Japan whalers depart in controversial humpback hunt

Social justice news
November 19, 2007

Japan whalers depart in controversial humpback hunt
Shimonoseki, Japan — Greenpeace reports that the Japanese government whaling fleet has departed its home port of Shimonoseki for its biggest hunt since the moratorium on commercial whaling came into being over twenty years ago. The fleet intends to kill more than 1,000 whales while in theSouthern Ocean, including 50 endangered fin whales, 50 threatened humpback whales and 935 minke whales.

The Greenpeace ship Esperanza is standing by off the coast of Japan. (You can read the crew blog here or check out the live webcam.)

Despite claims that the Japanese are conducting a "research project," the whale hunt isn't science, according to Greenpeace. The International Whaling Commission has said the data the whalers gather isn't helpful, and virtually everything the Japanese will learn by harpooning the whales could be learned by non-lethal means.

Greenpeace charges that the hunt for whales in fact steals money from Japanese taxpayers and robs other countries of much-needed tourist income. The threatened humpbacks targeted by the whalers are part of thriving whale watching industries elsewhere.

"The whaling fleet must be recalled now. If it is not, we will take direct, non-violent action to stop the hunt," said Esperanza expedition leader Karli Thomas aboard the ship.

Japan argues that whale populations have recovered enough to allow a managed catch. The six-vessel fleet took off from the western port of Shimonoseki for its five-month voyage led by the 8,044-tonne Nisshin Maru, which has been repaired since a fire that forced Japan to cut short its last Antarctic hunt.

Japan's whaling program is particularly controversial this year because there are plans to kill 50 humpback whales, which opponents say are still endangered. The annual migration of humpback whales between the Southern Ocean and tropical Pacific waters also supports valuable whale watching tourism ventures in New Zealand, Australia and Tonga.

Japan also intends to kill 50 fin whales, the world's second largest animal after the blue whale.

Though the hunt was legal under the international whaling convention, according to an AFP report, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, "We note that non-lethal research techniques are available to provide nearly all relevant data on whale populations.

"We call on Japan to refrain from conducting this year's hunt, especially in respect to Humpback and fin whales," McCormack said, reading from a statement.

"We also urge restraint and measured approaches from all sides at any protests that may be planned against the Japanese fleet in the Southern Ocean," he said.

"The sinking or damaging of a vessel in this area could have catastrophic consequences for the crews involved, the environment and indeed the living resources all parties cherish," he said.

For more:
The Great Whale Trail project

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