(London, England - 16 June 2004) - The world�s whaling nations - Japan, Norway and Iceland - all have their fleets at sea at the same time, with their harpoons trained on the world�s largest marine mammals, for the first time in 15 years.
The International Fund For Animal Welfare (IFAW � www.ifaw.org) campaigns around the world to end commercial whaling and promote responsible whale watching as a humane and sustainable alternative. IFAW�s unique research and education vessel, Song of the Whale, is traveling to Iceland on its maiden voyage.
Japan�s whaling fleet left the harbor to hunt 150 minkes, 50 Bryde�s, 50 sei, and 10 sperm whales in the North Pacific. In Norway, 340 minkes, from a quota of 670, have been killed so far in the North Atlantic and the first whale meat from the hunt is now on sale. Meanwhile Iceland, which resumed whaling last year, has taken five minkes and plans to kill another 20 around its shores before the end of June.
IFAW�s Vassili Papastavrou said, �Most people think we saved the whale in 1986 when a worldwide moratorium (temporary ban) on whaling came into force. Tragically, three countries have found ways around the ban and are killing around 1,400 whales a year between them.�
�Far from improving, things are getting worse for the whales. Iceland rejoined the whaling community in 2003, after mothballing its whaling fleet for 15 years; and Japan is targeting endangered species including Bryde�s, sei and sperm whales, as well as hunting in an internationally recognized sanctuary in the Southern Ocean.�
Japan and Iceland exploit a provision in the International Whaling Convention, which allows whales to be killed for scientific purposes. The Japanese and Icelandic governments fund their �scientific� whaling programs and the meat is sold in supermarkets and restaurants in both countries.
In Japan, the Fisheries Agency conducts a bullish marketing campaign to encourage more people to try whale meat, promoting products such as whale burgers and whale blubber ice cream, and encouraging schools to serve whale dishes to children.
Norway raised an objection to the international moratorium on whaling in 1982 and has continued to hunt minke whales commercially in the North Atlantic. Like Japan and Iceland, Norway has a growing whale watching industry.
Iceland announced plans to kill 500 whales (minke, fin and sei) in 2004/2005 as part of a scientific program. So far, it has restricted its whaling activities to the more numerous minke, killing 36 last year. Whale watch and tourist operators in Iceland have condemned the return to whaling, and together with international critics, have provoked increasing debate on the issue among the Icelandic public.
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For media-related inquiries, contact:
Chris Cutter, IFAW, U.S. Tel: 508-744-2066, Email: [email protected]
Editors: For more information visit www.ifaw.org
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