Japan sets sail to kill whales

[Guest guest]

Agence France Presse

May 10, 2001, Thursday 5:10 AM, Eastern Time

International news

Japan to kill 160 whales for " research "

 

TOKYO, May 10

 

Japanese fishing vessels were due to leave Thursday on a two-month whaling

voyage to the northwestern Pacific, aiming to kill 160 whales for research,

the Fisheries Agency said.

 

The fleet is scheduled to catch 100 minke, 50 Bryde's and 10 sperm whales

from May 10 through late July, the agency said in a statement.

 

This is almost double the number of whales Japan caught last year when it

killed 88, ostensibly for purposes such as studying their feeding patterns.

 

The declared aims of this year's mission include trying " to understand and

analyse the feeding behaviour and the role of minke whale, Bryde's whale and

sperm whale in the eco-system " , the agency said.

 

The fleet would also " study grouping patterns of minke whale, Bryde's whale

and sperm whale " and " analyse the impact of changes in the marine

environment

on whales and other marine creatures, " the statement added.

 

Three fishing vessels were scheduled to leave Thursday. One departed late on

Wednesday and a fifth ship is scheduled to depart next Tuesday.

 

Japan stopped commercial whaling in 1988, following the International

Whaling

Commission's moratorium, adopted in 1982.

 

Japan, however, resumed what it calls " research " whaling in 1987 using a

loophole in the 1982 moratorium on commercial whaling permitting hunting for

research purposes.

 

The government says it sells the whales caught during the expeditions for

consumption in restaurants " to procure funds necessary for the research " .

 

The practice has led environmental campaign group Greenpeace Japan to

protest

that the research is a sham and the real purpose is commercial whaling.

 

Whalemeat still commands very high prices although it is enjoyed by a

relatively small proportion of the population.

 

Last month the Japanese whaling fleet returned from its 14th consecutive

expedition to the Antarctic Ocean with a catch of 440 minke whales.

 

The Fisheries Agency has claimed that the ample stocks of the three species

are able to withstand Japan's research whaling, but anti-whaling groups and

countries including the United States and Britain have condemned Japan's

action.