tursiops.org - IWC puts off decision on resuming commercial whaling, whale stocks show increase

lauricedeephd writes "At a meeting late last month of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), a proposal by the chairman and vice chairman that would allow a resumption of commercial whaling failed as member nations continued their opposition. Just what kinds of whales, though, are in the world's seas anyway, and in what numbers? Here we take a fresh look at data on the world's whale populations.

Around the world, including dolphins there are around 80 varieties of whale, with over 30 varieties along the coast of Japan alone. Among these varieties, those coming up in the international whaling debate are the 13 whose hunting is supervised by the IWC. These varieties are: blue whales, fin whales, sei whales, Bryde's whales, minke whales, sperm whales, humpback whales, bowhead whales, gray whales, North Pacific right whales, Pygmy right whales, Southern bottlenose whales and Northern bottlenose whales.

According to the Fisheries Agency and the Institute of Cetacean Research, in the southern hemisphere minke whales are the most prevalent at 760,000, and sperm whales, Bryde's whales, humpback whales and fin whales are also present in large numbers. However, blue whales, which are the largest whales in the world at around 30 meters in length, sei whales, and Southern bottlenose whales are in low numbers. In the northern hemisphere minke and sperm whales are many, but blue whales, North Pacific right whales, bowhead whales and gray whales are few.

Blue whales were killed in large numbers until the 1960s, leading to a rapid decline in their populations. In their place, the minke whale population experienced rapid growth. Recently humpback whales have had explosive growth, and fin whale populations are also trending upward. These numbers are based on whale research and the projections of scientists from around the world, and are largely recognized by the IWC Scientific Committee.

The IWC voted in 1982 for a pause in commercial whaling starting from the 1985-86 season, and Japan began a "research" whaling program based on the rules of the moratorium in the Antarctic sea in 1987, and the northern Pacific from 1994. The number of whales caught has differed by year, but generally the numbers for a yearly catch have been: 700 to 900 minke whales, 50 Bryde's whales, 100 sei whales, and 1 to 6 sperm whales.

Outside of Japan, Norway and Iceland, which don't accept the moratorium on commercial whaling, catch minke and fin whales. Indigenous populations in Denmark, Alaska in the United States, Canada, Russia, and other places catch bowhead and fin whales. Within Japan, whales such as Baird's beaked whales are hunted in Hokkaido, Miyagi, Chiba and Wakayama, but these types of whales are not supervised by the IWC.

The plan put forward by the chairman and vice chairman of the IWC would have allowed coastal whaling in Japan and an eventual reduction to a 200-whale catch in Antarctic waters, but anti-whaling nations did not agree to the plan.

For reasons including its high price, whale meat is not a mass-marketable food. Restaurants wanting to stock whale must pay from 600 to 1,000 yen for 100 grams of meat, an amount comparable to that of premium "wagyu" Japanese beef. However, the high prices are unavoidable, as Japan's whaling program costs around 7 billion yen a year. It is covered by a combination of government subsidies (about 800 million yen) and selling whale meat, but the Institute of Cetacean Research, which conducts the whaling, must sell the meat at high prices to cover operating costs.

Because whale meat doesn't sell well, there is now about a year's worth of supply in storage. Environmental protection group Greenpeace Japan has said, "We are not against the whale food culture of Japan," but, "there is around a year's worth -- about 4,000 metric tons -- of whale meat stuffed in cold storage. Research whaling is a waste of taxpayers' money." As consumers continue to lose interest in whale meat, hunting whales in the Antarctic and elsewhere is pointless, they say.

Near the end of May, in Tokyo the 22nd "Hogei no Dento to Shokubunka o Mamoru Kai" (Association to protect the tradition and food culture of whaling) was held, sponsored by the Japan Whaling Association and others. National Diet members and others sampled a variety of whale dishes such as sashimi, bacon, steak and fried whale. Those gathered around an area offering whale cutlet sandwiches nostalgically exclaimed that it was a taste they remembered from their past.

"Unlike cattle and other livestock that require large amounts of water and food to raise, whales grow in the ocean and could become part of the solution to food shortages in the future," said Yoshito Umezaki of the "Kujira Shokubunka o Mamoru Kai" (Association to Protect Whale Food Traditions), appealing to others to look at whale meat as a way to help fight world hunger.

Source: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/"