Japan, Norway, and the Pressure to Resume Commercial Whaling

By Kate O'Connell, CSI Board

Since the last edition of Whales Alive!, whaling has been the focus of news stories around the globe. Beginning with the resumption of killing of Bryde's and sperm whales by Japan late last summer, pro-whaling nations have mounted an all-out attempt to try to legitimize commercial whaling. Whales, which have never been free from commercial exploitation despite the International Whaling Commission's moratorium, are at the center of an international debate raging from the White House to the Norwegian Parliament, from Japanese fish markets to US fishing waters.

In November, the Japanese press reported that whale meat from endangered species was being sold in fish markets and department stores in Japan; samples of some 300 whale meat packages were analyzed, and meat from both fin and humpback whales were found. Catches of both species have been banned for decades. According to the Kyodo news service, an official at the Institute for Cetacean Research in Tokyo admitted that, "The whale meat catches which were banned may have been illegally imported." Adding to the difficulties in tracking the sale of whale meat products is the fact that Japanese law now allows for fishermen to sell whale meat from animals that have become entangled in fishing gear. The same official is quoted as saying, "it is uncertain whether these whales were unlawfully caught."

Such confusion and uncertainty underscore why conservation organizations have remained so opposed to the legal resumption of full-scale commercial whaling. In addition to the inherent cruelty of the whale hunt, whaling nations have strongly fought implementation of any type of monitoring and control system for their activities that would allow for a transparent management of whaling, subject to international review. Japan, in spite of its efforts to implement a genetic monitoring system for whales, has not agreed to allow oversight of such a tracking system by the IWC. This is only one of many issues coming up for discussion on a Revised Management Scheme (RMS) by the IWC. At the last annual meeting of the whaling commission (see Whales Alive!, July 2000), it was decided that a special session of the IWC would be held in early February, 2001 specifically to address the issue of creating an RMS for whaling.

Japan had offered to host the special session on the RMS. However, in light of the Japanese expansion of its "scientific" whaling, many nations protested the hunt, and asked that the venue be changed. Monaco offered to host the RMS meeting, and as a result, the IWC held a postal vote to determine the site for the conference. In November, a majority of the IWC nations voting chose Monaco over Japan, a clear indication that Japan's actions were seen as a sign of acting in bad faith.

The pressure to resume whaling is growing, and if an RMS is adopted by the IWC, it is certain that nations other than Japan and Norway will consider a return to whaling. Iceland, which withdrew from the IWC in the early 90s, this year joined CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), and took an exception to the listing of whales on Appendix 1, an indication that it hopes to reopen trade in whale products at some point. In early December, it was announced that the Icelandic Parliament approved a budget of US$167,000 to begin a promotional campaign to prepare Iceland's business partners for that country's eventual resumption of whaling. The budget next year will be increased to $278,000.

Japan is not the only country acting in bad faith at the IWC. Norway, which has continued its commercial whaling activities under an objection to the IWC moratorium decision, has continually set quotas for whaling that have not been approved by the Commission. On December 1st, the Norwegian Fisheries Ministry announced that the whaling quota would be decreased for the second year in a row, from 655 animals in 2000 to 549 whales in 2001.

While at first glance this announcement by Norwegian Fisheries Minister Otto Greggusen would seem to be good news, the lower quota looks likely to only hold for one year. The calculations Norway used are complex, and needed to take into account the ratio of males to females taken in the hunt. Norwegian whalers have targeted larger females (thus removing potential breeders from the population); according to Greggusen, a "considerable" percentage of whales taken are females.

According to news from the High North Alliance, a pro-whaling advocate group, the bad news for whales comes in the fact that Norway is now choosing to use a "tuning level" of .66, rather than a more precautionary and conservationist .72 level. The tuning level is a mathematical "formula" designed by scientists to develop quotas. The higher the level, the fewer whales that can be killed. Norway, in readjusting the tuning level down to .66, has underscored concerns that environmentalists have raised in opposing whaling. Given the commercial pressures to catch enough whales to turn some profit, whaling nations will consistently opt for less strict methods of control. Such a move by Norway is geared to help the whalers, not the whales, as evidenced by a quote from Rune Frøvik of the High North Alliance: "...it is positive that the government has opted for stronger hunting pressure," in referring to the new tuning level.

Norwegian whaler and member of the Norwegian Storting (Parliament), Steiner Bastesen, has been pursuing legal challenges to the current Norwegian ban on exporting whaling products. Bastesen has repeatedly asked for permission to export whale meat and blubber to Iceland, and Norwegian whalers are also interested in exporting whale blubber to Japan. While the Fisheries Ministry would have supported some type of limited export of such products, the Foreign Ministry has opted to maintain the ban. However, key hearings on the issue will be taking place in the Storting's "Food Trade Committee" on January 23rd, 2001. A full debate on the issue will be held in the Storting on the 27th of February.

Given recent press reports on the potential toxicity of whale meat, it is hard to rationalize a reopening in international trade in whale products. According to the Japanese consumer protection group Safety First, eating whale meat poses several dangers due to contamination by such chemicals as mercury and dioxin. At a press conference held in Tokyo in mid-December, it was announced that research indicated that whale products sold in Japan were unacceptably contaminated.

Dr. Koichi Haraguchi of Daiichi College of Pharmaceutical Science said that whale meat sold in Japan "exceeded the acceptable levels of contamination" for chemical pollutants such as PCBs, mercury and DDT and that, "more than half of the samples contained toxic substances above the national and international safety standards and were not suitable for human consumption." And if Norway opts to allow export of whale products, particularly blubber to Japan, similar concerns hold. Whale blubber, which sells for about $41 dollars for 100 grams and is considered a delicacy in Japan, readily accumulates toxins. Studies undertaken by WWF in Norway last summer indicated the potential for such contamination.

The year ended on a letdown for whales, with the announcement by President Clinton on December 29th that he would not seek to implement full economic sanctions against Japan under the Pelly Amendment (see Whales Alive!, October 2000). While the President did opt to refuse Japan any fishing rights in US waters under the Packwood-Magnusen amendment, conservationists had hoped that the White House stand on whaling would include banning imports of certain Japanese products. However, Clinton did say that he views Japan's whaling as "undermining the authority of the IWC" and has indicated that if future bilateral talks fail, Japan could still face penalties. In particular, Clinton directed various government agencies to review the links between the manufacturers of whaling equipment and exports of products by these companies to the US.

The RMS meeting in Monaco promises to be a difficult and contentious discussion, as whalers increase the pressure to reopen commercial whaling under the IWC. Conservation organizations, among them CSI, are deeply concerned that adoption of an RMS at this stage will only worsen the current scenario, as the IWC has no method to ensure compliance with its management decisions. Further, whaling nations continue to flaunt the will of the IWC, and have acted in bad faith. A mere few weeks after IWC nations agreed to consider development of an RMS, Japan resumed whaling of the endangered Bryde's and sperm whale, in defiance of repeated international overtures, and an IWC resolution to the contrary. Norway has chosen to set quotas that are not precautionary, proving yet again that profit outweighs concerns for the protection of whale stocks.

As Whales Alive! goes to press, Secretary of Commerce Norman Mineta is headed to Japan to meet with officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries (MAFF). Mineta, one of the strongest opponents in the Clinton Administration to Japan's whaling stated on December 29th that, while the US will pursue bilateral discussion with Japan on whaling, "Japan must realize that it cannot continue to ignore the opinion of an overwhelming majority of IWC nations without consequences." Mineta will raise the whaling issue during his visit to MAFF, and restate US concerns that Japan is continuing to undermine IWC conservation measures.

In spite of all the recent bad news on whaling, and the growing push to see whaling resume full-scale, it is heartening to note that Secretary Mineta is the only holdover from the Clinton Administration in the new cabinet of President-elect George W. Bush. It is good to know that as whales face an uncertain future, such a strong voice remains in Washington. To go into the new millennium on a positive note, it is appropriate to close with Secretary Mineta's personal view on the subject, outlined in an op-ed piece published in the Washington Post on August 27th, 2000: "America and Japan share a whaling tradition. However, in our once legendary whaling centers, whale watching boats have replaced whaling boats, to the benefit of whales and whaling communities. It's time for Japan to allow these magnificent creatures to recover after decades of killing."