15/06/2005 Japan is expected
to announce at the upcoming International
Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Ulsan,
South Korea, the doubling of the number of
minke whales it plans to hunt this year, while
going after some humpbacks and several endangered
whale species as well – all in the supposed
name of science.
“Scientific whaling” has seen more than 7,000
whales killed since the international whaling
body voted for a moratorium on commercial
whaling in 1982. However, Japan – and Iceland
to a lesser extent – has successfully exploited
a loophole in the moratorium by using special
“research” permits, which in essence, allows
whales to be killed for scientific purposes.
The research exemption was included when the
International Convention for the Regulation
of Whaling, which established the IWC, was
founded in the late 1940s. This “research”
is heavily subsidized by the Japanese government,
and as a result, the meat of whale species
such as minke, Bryde’s, sei and sperm is up
for sale in the Japanese market.
It is extraordinary that in the 21st century,
Japan, one of the world’s most technologically
advanced nations, continues to kill an estimated
650 whales a year based on scientific approaches
of the 1940s, when little was known about
whale populations and their reproduction rates,
and when conservation science was in its infancy.
Not only is Japan’s science questionable
and outdated, but a new WWF report rebuffs
the need to use any lethal methods for scientific
research when non-lethal practices yield equal,
if not better scientific results.
Genetic analysis from small skin samples,
for example, is now widely used to understand
population structure in many mammals, including
whales. Such analysis allows the examination
of different whale species throughout the
world’s waters, including helping to determine
where the boundaries of different whale populations
might be – a critical question in understanding
population dynamics. In the past, whaling
nations frequently set high quotas for large
areas based on the mistaken belief that the
total number of whales in an area was part
of the same population.
Genetic samples are generally taken from
a live whale using a biopsy dart and do not
require killing or injuring the animal. Biopsy
darting has also proven to be far more efficient,
allowing scientists to acquire large amounts
of data from a broader section of the whale
population.
Japan claims it must kill whales to determine
what they eat by studying their stomach contents.
This, however, provides nothing more than
a snapshot view of a dead whale’s most recently
consumed prey, and not necessarily indicative
of its real diet. In contrast, analysis from
skin samples, again obtained using a biopsy
dart on a live whale, provides a long-term
view of the whale’s diet over a longer time
period.
Japan also claims that lethal research is
needed to determine the sex and reproductive
conditions of whales, including whether a
female is pregnant. Yet sex is easily determined
with a biopsy sample, and a recently developed
technique also enables scientists to determine
pregnancy from biopsy samples.
Perhaps the most fallacious myth espoused
by the Japanese is that whales are eating
all the fish in the sea and are responsible
for the collapse of the world’s fish stocks.
In addition to hunting sei whales, Japan says
its North Pacific scientific whaling programme
needs to continue killing northern minke,
sperm, and Bryde's whales to better understand
the role of these species in the ecosystem.
Nothing could be further from the scientific
truth or legitimate scientific methodology.
It is clear that Japan's scientific methods
are nothing more than an excuse to kill whales
for its lucrative meat market, and that the
shift to different whale species is driven
by market factors and not science.
Japan has come under heavy criticism within
the scientific community for failing to publish
its research results from its “scientific
whaling” programme, as well as failing to
adopt recommendations for improvement of the
programme made by the IWC’s Scientific Committee.
Nevertheless, Japan continues to flout the
global international whaling moratorium by
hunting whales in both the Antarctic and the
North Pacific, hiding behind the veneer of
science.
Japan is a global leader in science and technology.
How can a country that aspires to sit on the
UN Security Council and be a leader among
nations continue to engage in this scientifically
unsound practice? How much longer can the
international community sit by passively?
* Dr. Susan Lieberman is Director of the
Global Species Programme at WWF, the global
conservation organization.
This opinion editorial appeared in the Straits
Times of Singapore and the Korean Herald on
14 June 2005.
By Sue Lieberman
