Outrage over Japan's plans to hunt endangered whale

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http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991986

 

Endangered whale in Japan's sights

 

15:10 28 February 02

 

NewScientist.com news service

 

Environmentalists reacted with outrage on Thursday to

news that Japan plans to hunt another whale species.

The country wants to kill 50 Sei whales in the North

Pacific as part of its controversial scientific

whaling programme.

 

The WWF, which called the plan an " outrage " , says

latest estimates put the population of Sei whales in

the North Pacific at 9000. It is listed as an

endangered species. Japan also wants to increase its

annual take of northern minke whales from 100 to 150.

 

The news apparently leaked from the scientific

committee of the International Whaling Commission. The

body imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling 16

years ago, but allows limited captures of whales for

scientific research.

 

The director-general of the Institute of Cetacean

Research in Tokyo, Seiji Ohsumi, defended the plan

saying it was " based on urgent scientific need to

collect data on the competition between whales and

fisheries. " He said past research suggested whales

consume more marine resources than humans.

 

Japan currently catches minke, Bryde's and sperm

whales in the North Pacific. " We need to include Sei

whales since they have the second highest biomass in

the region, following sperm whales, " Ohsumi said.

 

The extra minke whales would be taken by Japanese

island whaling communities as part of research into

the impact of whales on coastal fisheries.

 

Open question

 

Most conservationists dismiss Japanese claims that the

scientific whaling yields useful science. However

Russell Leaper, a marine biology consultant to the IWC

based in Edinburgh, told New Scientist last year:

" It's an open question right now whether whales damage

fisheries. But even if they are eating fish, it

doesn't mean there is direct competition. "

 

Japan's plans will be discussed by the IWC in the

run-up to its next full meeting, in the Japan whaling

town of Shimonoseki in May. There the IWC is expected

to be under pressuring from whaling nations, including

Norway and Japan, to ease or end the moratorium.

 

WWF UK's species campaigner Stuart Chapman said the

Sei " is yet to recover from past whaling excesses and

remains endangered. This plan gives two fingers to

conservation and to the IWC. "

 

But the IWC has no legal power to block Japan's new

proposals. On past form, whatever happens in May and

regardless of international opinion, Japan is likely

to proceed with its expanded scientific whaling

programme.

 

Fred Pearce

 

 

 

 

 

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