Japan to push for resumption of commercial whaling

I'd just like to know the reasons why

As long as it's sustainable, I've no real problem with it, I won't be eating it for health reasons though.

rajahsahib: The moratorium was put in place to allow stocks to recover, and clearly the stocks of minke have. Under the terms of the moratorium, there's no reason why it shouldn't be lifted.

Oh oh, I can see the comments coming in on this one.

I have no opposition to Japan whaling for commercial purposes as long as they remain WITHIN THEIR OWN TERRITORIAL EEZ! When they have killed every last whale in their own waters (which will take them only a few short years if they aren't strictly monitored) then whaling ends for Japan - PERIOD!

I do wonder how much money Japan is "donating" to IWC member nations to "influence" the vote in thier favor?

I am against it, and I hope Japan is defeated in IWC.

OK.

So, make it purely commercial - no more massive government subsidies - restrict it to Japanese waters and put an animal welfare officer on each boat to monitor the killing time. Any harpoonist whose shot does not kill within say 30 seconds, or who requires a second shot, loses his license and gets a job on shore.

Commercial whaling would not last a single season.

What exactly are they supposed to be researching?

Is it just me or is there a very self-pitying and self-justifying undertone to this article? Somehow, I don't think crying victim is gonna work for Japan on this issue.

Commercial whaling, good idea.

First Japan will prove to IWC that the country can manage sustainable whaling within its own water while allow whales population elsewhere to increase.

Then when there are too many whales in the ocean, IWC will permit whaling nations, Japan included,to harvest them under IWC leadership.This may sound good but realistically, if human population keeps increasing, the demand for sea food will increase as well; so it will be less and less food for whales and will make it hard for them to multiply.

"and clearly the stocks of minke have."

Apparently the minke stocks never where depleted. During the Great Whaling craze of the 1800-1900s, it was the larger species that were hunted to near extinction. No one could be bothered with the (comparatively) wee Antarctic minkes.

It was hypothesized that the minke population would be exploding, due to lack of competion for krill, from the big blues, the fins, etc. but the population appears to be holding steady.

I'm also not eating any of it, but, if it's sustainable, better that than blue fin tuna for some people, I suppose.

I do wonder how much money Japan is "donating" to IWC member nations to "influence" the vote in thier favor?

Watch "The Cove" and you'll get an idea as to where it starts.

Excess meat is sold for consumption, leading critics to call the program a mere cover for commercial whaling.

If they are whaling purely for research purposes as they claim then why is there excess meat left over?

"If they are whaling purely for research purposes as they claim then why is there excess meat left over?"

Because whales are big and have a lot of meat on them???

Not going to get into a long spiel, however, here are a couple of random thoughts.

The reference to "excess meat" being sold on the market is interesting. Indeed, if Japan's whaling were indeed "scientific," then meat would not be sold for human consumption. Moreover, to stamp out this sale of whale meat, perhaps Japan should be made to only kill skinny whales (lol).

Who would want to eat an animal that effectively sits at the top of the food chain? Can you imagine how much chemical residue is in whale meat?

Japan has proven again and again that it cannot be trusted vis-a-vis the management of fishery/whale resources. Whether it was the deceitful practices of Japan vis-a-vis Southern Bluefin Tuna stocks, or whether it is Japan's past employment of drift-nets, the country just does not have a track record that instills confidence. As such, a resumption of Japanese commercial whaling would result in a holocaust for these creatures.

timorborder:

Japan's research whaling program is not at all different from the research fishing programs operated worldwide. Australia runs at least one for Chilean sea bass, NZ carries out a program for a couple of species of Tuna, Canada has had several for cod... the list is actually quite long. Google "research catch". In almost all cases, fish (and crab, and lobster, and on) caught under research quotas are sold. And in most cases (the Australian program for sea bass being a good example) the methodology is the same as the Japanese whaling research program.

In other words, your definition of "scientific" is not the same as the use of "scientific" as it applies to resource management. Just FYI.

hardly a 'resumption' since japan has never stopped, just hiding it behind the smokescreen of 'scientific research'

Guess the rest of the world is not listening to your lies, because even in the secret meetings; JAPAN HAS BEEN DENIED...