Japan to continue Antarctic whaling, to resume coastal takes

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Japan to continue Antarctic whaling, to resume coastal takes

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Japanese fisheries ministry indicated Wednesday that the country's whaling for "research purposes" in the Antarctic Ocean will be continued, following a proposal by the International Whaling Commission.

The ministry is also aiming to resume full-fledged whaling along coastal regions of Japan.

Presenting the new IWC proposal on Monday, Cristian Maquieira, chairman of the commission, laid out plans that would enable Japan to continue to hunt whales in Antarctic waters and Japanese coastal waters if it agreed to suspend what it calls its scientific research whaling for 10 years.

The proposal called for abolishing the longstanding IWC distinction between the concepts of commercial whaling, scientific whaling and aboriginal subsistence whaling in exchange for placing catches under all of the three concepts under IWC oversight.

The proposal also condones whaling for a 10-year period on the condition that any final deal would "reduce catches significantly from current levels," establish "caps of takes that are within sustainable levels" for the period and enhance supervision over poaching.

Fisheries Agency Counsellor Joji Morishita said the proposal "amounts to a provisional ceasefire" which would suspend years of dispute between critics and proponents of whaling.

The proposal, if implemented, would create "no winner or loser," he said, adding, "It would signify big progress as parties (to the dispute) would search for the midway point by conceding ground to each other."

Asked what attitude Japan will take after the 10-year period cited by the proposal, he said, "It's a completely clean sheet of paper."

Agency officials said Japan will continue to release "scientific data" it will collect through its catches in Antarctic waters even after the IWC does away with the concept of scientific whaling.

The agency said Japan will seek to resume full-fledged commercial whaling along its coastal waters by fishermen based in the ports of Abashiri, Hokkaido Prefecture, Ayukawa, Miyagi Prefecture, Wada, Chiba Prefecture, and Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture.

Japanese fishermen's costal whaling has been limited to hunting for small-size whales whose takes are not covered by IWC regulations, since the IWC put a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1988.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said it plans to request IWC member countries to allow Japan's catches of minke whales which have been the subject of the IWC regulations.

Morishita said, "There would not be any significance in the proposed agreement unless this (minke whale catches) is incorporated into the deal."

Meanwhile, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it cannot back the IWC proposal. Australia will present an alternative proposal that would include "the complete phasing out of whaling in the Southern Ocean within a reasonable period of time," a department spokesman said.

(Mainichi Japan) February 25, 2010