Porpoise Labeled as Whale Sold in Japan

[Guest guest]

http://ens-news.com/ens/sep2002/2002-09-25-02.asp

 

Porpoise Labeled as Whale Sold in Japan

 

TOKYO, Japan, September 25, 2002 (ENS) - Packages

labeled " whalemeat " for sale in a Japanese supermarket

in May in fact contained porpoise meat, analysis

forced by a British environmental group has found. The

inaccurate labeling is " illegal " according to the

London based Environmental Investigation Agency, a

charge the Japanese government denies.

 

Investigators from the Environmental Investigation

Agency (EIA) purchased three whale products from AEON

supermarkets during the May meeting of the

International Whaling Commission. The investigators

did not believe the contents of the products they had

bought were accurately listed on the labels.

 

Two of the products were labeled " minke whale skin

from Greenland " and the third was labeled " whale skin

from Russia. "

 

The UK Fisheries Minister, Elliott Morley, brought the

question to the attention of the International Whaling

Commission, and EIA personnel met with representatives

of the governments involved to arrange for analysis of

the whale products.

 

On September 20 the Fisheries Agency of Japan issued a

statement acknowledging that DNA identification

analysis done by the Japanese Institute of Cetacean

Research showed the products were not labeled

accurately.

 

Analysis " revealed that the product labeled as

'Russian' was actually Dall & #30196; porpoise legally

harvested in Japan, and that the one labeled as 'from

Greenland' was Antarctic minke whale taken by the

Japanese research whaling, " the Fisheries Agency said.

 

 

The Japanese agency said their investigation found

that this mislabeling " occurred as a production line

error by the packaging company. "

 

" Based on the Japan Agricultural Standard law, the

sellers of the products were instructed to institute

procedures to prevent similar occurrences, " the agency

said.

 

But the Environmental Investigation Agency charges

that the inaccurate labeling " was in contravention " of

Japan's Agricultural Standard (JAS) law that requires

the common species name and origin of the product to

be clearly labeled.

 

Each party is out to embarrass the other with the

results of this analysis. The Fisheries Agency

statement calls the EIA " a discredited UK NGO, " and

says " no illegal trade in whale meat had occurred. "

 

Joji Morishita, deputy director of the Far Seas

Fisheries Division of the Japan & #30196; Fisheries

Agency said all is well in the country's whale meat

industry. & #20856;his incident clearly shows the

robustness of Japan & #30196; DNA system for monitoring

whale products on the market which is designed to

ensure that there is no illegal trade, & #12539;he said.

 

 

To make its point that Japan is illegally selling

whale products, the EIA points to a DNA survey of 980

whale products by the Japanese Institute of Cetacean

Research which showed that only 24 percent of products

were properly labeled. Almost 60 percent of whale

products did not identify species, while nine percent

were falsely labeled, the group claims.

 

EIA campaigner Clare Perry said, " This recent analysis

highlights the problem of widespread fraudulent sale

of dolphin and porpoise meat as whale meat in Japan,

despite the existence of full labeling requirements

under the JAS Law. Japanese consumers are not being

protected from the high levels of mercury, PCBs and

other dangerous chemicals commonly found in small

cetacean products. "

 

The government of Japan sets harvest quotas of around

22,000 dolphins, porpoises and small whales each year.

In addition, Japan whaling fleets take 440 minke

whales in two hunts per year, one in the Southern

Ocean and one in the North Pacific.

 

The EIA is attempting to pressure Japan to stop

whaling altogether, and in particular to stop hunting

small cetaceans, in part because the chemical content

of the whale meat is harmful to the health of

consumers.

 

" Last year EIA investigators found bottlenose dolphin

meat labeled as whalemeat in a supermarket in

Wakayama. The total mercury level was 22.5 parts per

million, a staggering 56 times higher than the

government of Japan advisory limit for human

consumption, " the group says.

 

The EIA maintains that Japanese hunts of dolphins,

porpoises and small whales " are contrary to the

repeated recommendations of the IWC and its Scientific

Committee, and contradict the government of Japan's

frequently stated claim that it pursues a policy of

'sustainable utilization of marine resources.' "

 

Japan maintains that the majority of Japanese support

whaling and want to eat whale meat. The results of a

government sponsored public opinion poll released

March 16 show " more than 75 percent support for

whaling managed in a rational and sustainable way, "

the Fisheries Agency said.

 

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All

Rights Reserved.

 

 

 

 

New DSL Internet Access from SBC &

http://sbc.