Asia Times: After whales, the hunt turns to porpoises



	July 10, 1999	atimes.com

Japan

After whales, the hunt turns to porpoises
By Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO - Conservationists are accusing the Japanesegovernment of ignoring the rampant hunting of porpoises around thecountry's northern coasts, a practice that they say will lead tothe extinction of some types of marine mammals. An average of 18,000 porpoises are harpooned each year off the coasts of Hokkaido, Japan's northern island, according to AllanThornton, chairman of the London and Washington D.C.-basedEnvironmental Investigation Agency (EIA). This estimate, he says, is based on investigationscarried out by conservationists in the eighties and in this decade.

Particularly worrisome to many is the continued demand for andsupply of porpoises now that it has become harder to hunt whaleson a commercial basis. The EIA report, released to coincide with the recent meetingof the International Whaling Commission (IWC) convention, says250,000 porpoises have been killed since 1986 when the IWC ban oncommercial whaling was implemented.

Thornton says two populations of Dall's porpoises are exploitedin Japan's harpoon hunt. Especially distressing are the recent catches of lactating femaleswith young calves in the Sea of Japan, an indication of severe overhunting. Likewise, a population that breeds in the central Okhotsk Sea is hunted in its winter range off the Pacific coast of northern Japan from November to April. The Dall-type porpoises, found throughout northern Pacific and adjacent seas, are hunted in the Sea of Japan from May to mid-June, the period of breeding.

Conservationists believe that the increase in porpoisehunting after the whaling ban is the result of huge expansion inthe trading of Dall's porpoise meat. Traditionally, such porpoise meat was used for localconsumption in northern Japan, where harsh winters limited food supplies. But, the EIA report explains, porpoise meat is being shipped southward to compensate for decreased availability of striped dolphin and whale meat.

The report and a video shown to the press showed severalfactories in Japan that were processing porpoise meat into cans thatcarried the label ''whale meat.'' Thornton himself points out that as early as 1989, the IWCScientific Committee noted that ''there is evidence that porpoisemeat is being substituted for whale meat in commerce because of thedecrease in access to large whales."

He also said that the IWC passed a resolution in 1990 callingon Japan to reduce its annual catch of porpoises to 10,000 animals, a request blatantly ignored by the government. The official catch in 1997 was 18,540 Dall's porpoises.

There are more than 70 kinds of cetaceans or marine mammals,such as whale, porpoise and dolphin species, and internationalregulations spell out different fishing categories for them. Except for scientific whaling, there is an outright ban on hunting IWC-prohibited species of whales. Twenty species, such as the spotted dolphin and the short-fin whale, are covered by fishing quotas. Eight other kinds, such as small whales and sharks, are covered by a prohibition on hunting, and therest follow a sustainable hunting table.

According to a government scientific survey conducted six yearsago, the population of Dall's porpoises stood at 550,000, withreproduction rates at 3 percent, an estimate that has not changedfollowing subsequent annual surveys. A government official says that Japan follows a policy of ''sustainable hunting,'' adding that the current population numbers do not point to the extinction of the species.

More than 200 boats, each with a crew or two or three people,are licensed to hunt Dall's porpoises. But the EIA investigationteam said it saw many unlicensed boats hunting these mammals, and also documented largewhaling companies involved in the porpoise meat trade.

Shigeru Komori of World Wild Life Fund, Japan says that whileactivists must be vigilant, the situation is not that extreme. He adds that scientific research conducted by the Japanese government forms the current hunting policy of porpoises. ''Withthe evidence of the current estimates of Dall's population, we see no immediate extinction of the species,'' he stated.

Still, Komori explains that WWF has called on the Japanesegovernment to conduct stricter management and monitoring of Dall'sporpoise populations as a result of reports about overhuntingmade by western conservation groups. Komori adds that it is important for reports touching on the dangers to the Dall's porpoise populations to also considerenvironmental factors such as the warming of the sea, which alsocontributes to the decrease in populations. ''The only way to protect these animals is to urge better monitoring and management methods in order to collect clearscientific data on population numbers,'' he explained. On this point, at least, there is agreement among the different conservation groups.

The EIA is appealing to the Japanese government to reduce the allowed catch of Dall's porpoises to pre-1986 levels. It also seeks comprehensive population surveys in both summer and winter distributions, and the establishment of a national monitoring and inspection scheme to ensure strict compliance with catch quotas and hunting regulations.

(Inter Press Service)

back to the top

©1999 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd.