The worl is hopeful of stopping Japan whaling

It's a ritual that boils the blood of whale-watchers everywhere.
Fleets of Japanese vessels leaving the harbour in Western Japan to begin
its five-month whale hunt in the Antarctic Ocean.

Whales face more threats today than at any other time in history. Commer cial whaling has been banned for more than two decades - yet Japan, Iceland and Norway continue firing harpoons into these gentle creatures for products that nobody needs. More than 30,000 whales have been killed for commercial purposes since the ban on whaling in 1986. And now the magnificent humpback whale is being targeted for whaling by the government of Japan.

While the Japanese public loses its taste for whalemeat, Japan's whaling industry succeeds in forcing through a ludicrous declaration calling the 20-year ban on commercial whaling "no longer necessary" at the International Whaling Commission.
However, Environmental group Greenpeace said it was optimistic Japan would stop hunting whales in the Southern Ocean.

Greenpeace has been trying to stop the Japanese fleet whaling in the Southern Ocean for years, and the bad publicity has opened a debate about whaling in Japan, Greenpeace Executive Director Gerd Leipold said.
"I'm optimistic that they may stop whaling in the Southern Ocean. I think we're quite pleased with what is happening, an opening up in the Japanese media, which is beginning to ask the question, why so much of taxpayers' money is being spent on something that is not essential for our economy and that damages our reputation," Leipold said.

Japan plans to hunt almost 1,000 minke and fin (fin whales, a species more than 10 times heavier than minke whales) whales for research over the Antarctic summer, but has abandoned the cull of 50 humpback whales after international condemnation and a formal diplomatic protest by 31 nations.

Banning whaling has been a central cause for environmentalists for more than 35 years, after decades of unregulated whaling had severely depleted populations of blue, fin, humpback and other great whales. In 1982, they secured enough votes at the International Whaling Commission (IWC).to secure a moratorium on all commercial whaling. It was supposed to be temporary, while scientists worked out how many whales were left and a new system of setting quotas was devised. This was achieved more than a decade ago, but environmentalists and anti-whaling nations have so far blocked a lifting of the ban.

Despite a moratorium on whaling, Japan is allowed an annual "scientific" hunt, arguing whaling is a cherished cultural tradition and the hunt is necessary to study whales Japan, meanwhile, has flouted its spirit by exploiting a rule that allows whales to be killed for scientific purposes, increasingly escalating its activities until it now kills more than 1,000 great whales a year and sells the meat. It has also applied to the IWC to be allowed legally to kill 150 minkes annually near its coasts.

The escalation of the hunt, and the inclusion of humpbacks, has drawn condemnation from leading anti-whaling countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Britain and the US.

But Japan has said it needs to recommence hunting one of conservationists' most beloved species to further marine research. "Whales are just as important, and no more special, than any other fish," says Japan Fisheries Agency spokesperson Hideki Moronuki, maintaining Japan's long-held position that marine mammals should get no special treatment for being warm-blooded. Japan maintains that with a population of around 40,000 growing at 15% a year, the formerly endangered humpback has recovered to a sustainable level for lethal research.

Once a whale is killed, scientists collect data from the animal's remains on its age, birthing rate and diet; the meat is then packaged and sold. Japan maintains that the research is essential for managing the whale population. Still, most observers have long been skeptical of any benefits from the project. "I haven't met one person, pro-whalers or not, outside of the Fisheries Agency payroll who believe that these researches are useful," says Greenpeace Australia Pacific's CEO Steve Shallhorn.

Controversial plans to lift the worldwide ban on whaling were presented to a secret meeting of more than 70 governments in London during March.of this year.
The plans, which have alarmed environmentalists, have been welcomed by both pro- and anti-whaling governments and seek to lift a long stalemate over hunting, enabling Japan officially to resume commercial whaling for the first time in more than 20 years.

The plans would permit the world's main whaling nation to carry out a limited hunt in waters close to its shores. In return, Japan would have to stop exploiting a loophole in international law, through which it kills hundreds of whales around Antarctica each year under the guise of "scientific research".

The plans - drawn up at another unpublicised meeting in Tokyo last month - were presented by the governments of Argentina and the Netherlands to a closed three-day session of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

The meeting took place as confrontations with Japan's "scientific" whaling fleet in the Antarctic increased sharply. Participants at the Heathrow session were forbidden to disclose anything about the discussions designed to "to find a way out of the impasse" over whaling and "seek ways to improve how negotiations within the IWC are conducted". An IWC spokeswoman flatly refused to comment on the plans, saying that they were not part of the formal proceedings.

However, delegates admitted there had been informal discussions. "There is a big push. People are saying there has to be a solution," one delegate said, on condition of anonymity.
Britain - historically anti-whaling - has indicated that it would back a compromise to allow a limited resumption of commercial whaling. Its official negotiator, Richard Cowan, a civil servant at the Department for the Environment, told the Tokyo meeting: "If you see that you cannot win, then playing for a draw is the honourable and courageous thing to do."

The compromise aims to end decades of deadlock by allowing this coastal hunt while stopping "scientific whaling". Proponents argue this would sharply reduce the slaughter, while allowing Japan to claim victory. Opponents say it would be unenforceable and fail to provide a lasting solution.