Whaling fleet leaves for Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary

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SOUTHERN JAPAN The whaling ship Nisshin-maru departs from Aruka port, Shimonoseki, Southern Japan together with a fleet of four catcher ships bound for the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary with the intention of killing 1,000 whales. Greenpeace called upon the Fisheries Agency of Japan (FAJ) and the companies behind the whaling to immediately recall the fleet and cancel the cull.

"Sanctuary means refuge or safe haven, yet this year nearly 1,000whales will receive neither from the whaler's harpoon," warned JohnFrizell of Greenpeace International. "The Sanctuary is there to helpwhales recover after over a century of relentless persecution sentpopulations plummeting. Japan should join all other countries inrespecting the Sanctuary."

The Southern Ocean was designated a whale sanctuary in 1994 andcommercial whaling was banned in 1986 by the International WhalingCommission, yet every year since 1987 FAJ has exploited a loophole ininternational law which permits it to issue licences for the so-called'scientific whaling'. The IWC has said it does not need the dataproduced by the 'research' and strongly urges Japan to call off. Suchis the scale of the hunt even the most naive observer cannot fail toconclude that this is commercial whaling.

Each year after the whales have been measured and weighed by thescientists they are cut up and boxed for market. FAJ says that"according to Japanese cultural values . whales are viewed as a foodsource." However, an opinion poll commissioned in 2002 by theinfluential Japanese Asahi newspaper paints a different picture: only4% of the population regularly eat whale meat; 9% rarely eat it; 53%haven't eaten it since childhood and 33% never eat it.

"In reality few Japanese people view whale meat as a vital food sourceand even fewer actually eat it. It is simply not true that whaling isimportant to the Japanese public and the whaling fleet should not leavefor the Antarctic whale sanctuary," said Mizuki Takana of GreenpeaceJapan.

Earlier this year, the FAJ announced at the annual meeting of the IWCits intention to more than double its scientific cull to 935 minkewhales and to add 50 fin whales and 50 humpback whales over the nexttwo years. Both humpback and fin whales are listed as endangeredspecies.

Among the areas to be studied by FAJ is the impact of whales on fishstocks. The Agency claims that whales are contributing to the collapseof fish stocks. "Ninety nine per cent of the catch will be SouthernOcean minke whales which eat krill not fish. Only the newly addedendangered Fin and Humpback whales eat fish," said John Frizell. "Arewe really saying that we cannot spare a few fish for endangered whales?"

VVPR info: Keiko Shirokawa, Greenpeace Japan Communications, in Tokyo, (m) +81 90 3470 7884John Frizell Greenpeace International, in the UK, (m) +44 127 347 6839Sara Holden Greenpeace International Communications, in Amsterdam, (m) +31 615 00 7406Images of the departure will be available from:Video and Stills: Keiko Shirokawa, Greenpeace Japan, in Tokyo, + 81 5338 9800Stills: John Novis, Greenpeace International, in Amsterdam, (m) +31 653819 121

Exp. contact date: 2005-12-10 00:00:00