Ellingsen factory, biggest whale meat and blubber storage in Norway.
A report released today by Greenpeace in Tokyo reveals that
whale blubber stored in Norway awaiting export to Japan is unfit
for human consumption.(1) The report written by independent
scientists in Germany concludes that the samples analysed are
contaminated with various halogenated-organic contaminants such as
PCBs, DDT and brominated flame retardants.(2)
"It would be irresponsible of the Norwegian government to export
whale blubber to Japan and irresponsible of the Japanese government
to sell it for eating. It is unfit for human consumption and should
be disposed of safely and further investigation is highly
recommended," said Thilo Maack, Greenpeace oceans campaigner. "If
someone ate a piece of whale blubber the size of my thumb, they
would be dosing themselves many times over the advisory limits of
some of the most toxic compounds known to humans."
Japan and Norway have been discussing a resumption in whale
trade following Norway's decision in January 2001 to lift its ban
on whale exports. The Fisheries Agency of Japan applied to the
Trade Ministry for permission to import whale meat from Norway, but
as yet no shipments have been made. Norway's decision to begin
exporting whale meat and blubber to Japan has been fuelled by the
desire of the Norwegian whalers to profit from the high prices paid
for whale products on the luxury food market in Japan. The export
of whale products runs contrary to the ban imposed by the
Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES).
Norwegian traders have stockpiled 1000 metric tonnes of whale
blubber in cold storage waiting for export. Last year, the Japanese
government had to put two hundred metric tonnes of unsold whale
meat and blubber in storage due to the declining market for whale
products in Japan.
The report confirms the fears of environmentalists and Japanese
consumer groups that whale products are unfit for eating.(3) "The
presence of such toxic chemicals in whale blubber shows the extent
to which our oceans are contaminated and underlines how vital it is
that whales are protected from hunting and that the current
international ban on trade remains intact. The status of the minke
whales hunted by Norway is uncertain and these results show that
whales are vulnerable to not only commercial whaling activities but
also to wider environmental threats," said Maack.(4)
The complete report Evaluation of Contaminats in Meat and
Blubber of Minke Whales is available for download as a pdf.
Notes: (1) Evaluation of Contaminants in Meat and Blubber of Minke Whales, Dr. Martin Hassauer, Jan Oltmanns, Dr. Klaus Schneider of Forschungs-und Beratungsinstitut Gefahrstoffe GmbH. (2) These are persistent organic pollutants (POPs), amongst the most toxic chemicals known to humankind. POPs are particularly resistant to natural breakdown and accumulate in the fatty tissues of both humans and animals. Mammals that are higher up the food chain, such as whales, are particularly vulnerable to POPs. In 2001, world governments agreed that POPs must be eliminated from the planet under the Stockholm Convention. (3) A Norwegian university study estimates that the export market could reach NKr50 million (US $ 5.5million), if 20 percent of the whale catch and 100 per cent of the blubber were exported. Most of the meat would be exported to Japan, where blubber is considered a delicacy. In protest against Norway's resumption of whale trading, some airlines are refusing to carry the product." Quest Economics Database World of Information Country Report April 24, 2002 (3) "It is very surprising that the Japanese are encouraging the eating of whale meat with shoppers queuing for free samples of canned whale stew, deep-fried whale meat and blubber recipes in downtown Tokyo," Dr. Stone said, "Unfortunately, what these unsuspecting consumers probably received was a cocktail of toxins and contaminants that have made their way into our seas and oceans, particularly during the last 50 years." Parliamentary Secretary for the Antarctic, Dr. Sharman Stone, Media Release, 12 April 2002. (4) There is evidence that toxic pollution, ship noise, ozone depletion, global warming, and overfishing threaten whale populations. For more information see the Greenpeace report, “Whales In A Degraded Ocean” (available on the Greenpeace website).