A bar on Japan鈥檚 scientific whaling in the Antarctic could turn out to be short-lived. On the eve of a major meeting on whaling next week, Japan has asked for four of its coastal communities to be allowed to resume killing minke whales. It is also drawing up a new 鈥渟cientific鈥� whaling programme in the Antarctic that it hopes will fall within international law.
In March, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands, ruled that Japan鈥檚 鈥淛ARPA II鈥� scientific whaling programme in Antarctic waters between 2005 and 2014 was illegal. Conservationists hoped it would be the end of a research programme that they believe was simply a front for commercial whaling, which has been banned since 1986.
The ruling will be hotly debated next week at the biennial meeting of the (IWC), which regulates whaling, in Portoroz, Slovenia. The IWC had long allowed JARPA II to proceed, but the court overruled that when it declared the programme was 鈥渘ot for 鈥榩urposes of scientific research'鈥�. The IWC鈥檚 criteria for judging research proposals are now under scrutiny.
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鈥淭he credibility of the whole organisation is at stake,鈥� says whale biologist of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. 鈥淚t goes to the heart of what is and what isn鈥檛 genuine science,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚s the IWC up to the task of making sure future permits for research are legal according to the international court鈥檚 judgment?鈥�
Ban? What ban?
Meanwhile, Japan is exploring ways to sidestep the ban. In June it caught minke whales off its north-east coast, supposedly for research purposes, because those waters are not covered by the Antarctic ruling.
Next week, Japan will ask the IWC to allow . They argue that the whaling moratorium has harmed those communities. 鈥淭he impact in these communities was, and remains, enormous,鈥� says the proposal.
Japanese scientists are also , dubbed JARPA III, that they hope will comply with the March ruling. If they succeed, 鈥渟cientific鈥� whaling could resume in the Antarctic by the end of 2015.
However, could sabotage that plan by strengthening the duty on the IWC to uphold the March ruling. Currently the IWC鈥檚 scientific committee can grant permits for research on its own, but the New Zealand resolution would require the entire IWC to give permission.
