[hansen384cbh]

Japan fails to lift whaling ban, threatens to quit IWC

by P. Parameswaran
42 minutes ago



ANCHORAGE, United States (AFP) - Japan failed in its bid Thursday to lift a moratorium on commercial whaling after stormy annual talks of the 75-nation International Whaling Commission (IWC) and warned it might pull out of the organization.

"There is a real possibility we will review at a fundamental level our role in the IWC and this would include withdrawing, setting up a new organization," Japan's top delegate Akira Nakamae said in a stunning announcement at the end of the meeting in Anchorage, Alaska.

Japan would also consider defying the two-decade whaling ban and "unilaterally" launch hunts for the large creatures along its exclusive economic zone, he said.

The decision was announced after Japan abandoned its application at the IWC meeting for Japanese small-scale coastal communities to hunt whales following strong opposition from anti-whaling nations, including the United States, Australia, Britain, New Zealand and Brazil.

It refused to call for a vote, a day after leading 27 nations in a boycott of a vote on a non-binding resolution urging Japan to suspend "lethal aspects" of its scientific whaling program.

In another rebuff to the IWC, Japan also withdrew its bid to host the annual IWC talks in Yokohama in 2009, saying it made no sense to stage the talks in Japan when the commission refuses to support its "sustainable" whaling concept.

"I think in any kind of patience, there is always a limit," said another senior Japanese delegate Joji Morishita, adding that anti-whaling nations left "no room for dialogue, no room for compromise."

He said Japan's "top priority" was to restore the traditional rights of its small coastal whaling community, who had depended on hunting as far back as the 17th century.

They have been distressed since the IWC imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986, Japanese officials said, adding that political pressure was piling up to review its position in the commission for several years.

Japan has been campaigning to lift the whaling moratorium ever since it was imposed. But this year, it argued that its traditional coastal communities have the same right to pursue whaling as natives in the United States and Russia.

Japan submitted its proposal under the same IWC rules allowing aboriginal subsistence whale hunting quotas but it needed an elusive three-fourths majority to overturn the moratorium, officials and experts said.

Japan last year won by a simple majority a non-binding resolution in favor of commercial whaling. This year, the anti-whaling group are in the majority and moved a resolution reaffirming the ban.

Still, Japan may be able to take along up to 30 members from the IWC into any new organization it sets up, some delegates said.

The United States and Japan are the key pillars of the IWC, set up to manage whaling and be in charge of conservation of the large mammals.

Nakamae explained that Japan was "greatly interested in the idea of holding a preparatory meeting for setting up a conservation and management organization for whales, which is in line with the UN convention on the law of the sea.

"It can be a replacement for the IWC," he said.

IWC chairman William Hogarth said he was sympathetic with Japan but asked it to review its decision about a possible pullout from the commission and setting up a new body.

"I really hope Japan doesn't pursue that," Hogarth, who is also the top US delegate to the IWC, told AFP. "I think it should have another opportunity to look at the future of the IWC."

"We, all countries, need to put all the issues on the table and discuss them thoroughly in the spirit of compromise," he said.

Japan has threatened to leave the IWC several times in the past but this is the first time it had announced openly at the commission that it was interested in setting up a new body comprising "like-minded" nations.

Environmentalists have accused Japan of exploiting a legal loophole allowing whaling for scientific research.

"We are winning the vote count, but the whalers are winning the body count," said Patrick Ramage of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

More than 20,000 whales have been killed since the two-decade old moratorium. Japan kills about 1,000 whales a year under its scientific program then sells the meat.

This summer, it wants to kill 50 humpback whales from stocks that migrate along the Australian and New Zealand coasts into the tropical Pacific, drawing protests from governments and green groups.

It offered a compromise of shelving the humpback hunting plan if its request for whale hunting by the Japanese coastal community is allowed. But the offer was rejected.
Whaling has been in Japan since the 17th Century...yeah, so was castrating boys to preserve their voice(Castrati)...but there's a huge difference between NEEDS and WANTS.

I believe in preserving cultural heritage but to a reasonable degree. Budo remains a very important part of Japanese culture and history but it doesn't mean we need to preserve the old school form of tameshigiri by cutting up convicts.

I reckon Japan should have its way and be allowed to hunt whales BUT only in THEIR waters.

[Mqcawkzd]

. . .I reckon Japan should have its way and be allowed to hunt whales BUT only in THEIR waters.

Well then how about the other countries of the world? Isn't that the kind of thing that causes the problem?
Look at sharks. The shark population is dropping which causes all kinds of problems in the ecosystem.
see, e.g.
http://www.converge.org.nz/pirm/frames/fish!f.htm

Couple the overfishing with killing the reefs and we are engaged in a pincers action where we take out the top and the bottom of the food chain and it is only a matter of time.

[Gometesstem]

I reckon Japan should have its way and be allowed to hunt whales BUT only in THEIR waters.

...but they migrate really long distances and don't care much about national boundaries. The humpbacks you saw off of Maui last winter may be in Japanese waters this summer (not really, but you get the picture). It's a thorny issue, to be sure.

[Caluabdum]

only in THEIR waters.

The Exclusive Economic Zone EEZ extend up to 200 nm (370 km, nautic milles are shit) from the shore, and if I remember well 1/4 of all the whales in the world pass through the zone of Japan, which is one of the biggest. That's the heart of the problem, because the whales are (for Australia, among other countries) a huge source of touristic income.

In the Mediterranean Sea the lack of sharks is one of the causes of "jellyfish bloom".

[Allbrunette]

I agree Iggy, a lot of work needs to be done. I used to do a lot of river fishing here in Malaysia and would get pissed off at the local fishermen for using gill nets across entire waterways. Yeah, you get a big catch but you kill all future stocks of fish.

Overfishing is a growing problem(I've given up eating shark fin soup...even tho' I luv it). Fish farming research should be better explored, which I know Japan is doing it's fair share of(a buddy is in that line).

I understand that they are trying to preserve an industry but its one that isn't sustainable. Its like saying that the subways in Japan shouldn't use automatic ticket machines because it would put all those ticket attendents(you know, the ones that go click-a-click-a-click for hours) out of a job and remove a cultural icon.

Torpedoes for whales!

[MariaBeautys]

Torpedoes for whales!

I read in a novel (from Tom Clancy I think) that the now nearly useless nuclear submarines might follow the whaling ships while emitting with their sonars some kind of alarm signal to the whales.

[Cucoulkrory]

If whales had opposable thumbs and could grasp a Shinai, this SO would not be an issue.

[Muesrasrs]

Here is the solution

[DumnEuronoumn]

I read in a novel (from Tom Clancy I think) that the now nearly useless nuclear submarines might follow the whaling ships while emitting with their sonars some kind of alarm signal to the whales.

His next novel perhaps? RED OCTOBER II

Captain Ramius and the Red October's latest mission!

[NudiJuicervich]

Here is the solution

Admirable, but hardly a solution.
The solution is more along the lines of placing pressure on the markets that make it profitable to hunt whales for products. If that does not work, then public awareness of the consumers of Whale products.
If that fails, then Whales are pretty much screwed for the same reasons why humans will be.
`Like the old story of the Father who killed the bird, which killed the song, which killed himself.

Sad truth is, wide-spread change never is effected until enough of the right people are affected directly via personal inconvenience.

[arriplify]

Admirable, but hardly a solution.
The solution is more along the lines of placing pressure on the markets that make it profitable to hunt whales for products. If that does not work, then public awareness of the consumers of Whale products.
If that fails, then Whales are pretty much screwed for the same reasons why humans will be.
`Like the old story of the Father who killed the bird, which killed the song, which killed himself.

Sad truth is, wide-spread change never is effected until enough of the right people are affected directly via personal inconvenience.

Unfortunately market forces can be safely ignored in the pork-barrel world of Japanese politics...

[Gooracouppy]

Whaling has been in Japan since the 17th Century...yeah, so was castrating boys to preserve their voice(Castrati)...but there's a huge difference between NEEDS and WANTS.

I believe in preserving cultural heritage but to a reasonable degree. Umm.. you sure about that? I heard (second had mind you but from a reliable source) that apparently whaling in Japan has only been a big thing since WWII when there was fuck all food around but there's an awful lot on a whale so that's when they really started eating it. Not that much of an "old tradition" then and one brought about by despertion. I also heard (at the same time) that apparently the vast majority of the Japanese population doesn't really like whale meat and they have hard time selling it to the public, there's large stocks in storage cos they can't get rid of it, and so are now trying to sell it to schools.

[Vzkdgdqx]

It was sold to schools in the past as well, especially post-WWII. Ask any Japanese person of a certain age if they ate whale meat in school and the answer will be yes. Not all of them will have enjoyed it though.

As far as whaling only being big since WWII, I believe that is when commercial whaling started - but since the Edo period Japanese coastal communities have hunted whales on a much smaller scale.

It's a thorny problem, and I haven't made up my mind about it all yet.

[XIMHOTEP-X]

Ocean warrior: My Battle to End the Illegal Slaughter on the High Seas

The Politics of Extinction

[encumeterz]

Umm.. you sure about that? I heard (second had mind you but from a reliable source) that apparently whaling in Japan has only been a big thing since WWII when there was fuck all food around but there's an awful lot on a whale so that's when they really started eating it. Not that much of an "old tradition" then and one brought about by despertion. I also heard (at the same time) that apparently the vast majority of the Japanese population doesn't really like whale meat and they have hard time selling it to the public, there's large stocks in storage cos they can't get rid of it, and so are now trying to sell it to schools.

Could be...I was qouting the Japanese IWC rep on the whaling since the 17th century statement.

[downtowndude]

I do not support whaling. That being said, however, Japan's hardly the only country doing it.

[tooratrack]

My understanding is that in certain regions of Japan, whaling has been going on since the 7th century (it is mentioned in the Kojiki, for example). That said, most cultures based near the sea have engaged in hunting whales and dolphins (in addition to other forms of fishing/hunting), so Japan is not unique in that respect.

I find it quite interesting that merely a week ago, the Yomiuri had a report how fewer Japanese are eating seafood and how that is effecting the economy blah, blah. The fact that most advanced nations are vastly over-fishing was ignored.
That issue did come up on a TV report some months ago on how China is selling cheap tuna, but this may cause a tuna shortage.
Funny, I remember warnings over 20 years ago that tuna were being overfished, but the world governments don't seem to have done much.

Some Japanese officials (read "pork barrel polititians) are claiming that the stocks of some fish species have been depleted by whales eating them.

Sorry folks, I think it's time we moved out of the hunter mentality when it comes to ocean life. Too much we don't know, too much we can't control.

And anyway, since when were sonar tracking, explosive warhead harpoons and factory ships part of the tradition?

[Filling25]

They should just have a festival that has a renactment of a whale hunt. Villages could then preplace income from whaling with income from tourism. I never been to Japan myself but from what I understand they have festivals for all kinds of stuff.

[9enackivegliva]

It was sold to schools in the past as well, especially post-WWII. Ask any Japanese person of a certain age if they ate whale meat in school and the answer will be yes. Not all of them will have enjoyed it though.

I had fried whale meat for school lunch just last week.

Tasted a bit like chicken.

It's a shame Japan wants to pull out of the whaling comission. I have no problem with eating whale, but there does need to be strong reulgation to protect species in low numbers.

[blohannaserri]

They should just have a festival that has a renactment of a whale hunt. Villages could then preplace income from whaling with income from tourism. I never been to Japan myself but from what I understand they have festivals for all kinds of stuff.

Like this....

http://member.hot-cha.tv/~htc09819/maturi.html