commercial whaling

The “new” plan sets a target of capturing 333 minke whales annually as part of a 12-year-long research effort "to achieve conservation of [Antarctic marine ecosystem] resources while pursuing their sustainable utilization and to understand and predict the effects of factors such as climate change."

Japan needs to have more "sampling" of whale demographic data, so they must kill more widely and extend their illegal whaling program!

"After giving serious scientific consideration, it has been concluded that age data at the annual scale can be obtained only through lethal sampling methods, and thus lethal methods need to be employed under this program," the plan said.

Wildlife is protected in the Antarctic, and the “sustainable utilization” is illegal! How is the word “sustainable” measurable when whales are intelligent, peaceful, and social marine mammals with high intrinsic value.

(A whale and a calf being loaded aboard a factory ship, the Nisshin Maru. The sign above the slipway reads, "Legal research under the ICRW")

Japan needs to have more "sampling" of whale demographic data, so they must kill more widely and extend their illegal whaling program!

Thanks to inactive governments, and ineffective politicians who've failed over and over again to directly end Japan's criminal and illegal commercial whaling. It's the science of absurdity, a pretence of “science” when it's really killing protected species and an environmentally sensitive, protected zone- the Antarctic.

This "research" is about promoting commercial whaling, not science or conservation!

Ostensibly Japan aims to obtain more precise information on minkes should the moratorium on commercial whaling ever be lifted and a quota system re-introduced, and to investigate the Antarctic marine ecosystem. So, in case the moratorium is lifted, they killing will will finally be legal and they will be ready to lift their "research" veil and start fully-authorised legal whaling in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary.

Wrongs need to be nipped in the bud, not allowed to fester and give criminals greater audacity and confidence! Inaction is as good as endorsement of crimes. The International Court of Justice condemned Japan's illegal whaling, but that hasn't stopped the whaling. Japan is just using the "research whaling" loophole to an even greater extent, to keep it within the limits of the ban.

Despite initially committing to respect the World's International Court of Justice's judgement, the Government of Japan and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe days later announced a sort of “back-to-front about-face,” defiantly declaring that Japan would return to whale killing around Antarctica after a one-year – with a new research plan and rationale!

Despite the new rationale, it's actually still thinly disguised commercial whaling, that they want or need to kill whales, develop the research plan and rationale later and then ignore international institutions and processes that might impede your “scientific slaughter”.
"This is is the same tired old plan to kill whales under the guise of scientific research," Mr Kindleysides of the Australian Marine Conservation Society said. "Prime Minister Tony Abbott must tell Japan this is not acceptable."

The amount of whale meat stockpiled for lack of buyers has nearly doubled over 10 years, even as anti-whaling protests helped drive catches to record lows. More than 2,300 minke whales worth of meat is sitting in freezers while whalers still plan to catch another 1,300 whales per year. Japanese have lost their appetite for whale meat!

The only reason for Japan's insistence on using harpoons on the Antarctic's majestic whales is to continue their warrior heritage and defy the West, and ensure they have a global export market in whale meat while the rest of the overpopulated world suffers from food insecurity!

It’s a matter of territorial rights, and infiltration of what they see as an international resource. The Antarctic is an open sea that everyone is entitled to its rich resources - and Japan is ensuring their presence and their "right" to it's riches.

The Age: Japan to expand it's Antarctic whaling area

In the latest report, Australian scientists will work with international scientists who helped the International Court of Justice find the previous Japanese program illegal. Surely such a thin scientific facade will easily exposed?

SMH: Australia will scritinise fresh Japanese whaling push

One would assume that an organisation entitled the 'Australia Strategic Policy Institute' would be a government body or a body at least having Australia's strategic interests at heart.

But its director, Dr Anthony Bergin, with a title one would assume would be capable of research, has written an article for Fairfax media supporting Japan's strategic interests.
Bergin's article: 'Ban Protest Vessels from using our Ports' dated 16th January 2010 in The Age and duplicated in the Sydney Morning Herald - (Fairfax empire privilege) sides with the Japanese whalers and calls on the Australian Government to support Japan in denying protesters access to Australian ports. Perhaps Dr Bergin should take up residency in Tokyo.

If Dr Bergin were respectful of the democratic rights to protest we have in Australia and recognised the Japanese incursion in Australia's whale sanctuary in the Southern Ocean, and respected the existence rights of whales, then perhaps his article for Fairfax would have instead read like this...

The Australian Government has been far too even-handed in its statements about the reckless actions of the Japanese whalers trespassing in the Southern Ocean in breach of commercial whaling prohibitions.

By not condemning this annual intrusion by Japanese ships undertaking commercial whaling, Australia is in effect acquiescing in illegal poaching of whales, while Sea Shepherd does Australia's naval monitoring of illegitimate Japanese whale poachers.

Harassment will not change Japan's position on whaling. And not condemning these Japans actions is counterproductive for Australia trying to secure its protection of endangered whales with the International Whaling Commission.

Australia could legitimately take Japan to court and hold Japan in breach of the Antarctic Treaty at the next meeting of the commission in Morocco in June. Australia could legitimately and formally demand Japan to cease its whaling actions immediately.

Given the public interest in these matters, the Australian Government has sensibly asked the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to examine the recent events in the Southern Ocean. But it is hard to see how, on any reading of the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, that the ramming of the Sea Shepherd vessel by the Japanese whaling vessel, could argue his actions were in compliance with it. The Ady Gill was stationary in the water at the time of the ramming and no action was taken by the Japanese whaling vessel to avoid a collision.

To demonstrate that Australia does not support the activities of the Japanese whalers, the Australian Government should ban the entry of its vessels into Australian ports.

In deciding whether to grant consent to vessels to enter its ports, a state is free to impose conditions as it wishes - access to a port of a state is a privilege, not a right. Australia banned port access to Japanese fishing vessels in 1998 when Japan would not agree on a total allowable catch for southern bluefin tuna in the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna. The port access ban was lifted in mid-2001. Why? It is an offence under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act for a whaling vessel to call at an Australian port unless the master has written permission from the environment minister to bring it into the port.

If the Federal Government is serious about ending whaling and shifting the Japanese Government's position - one that has hardened in response - it should directly monitor all whaling activities in the Southern Ocean, follow through on its promise to take legal action against Japan, ban all whaling vessels from Australian ports and ban all use of aircraft from Australian airports for use by Japanese whalers.

Dr Anthony Bergin needs to continue his research and then get back to us with what he has learnt.

In true Ruddism style (hollow popularism) Australia is domestically making noise while doing squat to resolve Japan's state-sanctioned slaughter of endangered whale species or to ethically stand up to an illegitimate foreign aggressor. So year on year, Greenpeace's Sea Shepherd does the dirty work of another Australian government.
So why should Hollywood not sponsor the Sea Shepherd's costs?

Japanese whalers, tens of thousands of miles south of Japan in Australian Antarctic waters and seriously outside any feasible extension of what may constitute 'traditional' Japanese hunting grounds, try to argue on the one hand that:

(1) whaling is a cultural tradition practiced by the Japanese for centuries and so have an inherent right to continue this tradition, then on the other that
(2) Japanese whale hunting is purely scientific

Combined, the two justifications expose the motive as a prima facie fraud and as one more important that the mainstream media have realised. Japan's justifications for whaling are not commercial and not scientific. They are culturally deep and desperately self-preserving, despite being wrong, wasteful and backward.

Proud Japan's once mighty economy overtaking the west through the 1970s and 1980s reached it's inevitable bubble, but the Japanese rebirth in pride since humilating defeat in World War II, could not foresee a second cultural failure.

But when the Japanese real estate and stock price bubble burst in 1990, immediate nation-wide shock and depression ensued lasting throughout the 1990s, which now has been acknowledged as Japan's Lost Decade. Worse for Japanese pride has been its once globally accepted and admired business management practices that have consequently fallen into disrepute internationally. These include Japan's once acclaimed Kaizen management practice, market first product focus, Genbutso Genba (facts, figures and check) learning from competitors, and Hoshin Kanri (process management). So right now, Japanese pride is at an ebb one could say. Then to hammer the nail into the coffin, Japan has seen its historic arch rival, China, recently replace and exceed Japan's economic success.

How is Japan's cultural pride relevant to Japan's whaling activities in the Southern Ocean? Well let's investigate the facts.

Japanese whalers, tens of thousands of miles south of Japan in Australian Antarctic waters and seriously outside any feasible extension of what may constitute 'traditional' Japanese hunting grounds, try to argue on the one hand that (1) whaling is a cultural tradition practiced by the Japanese for centuries and so have an inherent right to continue this tradition, then on the other that (2) Japanese whale hunting is purely scientific - is an exposed prima facie fraud.

Founder and President of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Paul Watson, provides an historical synopsis of the Japanese 19th Century commercial interest in whaling in his article of 27 June 2006 'The Truth about "Traditional" Japanese Whaling':

"In the 1890's Japanese man, Jura Oka, made his way to Norway, the Azores, and Newfoundland to study whaling and learn of the commercial rewards. Oka then formed the first Japanese whaling company Hogei Gumi with one vessel, the Saikai-maru, and killed a total of three whales. In 1908 the Nihon Hogeigyo Suisan Kumiai was established (Japanese Whaling Association) with Jura Oka as the first President. In 1908 the association's 12 companies with a total of 28 whaling vessels killed 1,312 whales. The average kill for the next 25 years would be around 1,500 whales.

...The 1930's became the greatest decade of whale slaughter in history. In 1931, 37,438 blue whales were massacred in the Southern Oceans. Japan sent its first ships to Antarctica in 1935. The sale of whale oil helped to finance the invasion of Manchuria and China. In 1937 alone, more than 55,000 whales were slaughtered yielding 3 million tons of animals."

Post World War II, America's General Douglas MacArthur, encouraged the revitalisation of a defeated and demoralised Japan.

"In 1946, General Douglas MacArthur proposed the creation of a Japanese whaling fleet to secure protein for the conquered Japanese people. He did so in order to cut down on the United States' costs of transporting food to post war Japan. On August 6th 1946 MacArthur signed the directive authorizing two factory ships and twelve catcher boats to begin whaling in the Antarctic for the 1946-47 season. The deal was that Japan would get the meat and the oil would be turned over to the United States. The United States provided $800,000 in fuel for the ships and received over 4 million dollars in whale oil in return.

The two ships sent down to Antarctic waters were the Hashidate Maru and the Nishin Maru."

Do these vessel names sound familiar?

"The brutal killing of whales has become an icon for the Japanese identity. This is not unusual. Japan has always closely identified with blood and slaughter. From the decapitations by the Samurai upon innocent peasants to the suicidal insanity of the Kamikaze, violence and self destruction have been a part of Japanese culture."

- - - - - -

With Japan's Samurai culture castrated, its military culture castrated, its economic miracle failed, what pride can traditional Japanese otherwise cling to?

Few eat whale meat in Japan. The scientific research of whales is only an excuse so that that Japan can claim to be technically complying with the Antarctic Treaty. But the activity is one of lost Samurais with no other quest. It's all really quite sad for Japan and symptomatic of a once proud people having become culturally lost.

The commission's new chairman said the IWC should now question its role as the conference on the Portuguese island of Madeira wrapped up a day early with delegates agreeing only to extend negotiations on whaling for another year.

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) said it "deeply laments the fact that not a single of the important whaling topics was resolved".

The 61st annual meeting of the IWC has seen 85 member countries come together in Madeira, Portugal, who unanimously decided yesterday that climate change is a key threat to the world's whales.
They have set forward a resolution urging governments to commit to reducing emissions at the UN Climate meeting in Copenhagen at the end of the year in order to address this issue.

Surely this conference was about protecting whales from commercial slaughter, not protecting themselves and whales from climate change!

"However, members did not take action that would stop commercial whaling outside of IWC regulation, which is a fundamental problem that the IWC must address, and which continues today." So there will be no further action to stop commercial whaling? The IWC has lost it's original aims - to protect whales from commercial killings!

Despite Environment Minister’s rhetoric about vowing to “stamp out scientific whaling”, there is not such thing as Japan's "scientific whaling".

Our "anti-whaling" Government has to take some of the blame for the proliferation of the whale meat trade! Before being elected, Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd made many promises about "tough" action against Japan's illegal whale killers and stopping their slaughter, but nothing has happened!

All their procrastinations and rhetoric has meant that Japan has been able to successfully continue their thinly disguised commercial whaling!

The only "tough" action from our Government has been against the crew of the Steve Irwin when Japan got the AFP to raid their ship! Our so-called "anti-whaling" nation has actually encouraged the re-commencement of commercial whaling.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith indicated Australia was leaving open the option of taking legal action against Japan on whaling through the International Court of Justice or the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. However, this action is not optional but a pre-election promise to stop illegal whaling! Fulfilling promises should not be "optional" unless there is a drastic change in events, but there hasn't been.

While our leaders procrastinate and make excuses, Japan will continue to flout international and domestic laws and continue their commercial whaling. They are not only violating CITES and Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary but are completely flouting the Antarctic Treaty that protects marine wildlife and environment and the permit system to even enter the territory!

By allowing Japan to continue their successful commercial whaling, other nations such as Norway and Iceland have followed. When are we going to take action as an “anti-whaling” nation?

Operation Waltzing Matilda is the 6th Sea Shepherd campaign to defend the whales of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary from Japanese poachers.
“This is a research project,” said Captain Paul Watson. “We’ve decided to demonstrate our solidarity with the Japanese, Australian, and New Zealand Research projects. Our primary objective is to research non-lethal means for defending whales. Of course this may include research into Japanese ship’s hull plate thickness, vessel stress tests, and paint chip analysis, as well as observation of whaler behavior in response to olfactory stimulation.”

Maybe there are deep-seated resentments due to the success of Sea Shepherd, lonely activists against the mighty economic powers of Japan, or maybe there are guilt issues regarding their affront to people's acceptance of violence towards animals. No doubt, Sea Shepherd and Captain Paul Watson upset the status quo!

There is more to whale killing than the desire for the meat and profits. It's about human lust to "manage" the oceans away from the Cetacean species who know how to live in harmony with their environment - not like our own species that are creating sewers and killing fields out of the oceans.

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