Japan defies Whaling Commission, begins Dall's porpoise hunt

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http://enn.com/news/enn-stories/2001/11/11012001/s_45430.asp

 

Japan defies Whaling Commission, begins Dall's

porpoise hunt

 

Thursday, November 01, 2001

By Environmental News Network

 

In defiance of a resolution passed by the

International Whaling Commission (IWC) in London in

July, the Japanese whaling fleet begins its

controversial hunt of Dall's porpoises on Nov. 1.

At its annual meeting in July, the IWC Scientific

Committee expressed " extreme concern " over the numbers

of Dall's porpoises killed each year. It is the

largest direct kill of any whale, dolphin, or porpoise

in the world, with up to 18,000 porpoises killed each

year in hand harpoon hunts in Japanese coastal waters.

 

The IWC resolution, proposed by the British

delegation, called for an immediate halt to the Dall's

porpoise hunts until a full population estimate has

been carried out.

 

The current abundance estimate is more than 10 years

old. Since then more than 130,000 Dall's porpoises

have been reported killed. In addition, substantial

numbers have been killed by fishing vessels targeting

other species. These do not figure in official

statistics.

 

Japan declined to give the IWC data on the numbers of

porpoises in its waters or those killed. Japanese

officials said that because the cull took place in

Japanese territorial waters, it was outside IWC

jurisdiction.

 

Deputy delegation head Masayuki Komatsu, backed by

several small Caribbean states, said the Commission's

writ only covers great whales, and it had no place

remarking on small cetaceans.

 

" Unless the Commission stops undue interference on the

catching of small cetaceans, we are not prepared to

provide information, " Komatsu said. The Japanese have

refused to take part in the work of the small cetacean

subcommittee of the IWC Scientific Committee or

provide any information on the subject of coastal

cetaceans at next year's IWC meeting.

 

Dall's porpoises are named after the zoologist who

first noted them in the wild, William H. Dall. The IWC

first expressed concern about the sustainability of

the Dall's porpoise hunt in 1990 when it was revealed

that 67 percent of the estimated Japanese population

of this species had been killed in the previous three

years.

 

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a

California-based marine mammal protection

organization, said Japan is " hunting its coastal

cetacean populations to extinction. Hundreds of boats

are licensed to kill porpoises and use specialized

equipment. They have severely depleted, in sequence,

populations of striped dolphins, pilot whales, beaked

whales, and Dall's porpoise, " according to the Sea

Shepherd Society, whose founding president, Paul

Watson, has protested Japanese coastal porpoise and

dolphin kills in Japan.

 

DNA analyses done recently by the Environmental

Investigation Agency (EIA), a nonprofit environmental

group with offices in London and Washington, show that

meat labeled as " whale " in Japanese supermarkets is

often Dall's porpoise, bottlenose dolphin, or other

dolphin or small whale species.

 

The label said " whalemeat, " but products purchased by

EIA investigators from a supermarket in Osaka were

actually Dall's porpoise, lab analysis found. The meat

contained levels of methyl mercury four times higher

than consumption levels permitted by the government of

Japan.

 

Clare Perry, senior campaigner for EIA, said, " Japan's

refusal to abide by the IWC's resolution is simply the

latest example of the Japanese government's disregard

for international conservation agreements and

scientific opinion. "

 

Japan's Fisheries Agency has called the yearly take of

Dall's porpoises " a sustainable level ... based on

scientific standards. "

 

Perry said, " Japan has ignored repeated requests in

the past to lower the numbers killed, refused to take

part in this year's population review of the species,

and has already stated it will not provide information

at next year's meeting of the IWC. Its history of

utter intransigence is unrivaled within the IWC.

Meanwhile the unregulated slaughter of Dall's

porpoises continues. "

 

" As the population plummets, " Perry warned Wednesday,

" hunters are targeting lactating females with calves.

The dependent calves are left to die, and they do not

figure in official catch statistics. The International

Whaling Commission recognizes the urgent need to end

these hunts. Japan should comply with international

opinion and earn some much needed credibility and

respect within the IWC. "

 

Copyright 2001, Environmental News Network

 

 

 

 

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