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Whale meat again
The leader
Whale meat again
EIAIMAGE
Japan’s resumption of commercial whaling sends all the wrong signals ALL pretence of being “scientific” has now been dropped. On 30 June, Japan formally left the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which sets global rules for whale conservation. On 1 July, a boat returned with the first catch. The minke was Japan’s first whale caught in an openly commercial operation for 31 years. The country has hunted whales in that time under the pretext of scientific research, but it has long petitioned to return to commercial whaling. When its last proposal was voted down by the IWC in September, Japan pledged to leave the commission. The country’s Fisheries Agency has set a six-month quota of 52 minke, 150 Bryde’s and 25 sei whales, saying it expects a smaller catch than during its “scientific” operation in the Southern Ocean and north-west Pacific.
Japan started hunting whales for cash again on 1 July
The agency claims this harvest could be sustainable for 100 years. The IWC must now investigate the evidence, if any, for that claim. Given the threats to whales from shipping, pollution and climate change, it seems dubious at best. There was never any scientific justification for whaling: Japan’s operation provided little or no reliable ecological data. There is no economic justification for commercial whaling,
either. Consumption of whale meat in Japan has fallen from 200,000 tonnes per year in the 1960s to 3000 tonnes today, and the industry is propped up by government subsidies. As for any cultural rationale, polls show no great groundswell among the Japanese population in support of whaling. Some have argued that whale numbers globally will benefit from Japan’s unilateral move, since its whaling will now be confined to its territorial waters. But taking more creatures out of the ocean anywhere in the world is the last thing we ought to be doing. Environmental progress happens when countries work together under international agreements, not when they go it alone. Japan has a reputation for modernity, but in whaling, it is desperately out of date. ❚
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© 2019 New Scientist Ltd, England. New Scientist is published weekly by New Scientist Ltd. ISSN 0262 4079. New Scientist (Online) ISSN 2059 5387. Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper and printed in England by Precision Colour Printing Ltd
Non-exec chair Bernard Gray Senior non-exec director Louise Rogers
CONTACT US newscientist.com/contact General & media enquiries Tel+44 (0)20 7611 1202 UK Tel+44 (0)20 7611 1200 25 Bedford Street, London WC2E 9ES Australia PO Box 2315, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012 US Tel +1 617 283 3213 210 Broadway #201, Cambridge, MA 02139 UK Newsstand Marketforce UK Ltd Tel +44 (0)20 3787 9001 Syndication Tribune Content Agency Tel +44 (0)20 7588 7588 Email [email protected] Subscriptions newscientist.com/subscribe Tel +44 (0)330 333 9470 Email [email protected] Post New Scientist, Rockwood House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 3DH
6 July 2019 | New Scientist | 3
Whale meat again
EIAIMAGE
Japan’s resumption of commercial whaling sends all the wrong signals ALL pretence of being “scientific” has now been dropped. On 30 June, Japan formally left the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which sets global rules for whale conservation. On 1 July, a boat returned with the first catch. The minke was Japan’s first whale caught in an openly commercial operation for 31 years. The country has hunted whales in that time under the pretext of scientific research, but it has long petitioned to return to commercial whaling. When its last proposal was voted down by the IWC in September, Japan pledged to leave the commission. The country’s Fisheries Agency has set a six-month quota of 52 minke, 150 Bryde’s and 25 sei whales, saying it expects a smaller catch than during its “scientific” operation in the Southern Ocean and north-west Pacific.
Japan started hunting whales for cash again on 1 July
The agency claims this harvest could be sustainable for 100 years. The IWC must now investigate the evidence, if any, for that claim. Given the threats to whales from shipping, pollution and climate change, it seems dubious at best. There was never any scientific justification for whaling: Japan’s operation provided little or no reliable ecological data. There is no economic justification for commercial whaling,
either. Consumption of whale meat in Japan has fallen from 200,000 tonnes per year in the 1960s to 3000 tonnes today, and the industry is propped up by government subsidies. As for any cultural rationale, polls show no great groundswell among the Japanese population in support of whaling. Some have argued that whale numbers globally will benefit from Japan’s unilateral move, since its whaling will now be confined to its territorial waters. But taking more creatures out of the ocean anywhere in the world is the last thing we ought to be doing. Environmental progress happens when countries work together under international agreements, not when they go it alone. Japan has a reputation for modernity, but in whaling, it is desperately out of date. ❚
PUBLISHING & COMMERCIAL
MANAGEMENT
EDITORIAL
Display advertising Tel +44 (0)20 7611 1291 Email [email protected] Commercial director Chris Martin Display sales manager Justin Viljoen Lynne Garcia, Henry Vowden, (ANZ) Richard Holliman Recruitment advertising Tel +44 (0)20 7611 1204 Email [email protected] Recruitment sales manager Mike Black Nicola Cubeddu, Viren Vadgama, (US) Jeanne Shapiro New Scientist Live Tel +44 (0)20 7611 1206 Email [email protected] Events director Adrian Newton Creative director Valerie Jamieson Sales director Jacqui McCarron Exhibition sales manager Charles Mostyn Event manager Henry Gomm Marketing Head of campaign marketing James Nicholson Poppy Lepora, Chloe Thompson Head of customer experience Emma Robinson Email/CRM Manager Rachna Sheth Head of data analytics Tom Tiner Web development Maria Moreno Garrido, Tom McQuillan, Amardeep Sian
Chief executive Nina Wright Finance director Jenni Prince Chief technology officer Chris Corderoy Marketing director Jo Adams Human resources Shirley Spencer HR coordinator Serena Robinson Facilities manager Ricci Welch Executive assistant Lorraine Lodge Receptionist Alice Catling
Editor Emily Wilson Executive editor Richard Webb Creative director Craig Mackie News News editor Penny Sarchet Editors Jacob Aron, Timothy Revell Reporters (UK) Jessica Hamzelou, Michael Le Page, Donna Lu, Adam Vaughan, Clare Wilson (US) Leah Crane, Chelsea Whyte (Aus) Alice Klein, Ruby Prosser Scully Digital Digital editor Conrad Quilty-Harper Web team Lilian Anekwe, Anne Marie Conlon, David Stock, Sam Wong Features Head of features Catherine de Lange (parental leave) and Rowan Hooper Acting head of features Tiffany O’Callaghan Editors Gilead Amit, Julia Brown, Kate Douglas, Alison George, Joshua Howgego Feature writers Daniel Cossins, Graham Lawton Culture and Community Editors Liz Else, Mike Holderness, Simon Ings Subeditors Chief subeditor Eleanor Parsons Bethan Ackerley, Tom Campbell, Chris Simms, Jon White Design Art editor Kathryn Brazier Joe Hetzel, Dave Johnston, Ryan Wills Picture desk Chief picture editor Adam Goff Kirstin Kidd Production Production manager Alan Blagrove Robin Burton, Melanie Green
© 2019 New Scientist Ltd, England. New Scientist is published weekly by New Scientist Ltd. ISSN 0262 4079. New Scientist (Online) ISSN 2059 5387. Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper and printed in England by Precision Colour Printing Ltd
Non-exec chair Bernard Gray Senior non-exec director Louise Rogers
CONTACT US newscientist.com/contact General & media enquiries Tel+44 (0)20 7611 1202 UK Tel+44 (0)20 7611 1200 25 Bedford Street, London WC2E 9ES Australia PO Box 2315, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012 US Tel +1 617 283 3213 210 Broadway #201, Cambridge, MA 02139 UK Newsstand Marketforce UK Ltd Tel +44 (0)20 3787 9001 Syndication Tribune Content Agency Tel +44 (0)20 7588 7588 Email [email protected] Subscriptions newscientist.com/subscribe Tel +44 (0)330 333 9470 Email [email protected] Post New Scientist, Rockwood House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 3DH
6 July 2019 | New Scientist | 3