Jennifer Marohasy

a forum for the discussion of issues concerning the natural environment

Whales

Stop the Whaling

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THE United Nations’ Hague-based International Court of Justice yesterday ruled that Japan’s annual Antarctic whale hunt must stop because it is not scientific.

I wonder how much trouble the Japanese did have getting their research on skinny whales published… remember the blog post back in 2008.

Japan has said it will honour the ruling.

It is my understanding that Japan labelled its current harvest in the Antarctic scientific exercise after it became illegal to hunt whales commercially. That ruling was made by the United Nation’s International Whaling Commission that was originally established to oversee a more sustainable whaling industry.

If the Japanese want to continue whaling, they will perhaps have to label it ‘Aboriginal subsistence whaling’, because only this form of killing is currently permitted under international law. It may result in the application of less humane methods, and certainly will exclude the application of any scientific principles.

Bowhead Whale Harvest

For more information on ‘aboriginal subsistence whaling’ there is a somewhat dated article written by me for Cosmos magazine in 2006, and of course information at the whaling thread at this blog.

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The photograph is of a Bowhead whale being harvested in northern Quebec in August 2008, via Iceclass. Unlike the Japanese who use grenade tipped harpoons in the Southern Ocean, indigenous hunters use more basic methods.

Japanese Whale Harvest Halted by Activists Operating ‘Small Navy’?

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I HAVE no problems with the sustainable harvest of whales in the Southern Ocean using a grenade tipped harpoon to facilitate a quick death. This is the method used by the Japanese. Usually the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports extensively on the activists attempts to stop this harvest, and from their righteous perspective. I’ve just received the following media release from the Sea Shepherd. They must be desperate to get some news out if they are now sending me their media releases…

SEA SHEPHERD SECURES THE SLIPWAY OF THE NISSHIN MARU: WHALING HALTED

Friday January 31, 2014 – Melbourne, Australia — As of 1700 AEDT today, the Sea Shepherd Fleet has shut down the operations of the Japanese whaling fleet for seven consecutive days. The Sea Shepherd ships now guard the slipway of the Nisshin Maru, rendering the factory vessel unable to butcher and process whale meat. [Read more…] about Japanese Whale Harvest Halted by Activists Operating ‘Small Navy’?

Definitions of Science: Double Standards from Australian Government

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The Australian legal system ruled on the definition of science some years ago, however, the Australian government is now pursuing the Japanese and their whaling program on the basis of an all together different definition, explains Charlotte Ramotswe.  

Dear Jennifer,

Australia has taken Japan to the International Court of Justice disputing a basis of its whaling program – that it is scientific. You wrote about this recently in the blog post “Japan Attacks Aussie Moralising on Whaling”.Minke whale

In the international court, it seems that the Australian Government has argued that what the Japanese are doing does not constitute “science”. What is this thing called science? The subject has preoccupied philosophers and historian and been the subject of many books including a classic by A.F. Chalmers.

Let’s face it: at least the scientific whaling program does generate a lot of data and publications.

[Read more…] about Definitions of Science: Double Standards from Australian Government

Japan Attacks Aussie Moralising on Whaling

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JAPAN has told the UN’s top court that Australia’s anti-whaling stance is part of a ‘civilising mission and moral crusade’ that is totally out of place in the modern world.raw whale

That’s according to Sky News, and I couldn’t agree more. The article continues…

Tokyo didn’t hold back in its opening submission to the 16 judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Tuesday…

‘In a world with diverse civilisations and traditions, international law cannot become an instrument for imposing the cultural preference of some at the expense of others.’

The deputy foreign minister argued Japan had long lived in harmony with nature and it would be the last country to misuse marine resources.

‘Australia can’t impose its will on other nations nor change the International Whaling Commission (IWC) into an organisation opposed to whaling,’ he said.

Tokyo argues killing 850 minke whales in the Southern Ocean each year under JARPA won’t endanger stocks.

Professor Akhavan on Tuesday said Japan stood unfairly accused of 30 years of defiance and deception, but Australia’s position was based on a belief ‘that whales are unique, sacred, charismatic mammals that should never be killed’.

Indeed, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was established in 1948 at the initiative of the United States to establish a new world order in whaling. Initially 15 governments were party to the IWC with Japan at the time under occupation and without the right to join.

The Commission’s objectives included safeguarding the great natural resources represented by whale stocks and providing for the “orderly development of the whaling industry” recognising that whale stocks will increase if whaling is properly regulated.

But by the 1960s an anti-whaling movement had emerged in the West and the IWC focus started to change. In 1972, at the United Nations Human Environmental Conference held in Stockholm, the United States lobbied for a moratorium on commercial whaling; a moratorium that came into effect ten years later.

[Read more…] about Japan Attacks Aussie Moralising on Whaling

Whale on Menu for Activists?

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THE Australian government is under pressure to secure the release of three Australian activists detained after boarding a Japanese whaling security ship the Shonan Maru No 2. But it is more likely the men will be taken to Japan to face legal action.

Prisoners don’t usually get a lot of choice in what they have for dinner. Minke whale is probably on the menu.

Some people worry about whether a particular food tastes good, others whether it is healthy. Activists are often concerned with the ethics of food production and consumption.

There are two criteria that I consider valid when it comes to ethical food choice: 1. Is the harvest of the animal sustainable, and 2. Is the killing humane.

Whaling by the Japanese is undertaken in accordance with a strict quota system to ensure populations are not depleted and every effort is made to get a quick and painless kill including through the use of a grenade tipped harpoon.

So I had no problems with the ethics of eating free-range, organic whale when I visited Tokyo… and the right cut, properly cooked, tasted like an exceptionally tender eye fillet.

I wonder how whale meat is served to prisoners on the Shonan Maru No. 2?

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Whale on the menu in Tokyo: https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/2008/09/eating-whale-in-tokyo/

David’s blog: http://david-in-tokyo.blogspot.com/