By Moon Gwang-lip
Staff Reporter



U.S. chief commissioner Rolland Schmitten, center, chats with Geoffrey Palmer, left, and Jim McLay, both New Zealand commissioners, during the morning session of the IWC meeting at a hotel in Ulsan, South Korea, Thursday.
/AP-Yonhap

Japan and other pro-whaling countries may face international economic sanctions for hunting endangered whale species, according to a conservation campaigner.
``We had an opinion survey recently conducted in the U.S. showing that a strong majority of Americans oppose whaling,’’ said Patrick Ramage, director of communications at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

``All political groups, conservative Republicans, so-called swing voters and even liberal Democrats strongly support applying trade sanctions against Japan, such as banning the importation of Japanese fish,’’ the director told The Korea Times.

He is participating in the general assembly of the 57th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in the southeastern city of Ulsan.

``I think there will be some measures from the United States in a couple of years. They will be something called the `Certification of Japan,’ which will consist of diplomatic steps such as cutting off discussions about fisheries or access to fishing rights in U.S. waters, etc.,’’ he said.

Ramage and some other IFAW members, including Naoko Funahashi, Japan’s representative of IFAW, came to Ulsan to argue their anti-whaling cause in the IWC general assembly, which began its week-long general session on Monday in the presence of 57 member countries.

Their border-crossing efforts to prevent the resumption of commercial whaling seemed to work as the pro-whaling countries had to close the sub meeting Tuesday without arriving at their desired result. The meeting was aimed at discussing how to enact the Revised Management Scheme (RMS) _ a step toward the IWC’s unilateral authorization of legalizing commercial whaling.

The RMS, first proposed by Japan in its 1994 IWC meeting, includes a risk-averse method of calculating catch quotas. Japan and other pro-whaling countries have aimed to complete it ever since, attempting to lay the foundation for legalizing the industry and putting their greatest efforts on it in the Ulsan meeting.

The failure of its bid, however, does not mean Japan will retreat from the issue any time soon.

Japan said Tuesday it will resume commercial whaling whether or not the general assembly this time adopts their RMS plan, further igniting the international dispute.

``The IWC has no power even if Japan goes against its mutual accord. There are no dispute resolution procedures in the IWC. So we will encourage countries and government to take individual and bilateral actions against Japan for its practice that threatens the conservation status of great whales,’’ Ramage said.

The commercial whaling was put on hold in 1986 when the IWC adopted a commercial whaling moratorium after strong resistance from international environmental groups such as Greenpeace.

However, Japan and other pro-whaling countries continued their activities, claiming they serve only scientific purposes. Japan alone has caught about 400 whales every year under the excuse and went on further recently by announcing it will double the number of whales they catch in coming years.

``Over the last eighteen years, Japan has practiced scientific whaling._ which they began only after the commercial moratorium began _ and then suddenly there was an urgent desire to do research. It’s not serious science. Scientific whaling is a lot more about whaling than it is science,’’ Ramage said.

Meanwhile, the IFAW director expressed concern about the Korean government that has long supported Japan tacitly and made public its pro-whaling stance in Ulsan.

The minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Oh Keo-don, participated in the IWC general assembly Tuesday and said Korea is assenting to a plan to take out the clauses stipulating the moratorium on commercial whaling.

``We are concerned about the Korean government desiring to join Japan in its industrial whaling practice. We think it is a short-sided position that is not in keeping with the long-term interest of whale-supportive Korean people. It should stop following Japan’s vote in every single vote at the IWC,’’ Ramage said.

Protecting whales is not a cause only small preservationists are sharing, but rather it is a duty to Korean people to keep their natural heritage, he said.

``In Korean waters, already there are very low numbers of gray whales and north pacific right whales. Blue whales are now extinct in Korean water. So the natural heritage of Korean people is being sacrificed for other countries’ whaling activities under the name of scientific whaling or for minor fishing households along its southern coast who are continuing to catch whales in nets.

``I encourage anybody in Korea to care about this creature and believe that their children and their grandchildren should have the benefit of these magnificent creatures which have been with us for centuries,’’ he said.

Another reason that whales should be protected is as Ramage put it, animals and the people both do better when these whales are protected.

``Whale watching is a new form of eco-tourism that’s paying its own way and delivering benefits to costal communities. It is taking off now in 90 countries around the world including Korea. Even in Japan, the center of whaling in the world, there are now some 40 whale and dolphin watching operations in 23 communities around the country,’’ Ramage said.

``The analysis by our organization and other experts has indicated that it is a billion-dollar industry now, both in ticket revenues and in tourism revenues, including hotels and meals, etc.”

``As our report released today shows in Ulsan and also further in some southern islands, there is significant potential for whale watching in Korean waters also. In order to achieve that, it will require commitment and perhaps some feasibility studies by the government or encouragement for local entrepreneurs,’’ he noted.

Funahashi, who has accompanied Ramage, talked about the activities of Japanese preservation groups, saying they are working to bring the people into the right position on the issue.

``Some fishermen have worries such as if Japan loses its whales, then foreign countries and NGOs will target other species like tuna, sharks, or anything else. And nationalistic cabinet members instigated that idea,’’ she said.

``Also, most people don’t know Japan is still whaling and most people don’t care. So we are trying to give them the right knowledge about whaling and make more sustainable, responsible whale watching programs in Japan, which are already going well. Now more people are seeing whales and dolphins alive in the sea, rather than seeing whale meats on a dish.’’

She conveyed to Korean civic groups her wish to cooperate in efforts against whaling.

``We have begun to come in contact with Korean citizen groups. We know more Koreans will get interested in the issue, and we hope to work together.’’

joseph@koreatimes.co.kr