From Kazuo Shima, Fisheries Agency, Tokyo
Some clarification of your editorial about whaling is needed (Comment, 3 June).
Firstly, as you say, Japan “quite freely” chose to stay in the International Whaling Commission; but the reason for staying in is not what you suggest. Japan’s reason is to uphold the purpose of the IWC charter “to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry”, a duty for a member nation.
In spite of this purpose, the IWC has kept the moratorium over the time limit after the completion of necessary comprehensive assessment, and established the sanctuary covering all whales, regardless of population sizes of different stocks estimated by the IWC’s own scientific committee. Such decisions are a blatant departure from the spirit of the charter. Would you say that the proponents of the sanctuary are also “quite free to be members”?
Japan’s food culture is markedly dependent on seafoods. Whalemeat is one component of this culture. Just as cattle and sheep cultures are accepted in some parts of the world, seafood culture, including whalemeat, should also be recognised.
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Indeed, the welcome address by Michael Higgins, Ireland’s minister for arts and culture, at the IWC Annual Meeting in Dublin in May-June this year, supports this. He said: “I believe it would be wrong and in the nature of cultural imperialism for Ireland to attempt to impose our cultural values on those nations whose populations have developed on the whale for generations.”
Future generations will face food shortages associated with growing human populations. The future global population will require greater protein supply than ever before; this can hardly be provided by production from the land alone.
The proper management of ocean resources, including whales, must be practised to keep the balance of the marine ecosystem. Cetaceans, at the top of the food chain, consume massive amounts of other marine creatures – between 3 and 5 per cent of their body weight per day during the feeding season. Whales all over the world consume at least 300 million tons of krill and other species, exceeding four times the amount of fish caught by humans worldwide.
