A meeting of opposites is taking place in Chile, where the International Whaling Commission is holding its 60th annual meeting. Yesterday, Chile’s president moved to make its coastal waters a whale sanctuary. Meanwhile, Japan is proposing a move to legalise coastal whaling.
“Chile wants to give the world a clear sign of its will to protect whales in its waters,” said President Michelle Bachelet. Her proposal to establish a coastal whale sanctuary still needs to be approved by the nation’s Congress.
Japan’s resolution to legalise coastal whaling is the same one that anti-whaling countries blocked a year ago, leading to familiar threats from Japan that it would abandon the 62-year-old (IWC).
“We do not look at scientific whaling as a loophole, because we do not see anything wrong in commercialism per se, as long as it is sustainable,” says Ryotaro Suzuki, senior coordinator of the ocean division of Japan’s Foreign Ministry, adding that the IWC’s purpose is to regulate whaling not “protect all whale stocks”.
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Japan denies allegations that the 1000 whales it hunts each year for scientific purposes are making it to the dinner table.
Earlier this year, an undercover investigation led by Greenpeace alleged that crew members on board a scientific whaling vessel were embezzling large quantities of whale meat and selling it on to restaurant owners.
Japanese public prosecutors said they would investigate. Since then, two Greenpeace activists based in Japan, including the organisation’s whaling campaign coordinator, .
The IWC annual meeting will run until Friday.
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