Commission Debates Whale Numbers

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Commission Debates Whale Numbers

Sat Apr 27,12:36 PM ET

By JOJI SAKURAI, Associated Press Writer

 

Scientists debated research Saturday that indicates

minke whale populations may be far smaller than

previously thought & #8212; a contention that if proven

would seriously hurt Japan's case for a resumption of

commercial whaling.

 

The number of minke whales in the southern hemisphere

is the focus of the International Whaling Commission

(news - web sites)'s scientific committee meeting in

this southern Japanese fishing town, where about 170

scientists from the commission's 25 member countries

have gathered for a monthlong convention.

 

Research conducted a decade ago estimated there were

700,000 minke whales, which can grow to 32 feet and

weigh 10 tons, in the hemisphere. But results of a

four-year study released last year showed there may be

only one-third that number, and experts are eager to

set the record straight.

 

IWC official Martin Harvey said the scientists will

debate whether the wide discrepancy resulted from a

flaw in one of the studies or an actual decline in the

whale population.

 

Japan and Norway lead a small group of pro-whaling

countries. They argue that some whale species are now

so plentiful that the IWC moratorium on commercial

whaling & #8212; imposed in 1986 after generations of

whaling drastically reduced populations & #8212; is no

longer needed.

 

The commission is expected to vote at the end of its

May 20-24 plenary session on whether to end the ban.

Even if the scientists don't reach a conclusion about

the minke population, the ban is likely to stay in

place because lifting it would require support from

three-quarters of the voting IWC member states.

 

While it banned commercial whaling, the IWC permits

scientific hunts and the resulting sales of whale

meat.

 

Japan insists that data from its research whaling

missions, which began in 1987, show that whale

populations have now grown so large they are

threatening the marine environment by eating too much

fish.

 

" There is simply no truth to claims the number of

whales has fallen, " said Toshiharu Tarui, an official

with the Foreign Ministry's Fisheries Agency.

 

Opponents of commercial whaling say that without a

reliable system for monitoring hunts, whaling fleets

might kill more than they are allowed.

 

" The problem is there's no way to enforce effective

monitoring of hunts, " said British scientist Laila

Gadler.

 

Many experts say Japan and the Soviet Union exceeded

IWC hunting quotas that were in effect before the ban

was imposed.

 

Japan denies the charges and says it has devised a

monitoring system involving on-board inspectors and

DNA registration.

 

" We are prepared to follow the rules, " said Joji

Morishita, leader of Japan's scientific delegation.

" We recognize the need to sustain whale populations. "

 

Residents of Shimonoseki, a once-thriving whaling

city, favor the resumption of commercial hunting.

 

Junko Kojima, the manager at Kujirakan whale meat

restaurant, wore a government-commissioned T-shirt

bearing the slogan: " Whales are increasing. Fish are

decreasing. People are in trouble. "

 

2002 The Associated Press. All rights

reserved.

 

 

 

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