Mixed media: Whale stakes

Save the whales

Ex-pat in Japan: Despite whaling industry claims, today there is little demand for the bone, blubber, meat and oil that whales once supplied. But the demand for and profitability of whale watching has increased. The benefits of eco-tourism activities such as whale watching are spread over a larger portion of the population than whale hunting. In addition to whale-watching operations, those operating stores, hotels and restaurants can enjoy increased employment and revenue opportunities. The Japanese whaling industry employs only a few hundred people. - Tim Scott writing in the Japan Times

Sydney newspaper: Australia must move aggressively to counter Japan's steady stacking of the International Whaling Commission. The short-term aim must be to close the loophole that allows member countries to award themselves increasing quotas for so-called scientific catches. Australia must be ready to speak out loudly and consistently against the way Japan flouts the whaling ban in the name of science. - Sydney Morning Herald

Provincial NZ view: Why does Japan continue to insult the rest of the world's intelligence by maintaining the fiction that it hunts whales for "scientific" research? That pretence, which enables Japan to get around the worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling, sticks in the craw as much as its latest ambition does to cut a swathe through another threatened species. Whatever rational argument Japan might advance to support its annual whale kill is demolished by maintaining the charade that supermarket whale meat is the byproduct of serious scientific inquiry. - Hawke's Bay Today

British newspaper: The IWC has outlived its usefulness as an international regulator. Its role should be resolved to a stronger body before it becomes a laughing stock. Japan's government should also be aware that its wish to play a larger role in the world - in forums such as the UN security council - could be jeopardised by its desire for a pound of whale flesh. - The Guardian

Let the hunt begin

Scientific journal: Anti-whaling groups are running out of scientific excuses for an across-the-board ban. Minke whales, in particular, seem to be far enough from the brink to allow at least a limited take. But if members vote to allow whaling ... they should follow through on the plan to set conservative catch limits that take account of the uncertainties over how many whales there are. - New Scientist magazine

Solomon Islands view: Whatever decision our government makes on this issue it must reflect the genuine underlying factors affecting the environmental side. I think the government should support the Japanese stance on this issue. Australia has been one of the industrialised nations that are sceptical about signing the Kyoto Protocol. Now if Australia is not signing it, why do we have to listen to them when it comes to environmental issue like this on whales? Commercial harvesting of whales will have less impact on us compared to the increasing green house gases that will result in global warming. - Arthur Wate, writing in the Solomon Star News

Japanese view: Surely the decision to repeatedly prevent harvesting in spite of the IWC's data showing that some whale species can now be harvested sustainably within set quotas basically illustrates that the IWC has ceased to serve its intended function. Japan should leave, and pressure Iceland and Norway to join it in forming a new body that will regulate whaling and set sustainable whaling quotas. - Hikozaemon on www.japantoday.com

Whale-eating Brit: I have tasted whale meat and it is delicious, possibly the best meat I have eaten. I understand the whaling nations' love of the meat, which is part of their culture. Whale numbers are rising, and sustainable whaling, properly enforced, would enable millions of people to enjoy this wonderful source of food. - Alan Brown, London, on BBC news website