Japanese whaling fleet sets sail for Antarctica

Japanese whaling fleet sets sail for Antarctica

Please God, Save the whales and dolphins!

WDCS, like everyone else, is waiting with baited breath to see whether Japan has decided to show any sign to the US and the IWC that it will scale back its massive Antarctic hunt, or whether it will be business as usual for Japan’s factory whaling fleet this year.

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President Obama made an election pledge to “work diligently to end Japan’s scientific whaling programme”, and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) recently called on the USA to take the opportunity of the President’s visit last week with Prime Minister Hatoyama to open a new dialogue with Japan about commercial whaling.

Gourment Food Fears

Shanghai Star. 16 May, 2002

A fishmonger cuts fresh whale meat at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market, the world's biggest. Some 2,314 tons of fish worth over $16 million are sold here daily.

CAUTION: whale meat is hazardous to your health

That message to Japan's finicky consumers could end up being more damaging to Tokyo's hopes of resuming commercial whaling than years of campaigning by environmentalists focused on endangered species and the slaughter of the intelligent mammals.

"If it became more widely known that this meat was contaminated, people who want to eat whale would probably stop," said Koichi Haraguchi, a researcher at Dai-Ichi College of Pharmaceutical Sciences in western Japan.

"And people who think about trying it, wouldn't."

So far, though, most Japanese consumers seem blithely unaware that the whale meat they see as a gourmet delight may be tainted with dangerous mercury and toxic chemicals.

"The issue is largely unknown, that is the worst thing," said Nanami Kurasawa, secretary-general of the Dolphin and Whale Action Network, an environmental group.

"If people eat this contaminated meat unaware, especially young women and pregnant women, it could damage their health, or the health of their unborn children."

The health warnings could also be damaging to Japan's push to resume commercial whaling, a campaign it is mounting yet again at the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which began in Japan on April 25 and ends on May 24.

Japan abandoned commercial whaling in 1986 in line with an IWC moratorium, but began what it calls scientific research whaling the next year.

Activists charge that much of this meat ends up on restaurant tables and store shelves, although whale now is an expensive, gourmet food that is only rarely eaten.

Just as well, experts say, since some of it maybe be tainted with mercury, cancer-causing dioxin, or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), industrial chemicals linked to developmental delays and other health problems in humans and accumulate in fats.

Truth in labelling
Mie Mizomoto, 27, holds a whaleburger made by Kujiraya ("Place of Whales", a shop in Shimonoseki in southwestern Japan.

Creamy whale blubber, which may sometimes be dangerously high in PCBs, is considered a delicacy among delicacies, while other fatty products, such as whale bacon, are also widely available.

Researchers say there are few big problems with minke meat, which comprises the bulk of the whale caught in Japan's hunts.

Red minke whale meat is lean, lacking much of the fat that could contain PCBs, and the whales roam the wider oceans rather than more polluted coastal areas.

But even the red meat may not be totally safe if marbled with fat that makes it look tender and juicy, said Motoji Nagasawa, whale campaigner at Greenpeace Japan.

Potentially more worrisome, false labelling means not all the products for sale are guaranteed to be minke, or even whale.

"If you really look, there's a lot of meat out there on the shelves that isn't minke," said researcher Haraguchi.

Smaller species such as pilot whales, Baird's beaked whales and dolphins, are not subject to IWC restrictions.

As a result, stores unable to get their hands on genuine - and expensive - minke sometimes settle for something else.

"If it's actually labelled minke it probably is," Haraguchi said. "But if it's only labelled 'whale' it might be pilot whale or even dolphin. And this could be quite contaminated."

A random survey of 130 samples of whale products from shops around Japan, conducted in 1999 by international researchers, found serious contamination, according to Japanese consumer group Safety First.

Levels for PCBs ranged from 0.8 parts per million (ppm) for pilot whale blubber up to 8.9 ppm for dolphin meat and blubber, compared with the 0.5 ppm maximum permitted.

High concentrations of mercury and cancer-causing dioxin were also found.

"The average person doesn't eat whale that often, so if it's labelled 'minke' they can't distinguish the real thing, as they might with other meats they eat more often," said Kurasawa.

"If people know, and still choose to eat it, that is their choice," said Kurasawa. "But if people don't know and eat this unwittingly, it is not a good thing."

Food safety

So far, ignorance appears to be bliss.

"You don't eat whale all that often, after all," said Hiromi Kase, who works for a company selling seaweed.

"If I started worrying about contamination in food there'd be no end to it. Everything's in doubt these days."

Japan's consumers have had their trust in food safety battered by a recent rash of scandals involving mislabelled beef, pork and poultry and by an outbreak of mad cow disease last year.

"Whales are at the top of the food pyramid, so that any pollutants in the oceans concentrate in their bodies," said Yoko Tomiyama, chairwoman of the Consumers Union of Japan.

"It is the duty of the government to tell people about this."

Prompted in part by such concerns, the Japanese Health Ministry has just completed its first-ever tests of whale meat, with a report due out shortly, an official said.

"We want to guarantee food safety, to make sure things such as mercury and PCBs aren't a problem," a ministry official said. "There just wasn't a specific reason to look at this before."

But he noted that with total Japanese consumption of whale now, on average, only about 0.1 gram per day, it is not the most pressing problem.

"We will look into the situation, get full reports, and let consumers know so they can make a choice," he added. "If selling it in the market is unsafe, we will stop this."

(Agencies via Xinhua) Copyright by Shanghai Star.

Gourment Food Fears

Shanghai Star. 16 May, 2002
whalemeat
A fishmonger cuts fresh whale meat at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market, the world's biggest. Some 2,314 tons of fish worth over $16 million are sold here daily.

CAUTION: whale meat is hazardous to your health

www.whales.org.au/news/afoodfear.html

>>>

this story is not very good (:

Sea Shepherd Goes On the Offensive in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has escalated the battle to save the whales in the Southern Ocean, has out maneuvered the Japanese security vessels, and is now in full pursuit of the Japanese whaling fleet.

Captain Paul Watson is feeling more like an Admiral this year. He is presently hundreds of miles from the frontline action that is taking place in Commonwealth Bay off the Adelie Coast as two of his three ships are in full pursuit of the Japanese whaling fleet.

The Steve Irwin is expected to join the battle within three days armed with a full load of fuel and fresh supplies.

As the Japanese security ships searched the seas to the north of the whaling fleet looking for the Steve Irwin, Sea Shepherd surprised the whalers with a ship they were completely unaware of  - the Bob Barker, a former Norwegian Antarctic whaling vessel now turned whale defender.

The Bob Barker under Captain Chuck Swift set out from Mauritius on December 18th on the long voyage across the bottom of the Indian Ocean. On the morning of January 6th at 0300 Hours they found the Nisshin Maru and her four harpoon vessels. The Japanese whalers were caught completely off guard unaware that Sea Shepherd has three ships in the campaign this year.

Joining the Bob Barker this morning was the fast patrol vessel Ady Gil out of New Zealand and skippered by Pete Bethune. The Bob Barker and the Ady Gil are chasing the Nisshin Maru away from the Whale Sanctuary and all whaling operations have been halted.

The Japanese strategy was to keep the Steve Irwin away from the fleet by dedicating a faster ship to tail the Sea Shepherd crew. Using aerial surveillance the Japanese located the Steve Irwin on December 9th at the 200-mile limit off the Australian coast. They relayed that information to the waiting Shonan Maru No. 2. Six hours later, the faster Japanese vessel intercepted the Steve Irwin making it impossible for the Sea Shepherd crew to locate the main body of the Japanese fleet. Attempts to lose the tail were unsuccessful, forcing Captain Watson to return to Tasmania where he refueled and then departed undercover of a storm on the evening of December 31st.

Despite the Japanese sending multiple surveillance planes up all day on January 1st, 2010, the Steve Irwin slipped past the Japanese security vessel Yushin Maru undetected. The Shonan Maru No. 2 had returned to the fleet to refuel and was replaced at the 200-mile limit by the Yushin Maru.

The objective of Sea Shepherd’s three-ship campaign is to bankrupt the illegal Japanese whaling fleet and to sink them economically.

“This year, I have three ships, four small boats, a jet ski, a helicopter, 77 crew, and a bagful of aggravation for the Japanese whale poachers,” said Captain Paul Watson. “We intend to make life miserable for the whale killers over the next month and a half.”

Included in the crew is the Animal Planet crew filming the third season of the hit television series “Whale Wars.”

The Sea Shepherd crew number 77 from 16 nationalities including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Bob Barker:  Crew of 30, Captain Chuck Swift (USA)
Steve Irwin: Crew of 41, Captain Paul Watson (Canada)
Ady Gil: Crew of 6, Captain Peter Bethune (New Zealand)

www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-100105-3.html

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The Time is Right for Bob Barker to Rescue the Whales - “We intend to bankrupt the whalers,” said Captain Paul Watson.

The Time is Right for Bob Barker to Rescue the Whales

Bob Barker Donates $5,000,000 to Sea Shepherd for Ocean Conservation

Another anti-whaling ship arrived in the Southern Ocean today, unexpected and right on time: the Bob Barker.

The 1,200-ton Norwegian built Antarctic harpoon vessel caught up with the Japanese whaling fleet at 0300 Hours on Wednesday, January 6th, in the area of Commonwealth Bay off the Adelie Coast at 143 Degrees 17 Minutes East and 66 Degrees 43 Minutes South. The Norwegian flag cracked in the chill Antarctic air as the silhouette of the whaler gave every indication that the ship was sent to support the Japanese whalers.

The Japanese could be forgiven for thinking that the pro-whaling Norwegians had sent a ship to support their illegal whaling activities in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. But any excitement turned to disappointment quickly as the Norwegian flag was hauled down and the black and white skull with crossed Trident and Shepherd’s crook was raised to announce the arrival of the Bob Barker, the latest ship acquired for the Sea Shepherd ocean defense fleet.   

Thanks to a $5,000,000 contribution from American television personality and icon Bob Barker, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was able to quietly purchase and refit the former Norwegian whaler in Africa. The ice strengthened fast chaser boat quietly departed from Mauritius on December 18th to join up with the Sea Shepherd ships Steve Irwin and Ady Gil in the Southern Ocean.

Barker has also funded the cost of a helicopter that will accompany the society’s ships. The aircraft is named The Nancy Burnet after the president of United Activists for Animal Rights, an organization Barker also supports. This new helicopter will participate in future campaigns.

“I’m delighted to be able to help the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in its mission to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans,” said Barker. “There is lot of talk about preserving our ecosystems and species, but this is one organization that puts these words into action.”

For the first time ever, Sea Shepherd has three ships on the Japanese fleet and each ship gives the campaign unique abilities. The long range fast ice class Bob Barker will take the lead in harassing the Japanese fleet and will be able to stay on station for three solid months without refueling. The Steve Irwin will be carrying the campaign helicopter and will coordinate all flight activities in addition to blocking loading operations on the Nisshin Maru, the factory ship. The Ady Gil, with twice the speed of the Japanese harpoon vessels, will concentrate on intercepting the fast chaser vessels to block their hunting activities.

The objective of the Sea Shepherd fleet is to sink the Japanese whaling fleet economically – to bankrupt the whaling industry by cutting whale kill quotas in half and costing the whaling fleet their annual profits.

This year’s campaign has been named Operation Waltzing Matilda to reflect the Sea Shepherd’s gratitude to the people of Australia for their incredible support since 2005 for our activities.    

Thanks to the generous support of Bob Barker, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been given the means to seriously impact the profits of the whaling industry this season. Now more than ever, we are confident that we will be able to drive the outlaw whalers from the waters of the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary.  

The Japanese whalers are discovering that the price is no longer right. With Sea Shepherd cutting their kill quotas in half and cancelling their profits for a fourth year in a row, the heavily subsidized whaling industry is on the ropes financially.

“We intend to bankrupt the whalers,” said Captain Paul Watson.

www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-100105-1.html

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