Why The Whaling Issues So Important Now

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In reaction to the "Japanese Whale Research Program in the Western North Pacific Ocean : Phase II" (JARPN II) that was started in July 2000, the United States Government has expressed it's strong opposition by going as far as threatening to impose trade and other sanctions on Japan. Why have whaling issues become so controversial? In the background, there are multi-facet problems including science, international law, politics, and emotions.

The problem of whaling can be interpreted in many different ways, but the most typical objections of the anti-whaling community are that whales must not be caught because they are in danger of extinction; whales must not be killed because they are special (highly intelligent) animals; resumption of whaling would inevitably result in unsustainable whaling levels; and no urgent need to eat whale meat exists. The problem is that many of these protestations are founded on errors of fact or are entirely politically motivated regardless of the facts. The strong objection of the United States and other nations to the "Japanese Whale Research Program in the Western North Pacific Ocean: Phase II" (JARPN II), otherwise known as "research whaling," is no exception.

Whale stocks are an abundant resource

Whale stocks, which had been over-harvested in the 1960s, have recovered in great numbers following the protection they received from the commercial whaling moratorium. This is recognized by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), whose website indicates that a million minke whales exist worldwide, while the humpback whale population is increasing at more than 10% per year. Some species, however, such as blue whale and bowhead whale, have shown little signs of recovery. The average citizen of the countries opposed to whaling is unaware of the current state of recovery, nor that over 80 species of whale exist. Most are opposed to whaling because they believe that all whale species are endangered. Countries in favor of resumption, including Japan and Norway, are interested only in hunting whale species that are plentiful and are committed to further protection of those that have not recovered.

The case for sustainable use of whale stocks

All creatures, including whales, have a certain rate of population increase. If these resources are used within the range of their rate of increase, they can be used in perpetuity, just as a principal on deposit at a bank will not decline if the account holder withdraws no more each year than the interest on the principal. This concept of sustainable use enjoys broad international support and was the central theme of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), colloquially known as the Earth Summit or Rio Summit. In terms of whaling, the IWC's Scientific Committee completed the Revised Management Procedure (RMP), a system for calculating a quota for sustainable harvesting that ensures a sufficient margin of safety that will prevent negative impact on whale resources. However, because countries opposed to whaling dominate the plenary meeting of the IWC, which holds a final say over measures to protect and manage whale stocks, the IWC is prevented from putting the RMP into action. For this reason, Dr. Philip Hammond of the United Kingdom, who was the Chairman of the Scientific Committee when the RMP was completed, resigned in protest in 1993.
The original purpose of the past over-harvesting of whales that led to the moratorium on whaling was to harvest whale oil. Today demand exists only for whale meat, so the occasion for the massive overhunting that occurred in the past is unlikely. Furthermore, numerous safeguards exist today to prevent the unsustainable hunting that happened in the past, such as an international monitoring program and the RMP that was completed as a result of scientific progress. These facts render groundless the argument that "once whaling is resumed, overhunting would be inevitable."

Are whales special?

Comparison of volume of fish predation by whales and production volume of the ocean-surface fishing industry

Much research has been done on the intelligence of whales, but it is confirmed that the large whales that are commonly targeted for hunting have an intelligence level equivalent to that of cattle. Even so, treating animals differently on the basis of their imputed intelligence seems high-handed, related perhaps to the racial discrimination that people practice against each other. After all, it was humans who unilaterally decided to adopt "intelligence" as a criterion; all animals are gifted with the optimal mental and other faculties needed to survive in their own biological niche. Moreover, many cultures regard certain animals in special ways. Should the United States outlaw the consumption of beef because cows are sacred animals to the Hindus? The opposition to harvesting of whale species whose use is clearly sustainable smacks of just this sort of cultural arrogance.

Does the Japanese need to eat whale meat?

Article 8, Section 2 of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling states that whales killed for research purposes shall be used and sold in order to avoid waste. According to this provision, whale meat, which is a byproduct of research whaling, is available on the market but equals less than 20g per each member of the Japanese population per year. Of course, this is a result of the moratorium on commercial whaling, and is caused by a restriction of supply rather than a lack of demand. In the short term, whale meat is not likely to be viable as a staple source of animal protein. For this reason the anti-whaling nations assert that Japan's whaling policy represents only the vested interests of a small minority of restaurants and the whaling industry. In fact, ordinary households consume 80% of the whale meat supplied to the market. Apart from a few small-scale whaling concerns harvesting whale species outside the jurisdiction of the IWC from Japan's coasts under close Japanese government supervision, an organized "whaling industry" scarcely exists. Proceeds from sales of the whale meat that is a byproduct of research whaling forms funds for the Institute of Cetacean Research, the non-profit organization that performs research whaling with government assistance. These funds are never sufficient to support the program, requiring the balance to be topped up by subsidies from the government.

Why the whaling issue is so important now

So why is the Japanese government so "stubborn" with the whaling issues, and why are the United States and other countries so vehemently opposed to whaling? The full explanation would fill reams of paper, but a few points can be briefly listed here. First, the whaling issue involves issues of sustainable use, an principle supported by United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The fact that utilization of whale stocks in a legally and scientifically appropriate way is ruled out on emotional and political grounds has an enormous impact on all living resources. It is often said that Japan's policies run counter to world opinion, but in fact this "world opinion" consists of the received opinion of certain Western countries as articulated on CNN and BBC. JARPN II research program is supported at the IWC not only by whaling countries such as Norway but by many other countries, including China, Russia and South Korea.
Second, the impact of the whaling moratorium on marine ecosystems is a cause for concern. It was once thought that whales eat only zooplankton, but Japan's research whaling program has revealed that minke whales eat a number of commercially valuable species of fish. Moreover, the quantity of fish predation is huge: The amount of fish stocks eaten by whales is estimated to be three to five times the human population's entire global fishing catch of 90 million metric tons. Just as deer and kangaroo populations have grown excessively in North America and Australia respectively and have to be culled, so the whale population needs to be managed.
To summarize, although the use and management of whale stocks is not only possible but also necessary, a powerful anti-whaling lobby applies pressure through animal rights and environmental protection organizations. Such organizations boast several million members in the United States alone, a voting block that politicians can ignore only at their peril.
In addition to the scientific, legal and political dimensions, the whaling problem goes to the heart of deeply rooted questions involving the clash of disparate cultures with different value systems. Solving this problem will require appropriate and effective diplomatic initiatives.

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