Japan Scraps Plan To Hunt Humpback Whales

Despite Concession, The Hunt Will Still Target Nearly 1,000 Whales From Other Species

(CBS)  Japan has suspended its first humpback whale hunt in seas off Antarctica since the 1960s, the government said Friday, backing down in an escalating international battle over the expansion of its hunt.

Japan dropped the planned taking of 50 humpbacks - which have been off-limits to commercial hunting since 1966 - at the behest of the United States, the chair of the International Whaling Commission, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura.

"The government has decided to suspend hunts of humpback whales while talks to normalize IWC is taking place," Machimura said, adding the suspension would last a year or two. "But there will be no changes to our stance on our research whaling itself."

Japan dispatched its whaling fleet last month to the southern Pacific in the first major hunt of humpback whales since the 1960s, generating widespread criticism. Japanese whaling officials said Friday they had not harpooned any humpbacks yet.

The move defuses for now a high-profile row with Australia, though Japanese officials deny they were influenced by Canberra's anti-whaling position. Australia announced Wednesday it would dispatch surveillance planes and a ship to gather evidence for a possible international legal challenge to the hunt.

It was unlikely, however, to quell the increasingly bold high-seas protests against Japan's scientific whaling research program, under which it kills a total of 1,000 whales - mostly minkes - a year in the Pacific.

Japan has wrestled with the IWC for years to overturn its 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling, and recently has called for a "normalization" of the group to return to its original mission of managing sea resources, rather than banning whaling.

The decision followed talks between Japan and the U.S. over the state of the IWC, said Hideki Moronuki, chief of the Fisheries Agency's whaling division. The State Department had warned Japan that some anti-whaling nations could boycott IWC meetings, he said.

"That goes against the intentions of Japan, which have sought a normalized IWC," said Moronuki, who has been an energetic and outspoken proponent of Japan's whaling program.

Commercial hunts of humpbacks - which were nearly harpooned to extinction in the 20th century - were banned in the Southern Pacific in 1963, and that ban was extended worldwide in 1966.

The American Cetacean Society estimates the humpback population has recovered to about 30,000-40,000 - about a third of the number before modern whaling. The species is listed as "vulnerable" by the World Conservation Union.

The decision was cheered by anti-whaling nations - with reservations.

"While this is a welcome move, the Australian government strongly believes that there is no credible justification for the hunting of any whales," Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said, adding it would continue with its surveillance plans.

Karli Thomas, who is leading a Greenpeace expedition heading to the southern Pacific, also lauded the development.

"This is good news indeed, but it must be the first step towards ending all whaling in the Southern Ocean, not just one species for one season," Thomas said in a statement from on board the group's ship, Esperanza.

Coastal communities in Japan have hunted whales for centuries, but whale meat was not eaten widely here until the U.S. occupation when officials encouraged its consumption in the poverty stricken years after World War II.

Despite the commercial hunting ban, Japan is permitted under the IWC rules to kill whales for scientific research. The meat is sold under the program and often ends up as pricey items in specialty restaurants, though its popularity as a staple has plummeted with the availability of beef and other meats.

Despite the suspension of the humpback hunt, Japan still plans to take as many as 935 minke whales and up to 50 fin whales in the Antarctic in what the Fisheries Agency says is its largest-ever scientific whale hunt.

Japan also takes more minkes in the northern Pacific later in the year.

Critics, however, say the scientific program is a ruse for Japan to keep its whaling industry alive until it can overturn the commercial ban. Protesters in boats earlier this year dogged the Japanese fleet, which eventually had to cut the hunt short when a fire damaged one of its ships.

[squidusn]

While Japan does follow the IWC, Norway had registered an objection to the International Whaling Commission moratorium, and is thus not bound by it and its Quota for 2007 was 1052. So why are people attacking Japan for following the rules when Norway and other countries don''t?

Where is Green-no-Peace when it comes to protecting mountain gorillas? Let me see them go after the poachers like they go after the whalers! Well I guess when you know someone will fight you back you don''t go after them.

[incog-nito]

Yeah, Americans detest this behavior from the Japanese, but we love their electronic gadgets and gizmos and appliances, and thus directly or indirectly empower this behavior. Time again for another reality check, in front of a mirror.

[hangbush]

The Japanese had completely decimated, annhilated its own fish stock in the past decade, that it now buys "fishing rights" from other country to decimate the other country''s fishing stock. (Such as Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islander nations)

If judging by their behavior on commercial fishing industry, one can easily see they have absolutely no consideration for the environment, and they will continue to plunder it until it is completely gone.

[hangbush]

If you want an idea of how they think (and a good laugh as well) access this link:
http://www.whaling.jp/english/isana.html
Some of the articles border on xenophobic, others are just plain rabid.

http://www.whaling.jp/english/isana.html

[hangbush]

. .and this is yet another example. It has "temporarily postponed" the cull of humpback whales - not abandoned it, as BBC World reported earlier. I sincerely hope that Greenpeace and the Australian Navy give the Japanese whaling fleet a run for their money in the coming days. International pressure? You aint seen nothing yet. The Japanese in general have no respect for nature or conservation - either of mammals, animals or the environment in general. While bleating about their "love of nature" they do things like this, and it just exposes the awful truth about Japan, sadly.

[lawyertom1]

Time to ram a few fishing boats. This is really pathetic and obscene.

[ibzjem]

I like Japan in general, but some of the people there are very cruel. Each year "fishermen" trap , torture, and slaughter hundreds of dolphin while doing their best to hide it. It''s really disturbing...

http://www.savejapandolphins.org/about.html

[kennedy7955]

I am sick of the Japanese whaling stories year-after year. It is needless, cruel and plain stupid. Where are the Japanese people in all this? Is it possible that the Japanese people could actually support this hunting? Just sickening!

[numazu]

First, matvei1107 all you need to do is pick up a dictionary and look the word up.

It is strange when people that disagree with you have to name call instead of discussing the issue.

sigotratando while I do not agree with whale hunting myself culture plays a big factor in every countries decisions. While in most cases you can always find alternatives to everything, in the case of Japan they can do research, preserve culture and provide the Japanese the freedom to choose if they want to eat whale meat. This article is about Japan but people need to look at whale hunting as a whole. Japan does go by IWC rules and one needs to look at the ones that don''t follow the rules first.

"Perhaps the Japanese could crawl out of the stone age" You can say every country still lives in the stone age some how! example: US, China and India not wanting to cut green house gases while most countries do. In a world thats all about money its obvious Japan is not doing it for money so then why? Culture, Research and Food? Could be!

Headhunting compared to Whale hunting! get serious!! thats like comparing Apples and Oranges, they are both fruits.

[Syndicate]

We don''t allow head hunters to preserve their culture. Why should we allow Whalers to continue a brutal and sensless act? The only need for this is to line someones pocket with money.