fw:Japan to double whale catch

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http://nandotimes.com/healthscience/v-text/story/273943p-2504175c.html

 

Japan to double whale catch

2002 AP Online

The Associated Press

 

TOKYO (February 28, 2002 12:48 p.m. EST) - Japan plans

to double its whale catch in the northwest Pacific and

begin hunting a type of whale it has left alone for

years, a government official said Thursday, rebuffing

critics who accuse the nation of disguising commercial

whaling as research.

 

Fifty sei whales will be caught during the

June-October season as part of Japan's research of

whale feeding habits, migrations and life cycles, said

Takanori Ohashi, an official with Japan's Fisheries

Agency.

 

The government submitted its research whaling plans to

the International Whaling Commission last Friday,

Ohashi said.

 

Under the program, Japan will hunt 260 whales a year

in the northwest Pacific - 150 Minke, 50 Bryde's and

10 sperm whales as well as the sei whales, Ohashi

said.

 

Over the past two years, Japan caught a total of 246

whales in the northwest Pacific. Japan also hunts

around 400 Minke annually in the Antarctic.

 

The whale hunt is permitted by the IWC, but opponents

say Japan's research whaling program is commercial

whaling in disguise; whale meat is often sold in

Japanese restaurants. Japan began research whaling in

1987, a year after the IWC banned commercial whaling.

 

Ohashi said the government decided to target sei

whales for research purposes. He said the government

will make its final decision on the hunt of sei whales

after listening to opinions at IWC's annual meeting,

which will be held in Japan in May.

 

Averaging 40-50 feet long, fast-swimming sei whales

are the largest baleen whales after blue whales and

finbacks. The Japanese government estimates there are

around 100,000 sei whales worldwide, including about

28,000 in the northwest Pacific, Ohashi said.

 

2001 Nando Media

 

 

 

 

 

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