Save the whales, again...

[Guest guest]

---------------------------

EDITORIAL, The Washington Post (URL below)

Save the Whales, Again

Tuesday , August 22, 2000 ; A18

 

SOMEWHERE out in the blue Pacific, Japanese

ships are hunting for whales. They're looking not

only for minke whales, a small and relatively

abundant Antarctic variety, but also--for the

first time in 13 years--for sperm and Bryde's

whales. The whaling is ostensibly for scientific

study, but the fruits of research will wind up

for sale in Japanese fish markets. Whale meat is

a prized delicacy in Japan.

 

The decision by the Japanese this year to add

two more species to their annual whale hunt has

stirred a storm of protest. Even more than the

target numbers of 10 sperm whales and 50 Bryde's

whales, the precedent has alarmed

environmentalists and a number of governments;

the United States lists sperm whales as an

endangered species. The Japanese decision

endangers the international framework that has

protected the giant sea mammals since 1986,

raising fears of a return to the wide-open

hunting that drove many whale populations to

dangerously low levels.

 

Japanese officials say they need to study

whether rebounding populations of sperm and

Bryde's whales are eating fish that are also

sought by Japanese fishermen. The International

Whaling Commission this summer opposed the hunt,

saying the stated scientific goal didn't justify

killing the whales. Other research aims, the

commission said, could be accomplished by

nonlethal means.

 

Many view the scientific hunt as a thinly

veiled cover for bringing whale meat to the

Japanese market. Japanese officials say they sell

the meat because they are required by

international whaling regulations not to waste it

once the animals have been killed. Proceeds of

the sales go to research, they add, not to

commercial profit.

 

President Clinton and British Prime Minister

Tony Blair have expressed strong opposition to

the hunt. Now that it has begun, U.S. officials

are weighing sanctions against Japan, and some

environmental groups are pushing for immediate

action under a U.S. law that allows restrictions

of imports from countries that threaten

international programs to protect endangered

species. The United States should apply whatever

pressure is possible. This year's hunt may not

push either whale population over the edge, but

the expansion is an irresponsible step in the

wrong direction.

 

© 2000 The Washington Post Company

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1764-2000Aug21.html