was given a boost by the creation of the Silver Bank Humpback Whale Marine Sanctuary.
In Australia, the last whale was caught in Albany in 1978. Since then, Albany has transformed the former Cheynes Beach Whaling Station into a high profile whale watching site, attracting more than 1.3 million visitors.
