Japan Town Wants Whaling Ban to End

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Japan Town Wants Whaling Ban to End

Fri Apr 26, 6:39 AM ET

By JOJI SAKURAI, Associated Press Writer

 

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan (AP) - This once-thriving whaling

town didn't hide its desire to see a return of the

hunt as scientists from around the world met here for

a second day Friday to discuss whale populations.

 

Its aquarium has brought in an exhibit of an

80-foot-long skeleton of a blue whale, a whale

sculpture made of leaves sits outside the conference

site and a local restaurant offers whale steak, whale

sashimi and whale stew — what it calls its " IWC

memorial menu " after the International Whaling

Commission (news - web sites) meeting being held here.

 

" We borrowed (the skeleton) from Norway to illustrate

our history as a whaling industry hub, " said Masashi

Wada, a spokesman for the Kaikyokan aquarium in

Shimonoseki, a Japanese port town.

 

Town resident Hisakazu Yoshida lamented the IWC's 1986

ban on commercial whaling. " If only they'd allow

commercial whaling our town would rise up again, " he

said.

 

Nearby, commission delegates discussed studies on

minke whale population trends.

 

Friday's meeting was closed to the media. But in an

earlier report, the commission claimed the Southern

Hemisphere's minke whale population has fallen from

761,000 to some 270,000 over the past decade.

 

Japan disputes this and hopes to rally other nations

to overturn the IWC moratorium, which bans commercial

hunting but permits scientific hunts and the resulting

sales of the whale meat.

 

The commission will go into a full scientific session

on Saturday. Despite Japanese lobbying, and backing

from other whaling nations such as Norway, the ban on

commercial whaling is unlikely to be lifted since a

three-quarters majority is needed to adopt such a

resolution.

 

The United States is one of the biggest opponents of

Japan's research whale hunt, and has threatened to

slap Tokyo with sanctions unless it scales down its

program.

 

Commission officials and delegation members refused to

disclose the content of Friday's talks.

 

" The meeting is going nicely, and some interesting

scientific work is being presented, " said Judy Zeh, a

member of the U.S. delegation. " As scientists, we try

to keep out of the politics. "

 

But Shimonoseki residents say the debate goes beyond

science.

 

At the Gyosan fish shop, Reiko Okamoto proudly

displayed rows of whale tongue, bacon, fillets and

tripe.

 

" This whaling ban is a big headache for us, " said

Okamoto. " We had whale meat all the time as kids, and

all of a sudden as adults it's become so expensive. "

 

Along the docks, Masataka Hidemura pointed to a

stretch of rusty warehouses, abandoned factories and

cranes.

 

" All of that area was once lined with freezers, " said

Hidemura, who manages a shipyard serving Japan's

research whaling fleet. " Freezers full of whale meat. "

 

The ban on commercial whaling had a negligible effect

on Japan's overall economy, but did serious damage to

local communities like Shimonoseki that depended on

whaling for their livelihood.

 

Shimonoseki is home to families that have hunted

whales for generations. Dozens of shops sell whale

meat collected during scientific expeditions to

restaurants that line the streets.

 

A member of the delegation from Iceland, which

supports a resumption of commercial whaling, expressed

concern that politics may outweigh scientific data.

 

" We're very pessimistic, " said Thorvaldur

Gunnlaugsson.

 

Many Shimonoseki residents have given up on a return

to the city's whaling heyday.

 

" I really don't have much hope we'll be able to catch

whales commercially again, " said Yoshida.

 

 

 

 

 

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