A minke whale surfaces in the Pacific. Marine scientists warn that South Korea and Japan may be taking more minke whales than they are officially reporting, a result of laws in those countries that allow whales snagged as by-catch to be sold commercially. The results are based on DNA analysis of randomly selected containers of whale meat.
(AP Photo/IFAW/File)Photos (1 of 1)
Scientists warn of emerging form of unregulated whaling in Asia
By Pete Spotts | 06.25.09
It’s tough being a whale these days.
The International Whaling Commission has just wrapped up its annual meeting in Portugal with a whaling ban still intact, but with fissures deepening between the save-the-whales crowd and countries such as Japan, which wants to see commercial whaling reinstated, at least on a limited basis.
It’s enough to prompt the commission’s new chairman to suggest that the 53-year-old organization may need to rethink its purpose. Cristian Maquieira, the new chairman, told the Associated Press:
“We have to re-establish a consensus on what the IWC is and should do, and there are at least two contradictory perceptions to answer that question.”
And along comes a new study suggesting that Japan’s fishing operations are taking far more minke whales a year as by-catch than the Japanese government is officially reporting. Based on DNA samples taken from commercially sold whale meat, a team from Oregon State University and the University of California at Irvine estimate that by-catch takes in 150 whales a year on average — about the same number the Japanese government officially acknowledges taking in its own scientific whaling program.
Researchers suspect the high numbers of minke by-catch may be more than accidental. Japan and South Korea are the only two IWC members that allow whales snagged as by-catch to be sold commercially.
Adult minkes can fetch upwards of $100,000 apiece, according to Scott Baker, associate director of Oregon State’s Marine Mammal Institute, who led the study. With that kind of “green” as a lure, “you have to wonder how many of these whales are in fact killed intentionally.”
The study, which has been accepted for publication in the journal Animal Conservation, focuses on two species of minke whales — species that are virtually identical to the eye, but not to DNA analysis. The by-catch problem appears to center on a species that tends to hug the coast, and so gets caught in vast fishing nets set out there.
In theory, these populations are protected through international agreements.
Indeed, Japan is interested in beginning commercial whaling along its coast. Yet for all the “research” the country has conducted on whales, no reliable estimates exist for the size of the populations around the islands. So no one has a good baseline from which to try to manage the minke stocks, Dr. Baker said during a phone chat.
He and his colleagues note that any international monitoring for compliance is tough because Japan so far resists making its genetic data base for whales available. Currently, Baker says, DNA techniques can tell you what type of whale has ended up in a tin. But without access to the full DNA data base, which bears information on individual whales that have been harvested, enforcement is tough. Presumably if DNA analysis identifies whale meat whose genetic information is not in the data base, you’ve got evidence for unregulated or unreported whaling.
The team recommends that Japan make those data available, perhaps at a central repository at the IWC. And it recommends that thorough surveys begin — including gathering genetic information on the whales — to better understand what’s really out there.
“We think this stock is under considerable threat,” Baker says. “It would be pretty tragic to have a stock go essentially extinct or become locally extirpated while there’s presumably a moratorium on whaling. But that is what may well be occurring.”
Oh yes, and Baker and his colleague urge that when gathering the DNA from the whales, make sure it comes from tissue samples from living whales, and not from whales killed for this “scientific” purpose.
<< Green Stuff: Eco-news and discoveries | MainComments
2. keith | 06.28.09
I think that we should ban killing all animals such as Whales, cows, sheep, chickens etc…
3. Olivia | 06.28.09
I know you’re being diplomatic, Dr. Baker, when you say you “have to wonder how many of these whales are in fact killed intentionally.” Of course you don’t have to wonder. You know for a fact that these euphemistically titled “scientific researchers” have been defying the moratorium for years, and nobody can stop them, so they have every incentive to steal still more whales, lie about it, cover it up, and refuse to divulge the DNA base. As for how lucrative their “catch” is, well, no wonder they are “whale pirates” (my term) who are in no hurry to abide by the moratorium.
What saddens me most, though, is that the director of Oregon State’s Marine Mammal Institute, while I’m sure he’s a very caring man, is more concerned with the whales being “a stock” that could go “extinct” than with the rights and the well-being of each and every individual whale who is killed in such an unnecessary and tragic fashion. It is not only illegal to kill these gentle giants of the sea, it is horribly immoral to put any emotionally and intellectually cognizant mammal through such a torturous, terrifying death.
4. JKDSurfer | 11.01.09
Being a surfer, I have a special place for the sea and it’s animals. However, having traveled around the world and engaged with many cultures, especially Japan, I find it highly ignorant how many people think that Japan should STOP engaging in something that has been part of there culture long before parts of the western world existed. Though I agree to some level of regulation in order to preserve the species, it shouldn’t be outlawed our considered immoral, since morality is defined by society. How ignorant can you be to want to push your own ideals onto another country, and more importantly culture? Would it be fair if some country believed in the purity of plants and vegetables and wished to outlaw them for the rest of the world and force everyone to eat animals?
We all have our individual, cultural and societal perspectives of what is “correct.” By no means does that make ours right.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
3. Watching Our Water Ways » Blog Archive » IWC meeting ends, mired as usual in frustration | 06.26.09
Leave a Comment
We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. The comments feature is a forum to discuss the ideas in our stories. Constructive debate - even pointed disagreement - is welcome, but personal attacks on other commenters are not, and will not be published.
Tip: Do not write a novel. Keep it short. We will not publish lengthy comments. Come up with your own statements. This is not a place to cut and paste an email you received. If we recognize it as such, we won't post it.
Please do not post any comments that are commercial in nature or that violate copyrights.
Finally, we will not publish any comments that we regard as obscene, defamatory, or intended to incite violence.
1. Beaver | 06.26.09
That countries are even harvesting whales is a tragedy. The IWC is largely run by Japan and Norway so it is no surprise that there is little enforcement or monitoring of their catches. Good story and as usual, good reporting.