Japan's "scientific" whaling is a clever ruse to continue the slaughter of whales.
No whale of a time for whales
By Jofin Jose
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Myth No. 1:
Whales "eat too many fish" and must be culled. -Many whales do not eat fish at all; indeed, most of the world's baleen whales live in the Southern Hemisphere, where they primarily eat krill. According to the whalers' own records, they cut open 5,940 whales between 1987 and 2005. In three out of four whaling zones, not a single fish was found in the stomachs.
Myth No. 2:
Whale populations are numerous and increasing. -The Japanese government continues to cite an outdated estimate of 760,000 minke whales in the Southern Hemisphere. The 760,000 figure was an estimate based on surveys completed in 1987/88 which the IWC Scientific Committee once acknowledged was the best available at the time. Since then, more recent surveys have suggested a significantly lower abundance of minke whales. Indeed, the Scientific Committee agreed in 2000 that the 760,000 number was no longer appropriate. There has been no agreed population estimate since and the population may be declining.
Myth No. 3:
Commercial whaling is essential for traditional, cultural or nutritional reasons. - In 2006, the Norwegian government cut short the whaling season halfway through because the market for whale meat was already saturated. The Icelandic government has made it clear that commercial whaling will only continue if an export market can be found. Meanwhile, Japan has more than 4,000 tons of whale meat from its "scientific" whaling program in cold storage - uneaten, unsold, and unwanted. Few Japanese people view whales as a vital food source and even fewer actually eat them. According to an opinion poll conducted in Japan in June 2006, 69 percent of Japanese people do not support whaling on the high seas and 95 percent never or rarely eat whale meat.
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| Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. It began as early as 3000 BC, when whales were apparently considered just as any other fish by the then barbaric man. Although prehistoric hunting and gathering is generally considered to have had little ecological impact, early whaling in the Arctic may have altered freshwater ecology. Today after almost 5000 years, not much has changed, except that Man now understands that whales are mammals, and are endangered…or may be not the endangered part as yet, because he still participates in mass killing of these innocent Cetaceans. Whale oil is little used today so most modern commercial whaling is done for food - or for "science", if you believe the Japanese. © 2011 EarthSmiles.net . All rights reserved. Made from 100% recycled pixels.     Japan meets its large market demand for fish food in large measure through these "scientific" whaling expeditions, hunting whale in both open oceans (the North Pacific Ocean and the Southern Ocean near Antarctica) and its coastal water. It also gets large and small whales as bycatch in the nets of Japanese fishing vessels, and these are not released back into the ocean.
In Open-Ocean Whaling or Pelagic Whaling, as it is known, Japan gets around 1000 whales every season from the Southern Ocean alone. Huge factory ships and harpoon ships are used to capture the whales.
To give a tiny idea of the cruelty with which these mammals are treated, witness a whale hunt. When whales are spotted the harpoon ships will engage in pursuit. A harpoon cannon with a grenade tipped harpoon is fired at the target whale. A rope is trailed from the harpoon in order to prevent the whale from being lost. If the whale is not killed, a second attempt is made. The third attempt involves the whales being dragged backward leading to them drowning.
On the coasts, dolphins are hunted by many small boats in a coordinated process called the Dolphin drive hunting. The fishermen bang metal poles in the water in order to frighten and therefore guide noise-sensitive dolphins toward the shore. A series of nets are then used to trap the dolphins in a closed area, like a cove. Next, divers and fishermen in boats lance or cut the throats of the dolphins and haul them away to a nearby shore station for processing. A few young dolphins are selected for sale to aquariums and others spared for the marine park entertainment industry. So, if you have visited a SeaWorld or other Aquatic Park and have been thrilled at the acrobatics and the intellegence of the dolphins... remember they began their trip from some Japanese cove stained in the red of their friends and family. The practice of dolphin drive hunting in Taiji, (a japanese fishing village which professes to "love dolphins,") was the subject of a documentary film entitled The Cove. The clandestine filming by the documentary filmmakers highlights the coverup and how much the Japanese government wants to keep it that way. You can see a short clip from The Cove at the bottom of this page.
If more "humane," the story is not very different in Norway or Iceland - except that in Norway, they hunt and eat only Minke whales, and have the excuse of few alternate meats.The “Whaling Quota” is a whopping 1,052 Minke whales a year.
So, when is the slaughter going to end? Sign up here to petition US President Obama to stop support for a plan that will even bring back old-fashioned Commercial Whaling! [CLICK] Whaling in Japan began as early as the 12th century and Japan was heavily involved in commercial Whaling well into the 20th century; until, in 1986 the International Whaling Commission passed a law banning commercial Whaling. Japan, however, continued its business as usual - behind the veil of scientific research…a loophole in the IWC's moratorium, that Japan did not miss.
Japanese Whaling therefore still continues unabated by the government front known as the Institute of Cetacean Research. The meat from these “scientific” whale hunts is then sold in shops and restaurants as food. Short clip from The Cove.
(Click to watch on YouTube) |
