Japan to resume Humpback whaling!

[Tonington]

This year's whaling by Japan in the Southern Ocean will take 1000 minkes and 50 fin whales. For the first time in 30 years, the humpbacks will also be targeted by the harpoons. The Japanese are arguing that they must kill the humpbacks to get an accurate view of the genetic make-up of the Humpbacks:

But Japanese Fisheries Agency spokesman Hideki Moronuki argues that killing whales is the only way to get accurate scientific data on the whale's sex, its ability to reproduce and, most importantly, its age. "The best way to get scientific information about whales is a combination of lethal and non-lethal research," he said.
"With those two researches, we can get much more information for the appropriate management of whales."

What a load of crap. Australia is voicing concern, and also countering the claims by Japan that the animals must be killed to obtain species information.

Each year as the whales migrate along the east coast of Australia, this group of scientists keep count of the whale pods en route. The real work begins when the whale breaches or launches out of the water.
The sheer weight of the hit means it often sheds flakes of skin.
Using a kitchen sieve strapped to a piece of wood, scientists scoop up what is left behind, and the DNA in the skin flakes reveal the whale's genetic make-up.
"The skin samples can give you the genetic identity of the whale, they can tell you the relationships to the other whales, who's the father, who's the mother, etcetera," Dr Harrison said.
"They can tell you the sex of the whales and when our research is complete, we'll also be able to add an age factor to that information."

Knowing an exact age of a dead whale is not nearly as valuable as an approximate age of a live whale. Shame on Japan, I'm sure this is just a cover-up for eating the whale meat.

http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/14/2090100.htm

 

[karrie]

Knowing an exact age of a dead whale is not nearly as valuable as an approximate age of a live whale. Shame on Japan, I'm sure this is just a cover-up for eating the whale meat.

While I agree that a guess at the age of a live whale is more valuable, I don't know that I'd necessarily agree with the assessment that it's just a ploy to eat whales. It seems to me that a whale held at a research facility, dissected and probed and all that fun stuff, isn't going to make for good eating.

 

[Tonington]

While I agree that a guess at the age of a live whale is more valuable, I don't know that I'd necessarily agree with the assessment that it's just a ploy to eat whales. It seems to me that a whale held at a research facility, dissected and probed and all that fun stuff, isn't going to make for good eating.

The article I quoted didn't mention the number of humpback's, but other articles I've found said 50 humpbacks. The Japanese Fishery Minister admits the whale meat will still end up on the market. The whales won't be held, they'll be killed just like the other whales taken in the hunt. I don't know much about collecting data from marine mammals, but I know from my fishery observer days that you can get that information needed for stock assessments and still have the flesh for marketable product.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2882018.ece

 

[karrie]

50 humpbacks... fer **** sake.

 

[Tonington]

Yah, pretty sleezy. They're on the threatened list, and most humpbacks now are young enough to have never been hunted. They routinely interact with tourist boats off Queensland. They won't know what hit them.

 

[Brat]

Is that the same excuse they use to kill dolphins?

 

[lone wolf]

Let Japan take 50 - for research (see how they taste?) then you have to let Korea take some, then China (and it's much bigger) then some country will think it's above all laws ... then the humpback's gone. What's the matter with being honest?

Woof!

 

[Tonington]

Is that the same excuse they use to kill dolphins?

Not sure. Saying it's for science and research is one way to go around the Species st Risk designation.

 

[karrie]

Good point wolf.

 

[Colpy]

NUKE THE WHALE-KILLERS!

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

[lone wolf]

Now wouldn't that confuse the hell outa Greenpeacers?

Woof!

 

[Colpy]

Seriously, the Japanese defiance of world opinion is outrageous in this case, and the research claim is SUCH a red herring..........the only real research going on will be to determine whether the flesh is better raw, baked, or sauteed......

 

[Hazmart]

I think I remember the Japanese trying to do this a couple years ago but was not allowed to do so. Perhaps the humpbacks will get lucky again.
There are petitions that people can sign against this

http://www.flightofthehumpback.org/

 

[karrie]

I guess it just doesn't make sense to me that they'd risk international opinion on such a grand scale, just for some interesting meat. They already have access to other marine mammals as food don't they? Ones that aren't on the endangered list and piss off mostly just the greenpeacers?

 

[karrie]

I think I remember the Japanese trying to do this a couple years ago but was not allowed to do so. Perhaps the humpbacks will get lucky again.
There are petitions that people can sign against this

http://www.flightofthehumpback.org/

Online petitions are so easily generated by computer programs that governments generally just ignore them.... if they even ever make it where they're supposed to go.

 

[Tonington]

Perhaps a boycott of Japanese products, such as the boycott proposed for Canadian products because of our seal hunt would work. Not likely though, electronics is a big ticket during the Christmas season, and Japan is a world benchmark in that area.

 

[karrie]

And therein lies the real kicker... the people buying Japanese products very heavily are often not the ones concerned enough about the environment to boycott.

 

[Tonington]

And the Japanese autos are leaders in hybrid technologies too. A quandary for the ultra-eco minded people.

 

[karrie]

ah, I didn't even think about the auto sector.