Whaling: why the fight must go on

June 22, 2008

25,000 are killed each year … radical action is needed, says a Scottish expert.Special report by Jasper Hamill

ON THE eve of the 60th annual meeting of the International Whaling Committee, a leading Greenpeace activist has called for a historic decision that would ban hunting and boost fragile populations.

This year could mark a watershed in the debate, as it may be the last time countries are able to discuss the whaling debate formally. If Japan does not agree to stop hunting whales and anti-whaling countries such as the UK do not achieve the compromise they are seeking, the issue may have to be taken to the UN.

Scot Willie Mackenzie, Greenpeace's UK whaling expert, has released a book entitled Stop The Whaling to coincide with the event.

It documents the threats facing whales as well as recent global developments, such as eco-tourism, that could provide an economic incentive for countries to help conservation efforts.

The activist, who grew up in Shetland, said: "The IWC is quite a polarised organisation, and yet again it's wasting all its time on debating whether whaling is a good idea and if Japan should be in the Southern Ocean or not, when there's a heck of a lot more affecting whales out there. It's now 60 years old, shouldn't it be doing something more constructive with its retirement?"

Whaling fleets still put out to sea. Japan, for instance, sends so-called "scientific" ships in the Southern Ocean, armed with harpoons. In a recent BBC interview, a representative of the Japanese government made the claim that killing whales was crucial for the study of ear wax. The bizarre need to preserve wax samples mean that harpoons are aimed away from the head, leading to increased suffering for the animal.

Mackenzie continued: "In Japan we've seen the scandal of people smuggling whale meat under the name of science, putting it in their cabins, taking it home and then selling it off to the nearest pub."

The story of the IWC is long and convoluted. Started as a means of representing the whaling industry, it has since evolved into a two-sided, somewhat toothless body that has remained gridlocked between two feuding parties. Its power is limited: even after a motion was passed 20 years ago that prohibited whaling, an estimated 25,000 are killed each year.

Mackenzie made allegations that this stasis has been a result of rich, pro-whaling countries buying votes and preventing a consensus being reached.

He said: "A lot of new countries in places like Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific have been bought in by Japan with the promise of overseas development aid - fisheries aid in particular.They don't really have a history of interest in whaling, they've just been brought to the table as a kickback for getting development aid from Japan. They will stand up and say: we're developing countries, this is what we think. But they are really trotting out Japan's line. Japan want to overturn international opinion and win it around to their way of thinking."

The current situation for whales is dire. Undersea sound from human development deafens them, a tragedy for an animal that relies on sound to navigate, communicate and search for mates. Many of the whales washed up on shore recently were found to have burst eardrums.

Human waste also threatens them. One beached whale was found recently with a plastic tie around its neck. It had choked it to death. The researchers who found the body theorised that the plastic had become tangled around the whale's neck when it was young and then it had "grown into its noose". Climate change and the collapse of fish stocks are also impacting on populations.

Despite the grave situation, Mackenzie is convinced there are developments under way that could save whales. The trend for whale-watching is one of them. In Iceland, a country with a tradition of hunting whales, the fledgling industry has grown by 500% this century. Mackenzie said: "Put simply, whales are now worth more to countries alive than dead."

There are also signs that public opinion is shifting. A poll in February 2008 revealed that 69% of Japanese people did not support their government's policy of whaling in the Southern Ocean. Two protesters were arrested in Japan yesterday on suspicion of stealing a box of whale meat that they attempted to use as evidence of embezzlement by government-backed whalers.

Despite repeated phone calls, the IWC did not wish to comment.

http://www.sundayherald.com:80/news/heraldnews/display.var.2356793.0.whaling_why_the_fight_must_go_on.php