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25 September 2002
Whaling fleets return with largest
catch since ban
 The
Japanese whaling fleet returned to port this week after a three
month hunt in the North Pacific ocean catching 100 Minke whales,
50 Bryde's whales, 39 endangered Sei whales and five Sperm whales,
a total of 194 whales, in addition to the 440 Minke whales caught
in the Southern ocean earlier this year. This is the first time
in more than 25 years that Sei whales have been hunted. Sei whales
were heavily exploited during the last century and are now classified
as an endangered species by the Convention for Migratory Species.
The Norwegian fleet has also returned from whaling in the North
Atlantic ocean with a catch of 634 Minke whales. Together the Japanese
and Norwegian catch is the largest annual catch since 1988 when
most whaling under objection to the moratorium ended.
But while the Japanese whaling fleet celebrated the return of their
catcher vessel the Nisshin-maru at a small ceremony in its home
port of Kushiro, Japan, countries meeting in Germany over the Convention
for Migratory Species (CMS) agreed by consensus to list seven whales
species as endangered or needing conservation.
The CMS, which conserves migratory species over the whole of their
range, brings conservation benefits for whales making it easier
to develop a coordinated approach to the conservation of these highly
migratory species wherever they go and provide a framework for the
development of future regional agreements.
Fin, Sei and Sperm whales received an Appendix 1 listing, recognising
them as endangered. They join the Blue, Humpback, Bowhead, Southern
Right and Northern Right whales which are already on the list. Minke,
Bryde’s, Pygmy Right and Orca whales received Appendix 2 listings,
recognising that their conservation status would significantly benefit
from international cooperation.
Norway, which hunts whales commercially, recorded a formal reservation
to the decision but did not insist on a vote. Japan, the world's
largest whaling country, is not a member of Convention for Migratory
Species.
The listing of these whale species by the CMS recognises that the
status of many populations is uncertain and the fact that whale
populations are now threatened by a bewildering array of environmental
threats including climate change and toxic pollution. For example,
new surveys indicate that the numbers of Minke whales in the Antarctic
have more than halved since the previous survey in 1990.
But despite the endangered listing of some whales, the Japanese
and Norwegian governments will continue their whaling programs unless
they begin to feel the heat of international pressure.
For the past 15 years, the Fisheries Agency of Japan has subsidised
the hunt for whales through a private organisation set up by Japan's
whaling industry under the guise of "scientific research".
Exploiting a loophole in the rules of the International Whaling
Commission that allows countries to issue permits to kill whales
for lethal research, the whale meat from this 'research' ends up
for sale on the domestic market at a value of about four billion
yen each year.
This hunt has nothing to do with science, it is all about making
money. Last summer’s hunt in the North Pacific concentrated on filling
the Bryde’s whale quota, the species with the highest commercial
value.
But trade in whale products would make the industry even more lucrative.
Governments will meeting Chile in November for the Conventional
of International Trade in Endangered Species and the Japan government
is using this as another opportunity to attempt to open up trade
in whale products. The Japanese government is proposing to downlist
northern Minke and Bryde’s whales which are currently on Appendix
1 prohibiting international trade in these species.
Watch the site in the coming month to find out what you can do
to stop the downlisting and prevent the trade in endangered whale
species.
Start
your own campaign with this downloadable action kit
You can help stop commercial whaling with our action kit. Send a letter in Japanese to the Foreign Minister of Japan, put up posters in your community to recruit more cyberactivists or write a letter to your local newspaper. Download the kit>
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