{"id":38226,"date":"2024-05-13T09:49:55","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T07:49:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/271e0794-6390-43c8-9d89-66108c6996f8"},"modified":"2024-05-13T10:35:42","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T08:35:42","slug":"japan-to-start-killing-fin-whales","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/japan-to-start-killing-fin-whales\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan to start killing fin whales\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Five years after the country resumed commercial whaling, it has announced it will hunt vulnerable fin whales. <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Monday, 13 May 2024 at 07:49 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Japan has announced that it will start commercially hunting fin whales<\/a> \u2013 a species listed as\u00a0vulnerable\u00a0to extinction.\u00a0<\/p>

Unsurprisingly, conservationists are highly critical. \u201cThe decision to increase whaling quotas, particularly targeting vulnerable species, is\u00a0irresponsible and exacerbates the risk of extinction,\u201d says Luke McMillan, anti-whaling campaigner at\u00a0 Whale and Dolphin Conservation\u00a0<\/a>(WDC).\u00a0<\/p>

Watch: Fin whales on the hunt for herring. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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Since Japan left the\u00a0 International Whaling Commission<\/a>\u00a0and resumed commercial whaling in 2019, it has been focused on hunting three species:\u00a0 minke<\/a>,\u00a0 Bryde\u2019s<\/a> and sei whales. <\/p>
Both minke and Bryde\u2019s whales are currently considered \u2018of least concern\u2019 by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species while sei whales are\u00a0endangered. In 2021, its catch quota was 171 minke whales, 187 Bryde’s whales and 25 sei whales.<\/p>
Now, vulnerable fin whales will be added to the country\u2019s list of commercially caught species.\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cTargeting already vulnerable species is an irresponsible act \u2013 especially in view of the existing biodiversity crisis,\u201d says McMillan, who believes the move \u201cundermines global efforts to protect marine biodiversity.\u201d He fears this new threat \u2013 which adds to existing pressures from things like pollution, climate change, shipping traffic and underwater noise \u2013 will further increase fin whales\u2019 risk of extinction.\u00a0<\/p>
Fin whales are listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened species. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u201cWhales are an important food resource and like other marine living resources they should be used sustainably based on scientific evidence,\u201d said Japan\u2019s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi in a\u00a0 statement<\/a>, adding \u201cI believe it is important to preserve traditional food culture in Japan.\u201d<\/p>
However, WDC\u00a0 argues<\/a>\u00a0that industrial whale hunting only picked up in Japan after the Second World War when there was a shortage of other meat. The charity is also sceptical of the idea that Japanese people want to eat whale. \u201cLocally caught as well as imported whale meat is piling up in freezers as the demand is insignificant,\u201d says McMillan.<\/p>
\u201cThe consumption of whale meat is so low, it doesn\u2019t even really appear in the statistics,\u201d says McMillan, adding that Japan has invested significant resource in increasing the popularity of whale meat within the country.\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cThey even started setting up\u00a0 vending machines<\/a>\u00a0across some bigger cities in Japan, where people can easily buy whale meat products. The plan is to increase the number of these vending machines and to place them all around the country,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Fin$
Japan\u2019s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi says \u201cwhales are an important food resource” in Japan; however, conservationists are sceptical of the idea that Japanese people want to eat whale. Fin whale. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>
There are currently just three nations left in the world that still commercially hunt whales: Japan, Norway and Iceland (which has one remaining whaling company). According to McMillan, Iceland has no domestic market for fin whale meat and used to sell it to Japan. \u201cJapan being able to hunt fin whales on their own would make them less depending on imports from Iceland,\u201d he says. Could this spell the end for Iceland\u2019s last whaling vessel?<\/p>
Conservationists are still concerned about the threat posed by whaling, with Japan starting to hunt fin whales and Norway increasing its minke whale quota despite decreasing domestic demand. \u00a0<\/p>
The impacts of climate change \u2013 which could lead to more poverty and hunger \u2013 could drive some people to turn to whales for food. \u201cWe cannot rule out that people (in developing countries) will become increasingly interested in the use of wild animals \u2013 such as whales and dolphins \u2013 as a resource,\u201d says McMillan,\u00a0even though eating whales and dolphins can be dangerous to humans because of the high levels of\u00a0 mercury<\/a>\u00a0contained in the meat. \u00a0<\/p>
As it stands, could we see the end of commercial whaling? Perhaps, says\u00a0McMillan, but not for the reason we\u2019d hope: \u201cIt\u2019s more likely that whaling will end due to serious declines or even extinction of whale populations or species, or the dire consequences their loss will have on marine ecosystems and other marine species.\u201d<\/p>
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