Japan, the US and the IWC

By Kate O'Connell, CSI Board

On November 18th, 2007 the Japanese whaling fleet set sail from the port city of Shimonoseki. 239 crew aboard four whaling vessels began the journey south towards the Southern Ocean Sanctuary, intent on killing the largest number of whales ever in bogus "scientific research" hunt. Japan's harpoons were to take aim at 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales, in addition to 50 humpback whales. The hunt sparked an international outcry, as conservation-minded governments, environmental groups and the public voiced extreme anger at Japan's decision to escalate its whale hunt, and to set their sights on endangered whales.

Perhaps the most vocal and visible criticism came from Australia, where the whaling issue had figured prominently in the national elections that brought a new party to power just one week after Japan's boats left port. Recently elected PM Paul Rudd made clear that his government would follow through with pre-election promises to act to protect whales from the Japanese harpoons. Speaking at the Bali Climate Change meeting in mid-December, Rudd assured reporters that, "We take seriously Australia's international obligations on the proper protection of whales." Other pro-whale governments such as the UK and New Zealand spoke out publicly against Japan's commercial whale hunt conducted under the guise of science.

Climate change could well have a profound impact on whale habitat and survivability, and it is distressing to note that at the Bali meeting, the US originally blocked consensus, throwing international negotiations into a tail spin. It was only after the US was challenged by an eloquent and impassioned intervention from the delegation of Papua New Guinea (who demanded that the US "lead, follow or get out of the way") that the Americans agreed not to stand in the way of progress on climate talks.

At roughly the same time as the US was trying to block progress on climate issues, International Whaling Commission (IWC) Chair William Hogarth entered into a series of discussions with the Japanese government on whaling. On the 11th of December, Dr. Hogarth met with both Foreign Ministry and Fisheries Agency officials in Tokyo, and cited US concerns with JARPA II, Japan's Antarctic research plan. According to reports in the Japanese media, however, the Chair focused his concerns on the humpback whale take, not the entire hunt, indicating that he felt that the humpback hunt would be an obstacle to progress in efforts to "normalize" the IWC (see Whales Alive! Vol. XVI No. 2 and 3).

On the 19th of December, Japanese Fisheries Agency officials flew to Washington, DC to meet with Hogarth to announce that they had decided to postpone the humpback hunt. In a press conference held in Tokyo, Minister of Foreign Affairs Komura explained the Japanese decision as a way to buy time for Japan to make efforts to "repair" the IWC. Komura indicated at the press conference that Dr. Hogarth had said that he, too, wanted to "fix the IWC which is not fulfilling its function". In a press release, the US Secretary of Commerce praised the decision as an "act of goodwill" towards the IWC.

While the decision by Japan to not target humpbacks at this time is good news for that species in the short term, governments and conservationists point out that Japan's lethal scientific whale hunt continues to go ahead for minke and fin whales. On the 21st of December, thirty nations and the European Union sent a strongly worded letter of condemnation to Japan, calling on it to immediately cease all of its lethal scientific research and calling for the immediate return of the four vessel whaling fleet from Antarctic waters.

The US did not sign on to the demarche, which is deeply troubling. It plays into Japan's strategy and isolates the US from its former allies. Many environmentalists who have been engaged in the whaling issue for any length of time question whether Japan actually had planned to kill any humpback whales, but were rather using the hugely symbolic animal as leverage to get movement on their own efforts to ensure that some form of commercial whaling is again allowed by the whaling commission.

In early March, the IWC will host a special meeting to discuss the future of the commission, and it is imperative that the US maintain a strong stand against the resumption of any form of commercial whaling. The US failure to join on to the international demarche against Japan is deeply troubling, and favors Japan's tactical game. It also flies in the face of strong Congressional opposition to whaling.

It is urgent that all CSI supporters contact the Secretary of Commerce and make their concerns known. Ask that the Secretary instruct the US delegation to the March, 2008 special meeting of the IWC to not make any concessions to Japan's whalers, and to hold firm on US support for the commercial whaling ban.

The Honorable Carlos M. Gutierrez
Secretary of Commerce
1401 Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20230
Email: cgutierrez@doc.gov

Japan still plans to kill 50 finbacks.
Photo courtesy of Bill Rossiter.

JOINT DEMARCHE BY Australia, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, costa rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, San Marino, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and Uruguay.

Objection to Japan's Scientific Whaling

We, the Governments of Australia, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, San Marino, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and Uruguay present our compliments to the Government of Japan and wish to take this opportunity to inform the Government of Japan of our strong objection to the resumption of the second Japanese Whale Research Program under Special Permit in the Antarctic (JARPA II), which started on November 18, 2007.

We recall previous International Whaling Commission (IWC) Resolutions calling for the withdrawal of the JARPA II proposal, and most recently Resolution 2007/01, adopted during the Commission's 59th Annual Meeting, which urges the Government of Japan to suspend indefinitely the lethal aspects of JARPA II conducted within the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

We deeply regret the decision of the Government of Japan to disregard repeated requests from the international community to refrain from issuing special permits for research involving the killing of whales within the Southern Ocean Sanctuary, which was established by the IWC in 1994.

We are profoundly concerned that the Government of Japan has endorsed the take of up to 935 minke, 50 fin and 50 humpback whales under JARPA II this season - the largest lethal scientific take ever - despite the IUCN (World Conservation Union) classification of fin whales as 'endangered' (at a very high risk of extinction) and humpback whales as 'vulnerable' (at a high risk of extinction). The IWC recognised the threatened status of humpbacks several decades ago, enacting a ban on whaling of the species in 1963. We have grave concerns that JARPA II will undermine any future recovery and the long term viability of these species.

We note with concern that the program will target species that are essential to the whale watching industries of several IWC Member States, and the subjects of long-term non-lethal research programs which are yielding wide-ranging insights into the species' biology and ecology.

We deeply regret the large numbers of whales taken under JARPA programs which, notably, outnumber the whales killed globally by Japan for scientific research in the 31 year period prior to the entry into force of the moratorium on commercial whaling. We are extremely concerned that more than 11,000 whales have been killed under scientific programs since the introduction of the moratorium. We call upon all members of the IWC to fully adhere to the word and spirit of the whaling moratorium, which is intended to protect all whale species worldwide.

While we note Japan's position that its JARPA programs are consistent with the text of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, we once again draw attention to the availability of non-lethal research techniques to obtain adequate data for biological, population and management purposes, rendering Japan's lethal research programme unnecessary.

Taking into consideration the Government of Japan's environmental credentials in several areas, we strongly urge Japan to join the international community and cease all its lethal scientific research on whales, and assure the immediate return of the vessels which are implementing JARPA II.