Fw: Polls Dominate War of the Whales

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- Frank Arnold

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Thursday, June 29, 2000 3:36 AM

Polls Dominate War of the Whales

 

 

Polls Dominate War of the Whales ADELAIDE, Australia, June 28, 2000 (Lycos ENS) - The Japanese government most often cites cultural and traditional values as its main reason for hunting whales. But the Japanese public does not strongly support commercial whaling, according to a survey released in Australia today by the International Fund for Animal Welfare and Greenpeace. The poll, released in advance of the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission opening here on Monday, shows that 55 percent of those questioned held no opinion or were neutral in regard to commercial whaling. Humpback whale feeding in the Southern Ocean, 1988 (Photo by Commander Richard Behn courtesy U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)The survey was conducted by Britain's opinion research company Market & Opinion Research International (MORI), in partnership with the Nippon Research Center in Japan. A nationally representative sample of 1,185 Japanese adults was interviewed face-to-face between November 17 and December 2, 1999. While 14 percent opposed whaling outright, only 11 percent supported it. Twenty percent said that the reason for killing the whales would play a part in their decision. The survey found that, "Virtually nobody fears Japan's cultural identity would suffer greatly were whaling to stop. Even among whaling's defenders, only one in twenty predict a 'great deal' of damage if it stopped, and four in ten (42 percent) say 'not very much' or 'not at all'." But Japan's deputy director of the government of Japan’s Far Seas Fisheries Division, Joji Morishita, says the survey is "nothing more than sham.The survey commissioned by Greenpeace and the International Fund for Animal Welfare fails to meet minimum survey standards or any other test of credibility. The Greenpeace survey failed to take into account geographic and regional differences to incorporate those communities where whaling is a very significant part of the culture. Had they surveyed the same number of people in the towns of Taiji, Abashiri or many others, they would have to conclude that almost 100 percent of Japanese people consume whale meat and support whaling," said Morishita. Whale meat (Photo by Judy Mills courtesy WWF)The Japanese government has been one of the strongest global proponents for the reopening of international commercial whaling - banned by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) since 1986. At this year's IWC meeting, Japan has proposed an increase in its whaling activities from more than 540 minke whales a year to include 50 Bryde's whales and 10 sperm whales. But in their report on the survey, MORI says, "The Japanese are largely neutral on the perceived importance to them personally of commercial whaling continuing: 24 percent say it is important, 25 percent say not - and half are undecided.These strong poll results clearly indicate that the people of Japan no longer consider whaling to be an integral part of their cultural heritage, nor do they support it," said Karen Steuer, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) director of commercial trade and exploitation of animals. The MORI poll report also shows that Japanese do not consider whale meat to be an important part of their diet. "Six in ten (61 percent) have not eaten it since childhood, if at all, and just one percent eat it once a month." Whale meat in the kitchen (Photo courtesy High North Alliance)"Clearly the people of Japan do not consider whale meat to be a significant component of their diet," said Steuer. "Japanese whaling proponents can no longer be allowed to use this as their defense in campaigning for international commercial whaling." Morishita noted that there have been a number of surveys conducted in Japan that show strong and increasing support for the sustainable use of whales. This includes a survey conducted by the Prime Minister’s office in 1995. When asked whether they would support whaling managed in a rational and sustainable way the majority - 77 percent - responded yes, Morishita said. Japan says its whale hunt is legal under the IWC agreement, and is conducted for scientific reasons. The country claims strong scientific justification for its new request to take sperm and Bryde's whales. But IFAW says the whaling commission has asked Japan to stop doing scientific whaling and has said that the information Japan is providing is not required for management. The commission has asked that Japan begin providing information about whales through non-lethal means, Steuer said. Japan often says that whales compete with commercial fishermen for fish, and that whales need to be culled because they are responsible for the collapse of the world fishery. Vassili Papastavrou, IFAW whale team leader, said that while we do not know status of sperm whales in the area of the Pacific where Japan intends to hunt them, we know a great deal about what they eat - deep water squid. If any animal could be held responsible for decline of the fishery, it is not the sperm whale, he said. Sperm whales (Photo courtesy U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)In many parts of the world sperm whales have been depleted. In some areas, they are numerous, in other areas scant, Papastavrou said. The best cuts of whale meat sell for up to US$400 a kilo in Japanese markets, Papastavrou points out. The pro-whaling nations, including Norway and Iceland as well as Japan, say the commercial whaling ban could soon end. The International Whaling Commission starts a two-day working group session today on a Revised Management Scheme under which the IWC is supposed to manage commercial whaling in the future. The agenda includes the issues of supervision and control of commercial whaling activities If adopted, the management scheme could mean lifting of the ban on commercial whaling and the allocation of catch quotas. The draft proposal calls for each whaling boat to carry one national inspector and at least one international observer. Other proposed requirements are satellite monitoring for continuous tracking of vessels, and, in order to control trade, DNA profiles of all whales hunted. Since 1994, working groups and IWC sessions have discussed the Revised Management Scheme, but have not adopted it. IWC secretary Dr. Ray Gambell told BBC News Online on June 11 that a failure to signal an end to the ban on commercial whaling would mean "a real danger that the commission will lose its credibility totally."