I received a note from marine ecologist Walter Starck this morning. He wrote,
Here’s an interesting news item on whaling. A growing stockpile of unsold whale meat would seem to indicate that the Japanese whaling effort is driven by political rather than commercial considerations. If the situation is really as depicted (always a big “if”) it seriously undermines the whole cultural importance argument.
Walter was refering to a piece in UnderWaterTimes.com that included the comment,
Some 1,035 tons of whale meat hit the market in Japan last year, a 65 percent increase from 1995, the Fisheries Agency says. And sluggish demand means inventories have almost doubled in five years to 2,704 tons in 2004.
And all of this before the most recent expedition to the Antarctic.
The article continues,
But the glut of whale meat hasn’t stopped the harpoon guns. Tokyo plans to kill – under a research program – some 1,070 minke whales in 2006, over 400 more than last year. Japan will also hunt 10 fin whales, and a total of 160 Bryde’s, sei and sperm whales, fisheries official Kenji Masuda said.
The International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986, approving limited hunts for research purposes a year later. Opponents have called Japan’s hunts merely a way for it to dodge the whaling ban.
The government, which distributes the meat and uses profits to fund research, is working to promote whale meat and secure new distribution channels.
“Even if we capture 2,000 whales a year for 100 years, it’s OK because whale numbers are growing,” the pamphlet says.
Some local governments have begun offering whale meat in school lunches.
Wakayama, a prefecture with a whale-hunting tradition 280 miles southwest of Tokyo, has been aggressive in getting youngsters to eat whale, introducing whale meals at 270 public schools in 2005.
Nutritionists have even developed child-friendly whale dishes, including whale meatballs, hamburgers and whale spaghetti bolognese, said Tetsuji Sawada of Wakayama’s education board.
Chimney Co., which runs the Hana No Mai eateries, acknowledges customers are wary of new whale dishes.
So there is more whale meat from the ‘research efforts’ than the Japanese can collectively stomach.
So, according to BBC News whale meat is being turned into dog food.
The dog food is apparently promoted as “organic” and fished “freshly out of the water”.
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Story updated here: http://www.jennifermarohasy.com/blog/archives/001190.html
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD is a critical thinker with expertise in the scientific method.
The political drive is nationalistic if what I’ve read is correct. A show by nationalistic pollies to defend Japan’s ‘cultural rights’, and to use this issue to demonstrate that Japan can flex muscle in international affairs. The cultural argument was flimsy enough without stretching it to include pet food.
A very BIG grain of salt with this one as I saw somewhere else, but can’t recall where, that the annual inventory, and obvious high point, is taken just after the fleet comes in. And the annual fluctuations are usually equal to the reported stock figure. It sounds like a long bow from a single inventory figure but will take another look.
Correct me if I’m not thinking straight but doesn’t this add even more credence to the Japanese claim that they are whaling for research purposes?
What’s the point of carrying on “commercial whaling in disguise” if you can’t sell the meat anyway? Maybe they really are doing some kind of research?
No. What’s the purpose of the so-called research? Supposedly to help gauge sustainable harvest levels so whales can be taken for human consumption.
Besides if you read the earlier threads, the majority opinion of cetacean researchers worldwide is that lethal research isn’t necessary, ie there’s no excuse for it, particularly the culling of vulnerable species (not just Minke) and particularly within a sanctuary. Further evidence of the bogus nature of the research is the absence of credible reports published in academic journals on the findings of Japan’s lethal research.
“..if you can’t sell the meat anyway”. They are selling it – as pet food and for human consumption too – just perhaps more slowly than anticipated. If low demand is becoming an issue you would expect a lag before the pre-planned annual whaling quotas are adjusted (or a more aggressive marketing campaign is initiated to increase consumption to support a nationalistic agenda, vested interests and economic benefits from the retail trade).
What a classic bit of moronic BBC beat up. For the record folks, Australian beef, indeed, English beef and beef from all over the world is also being used for dog food. It is the part of the animal, usually called “off-cuts”, that are the bits left over after the steaks and the fillets have been taken for human consumption. But is anyone seriously suggesting that the existence of “pet mince” and “dog bones” is a sign of lack of consumer demand for @#$%&* beef?
There is an economic imperative and a moral obligation to make maximum use of a slain animal. And this involves selling different parts for different products, some of high value and some of low value.
So lets spell this out for the comprehensionally challenged. PARTS OF THE WHALE ARE SOLD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION WHILE OTHER PARTS ARE SOLD AS PET FOOD.
But apparently the deeply penetrating intellects at Ealing Broadway are of the opinion that some farmers specialise in “steak cows” while other less clever ones, presumably in-bred ones with Banjos, specialise in “dog mince” cows.
This is one blatant green “idiot wind” that really is “blowin through the buttons of my coat”. And as Dylan went on to sing, “its a wonder that you still know how to breathe”.