Japan falls short of whaling targets

Nature News

Apr 14, 2008, 12:45 GMT

Tokyo - Japan's whaling fleet is finishing this season's hunt after catching a fraction of its intended quota, largely because it was hounded by protest ships, the Fisheries Agency said Monday. A handout picture released by the Australian Customs Service, 07 February 2008 of a dead minke whale and its baby (unseen) after they were harpooned by the the Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru. EPA/AUSTRALIAN CUSTOMS SERVICE

A handout picture released by the Australian Customs Service, 07 February 2008 of a dead minke whale and its baby (unseen) after they were harpooned by the the Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru. EPA/AUSTRALIAN CUSTOMS SERVICE The fleet killed 551 minke whales in the past five months, or 60 per cent of what was planned, but failed to kill any fin whales because few were sighted, the agency said. Fifty fin whales were sought. An international outcry caused Japan to abandon plans to catch 50 humpback whales. The fleet should return to Japan this week after what the agency called 'sabotage' by anti-whaling activists. Ships from Greenpeace and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society followed the fleet in the Antarctic, and Sea Shepherd activists were involved in a number of confrontations with it. In January, two activists managed to board a Japanese whaling ship, which had to give up its hunt for a month. Last month, stink bombs were thrown on another whaler, causing another suspension of whaling. Japan has come under intense international criticism for its annual hunt. After a 1986 international whaling moratorium, Japan continued to hunt whales, saying it was for scientific research. Critics said the hunt was unnecessary to study whales and argued the meat ends up in Japanese markets.

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xtreme101Apr 15th, 2008 - 02:43:15

Hurray for whales! Hurray for mankind! We just pray that our future generations will be able to appreciate and admire creations of such beautiful creatures of the sea.

Don't we realise that there are so many luxuries that nature has provided, that we need not have to look for 'exotic' food for our dinner table?

Doesn't history teach us to be content with 3 meals, meals that are sufficient for our nourishment.

For that matter, does the Japanese people remember that at the end of World War II, it is just fortunate just to have rice and staple food? Same for the people in America during the Great Depression, and the very similar things that are happening in places like Aftica NOW?

Oh, love our neighbours as ourselves, and love the environment too' including whales!

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BritApr 15th, 2008 - 10:02:20

It's nice to hear some good news for a change. Perhaps Japan can now forget the whole thing and become respected again.

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TommyMay 2nd, 2008 - 23:10:49

Send your money to Greenpeace - they are great. I support them as much as I can.

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