Whacking Whales for Wada

To the Japanese, the slaughter of whales for human consumption is not merely a matter of culture, tradition or economics. There exists a national mindset in Japan that their food sources, manner of processing, and method of acquisition, is a matter of justice; it is not an issue of conservation but an issue of sovereignty. This is the core of the information gathered by BBC Correspondent Chris Hogg after a visit to a small Japanese coastal town of Wada that hunts whales, and dresses and prepares these for the market, in the town's whale meat processing factory.

The International Whaling Commission (IWC), of which Japan is a member, continues to search for a common ground between pro and anti whaling nations. But even this body has inadequate teeth to implement its own rules, and there are vague areas in terms of its control over its members. The IWC bans commercial whaling but not all species are covered by the ban. It allows whaling for scientific study (Japan) but lets individual countries issue their own permits; to the extent that 900 whales are killed in one expedition. It issues a moratorium on whaling but cannot act on a unilateral objection filed by a country (Norway) that defies its order. It permits aborigines (Alaskan Inupiat) to hunt whales for food.

Mr. Yoshinori Shoji is Wada's town whaler and he epitomizes what the Japanese feel about the issue. Mr. Shoji catches mostly Baird's Beaked whales. His haul is 14 a year. Japanese imposed quotas allow him only 3 summer months to hunt. In his view, the Japanese have been eating whales for 400 years, and he sees no difference between hunting fish and hunting whales. He agrees that some species need to be protected, like the blue whale, but others are abundant; and when hunting can be made sustainable, no one has the right to make him stop. He deplores the government's lack of effort to spread its message to opponents of whaling, that whales have traditionally been food for the Japanese.

Pressure on Japan to end whaling have been ignored and the country's insistence on the practice has tarnished its image abroad. In countries where strong opposition exists, like Australia, expeditions are mounted in an attempt to thwart the whaling activities. The Japanese see these protest efforts as publicity to generate more donors and allow countries to show that tax money is being spent sensibly. It is an area where whalers cannot compete. Protesters, on the other hand doubt the scientific purpose of Japan's whale hunt that run into thousands annually, saying that the animals need not be slaughtered to be studied, nor that many be butchered for the purpose.

The other contentious issue is the question of abundance or depletion. Scientific data on whale species, number, life span, reproduction and mating cycles, among others, is sorely inadequate as these mammals are difficult to track. The Japanese have challenged this data base and have decided to conduct their own conservation efforts through the scientific study that it conducts yearly.

If in a single expedition more than a thousand whales are killed, how long before there will be nothing left to study? After their "tests", the same whales are sold to meat factories for conversion to sashimi. Perhaps the tests are to determine if these are edible, or to remove the poison that they suspect were fed by conservationists. As the Japanese successfully continue their tradition and enjoy the sovereignty of their whale jerky, whale steaks, whale burgers, and whale whatever you want, the whalers will continue to use "scientific research" as a whale of an excuse to get away with slaughter. After feasting on the meat of this noble animal, may these consumers produce a whale of a by-product that will have ten times the difficulty of exiting their back portal. And may this difficulty become an excruciating part of their tradition.

Haaarrwwwwk...Twoooooph...Ting!