Posted on February, 28 2002

Gland, Switzerland - WWF, the conservation organization, today called on Japan to abandon plans to catch an endangered species of whale known as Sei whale at the same time as it increases its catches of Northern Minke whales by 50 percent.

The Japanese plans would allow Japanese whaling ships to hunt 50 Sei whales under the banner of 'scientific' whaling. The latest estimate of the Sei whale population in the North Pacific was around 9,000, and the species is listed by the IUCN as being endangered. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) halted any catching of this species in 1978. In order to continue whaling, Japan exploits loop-holes in the IWC's moratorium on commercial whaling, which has been in place since 1986.

Meanwhile this week, a closed-door working group meeting of key IWC member countries is taking place in Auckland, New Zealand, to discuss the details of a management scheme (1) that could bring Japan and Norway's whaling back under international control. A final decision on the scheme could be taken at the crucial IWC meeting in the Japanese whaling town of Shimonoseki in late May this year.

"Is Japan negotiating in good faith at the Auckland meeting or are the whales being treated as hostages?" asked Cassandra Phillips, WWF Senior Adviser on whales. "The increasing numbers of whales killed each year is holding the non-whaling IWC member countries to ransom. It seems designed to persuade them to agree to weak rules in the proposed management scheme."

The Japanese programme also allows the Japanese whaling fleet to catch 150 Northern Minke whales - up from 100 last year. It is thought that the government intends to allow fishermen from small-scale whaling villages to catch the extra Minkes. The Japanese government has regularly asked the IWC to allocate an annual quota of Minkes to these villages - a request that has as regularly been denied. By bypassing the IWC in this way, and giving part of the 'scientific' quota to commercial whalers, the Japanese government is no longer even bothering to hide the charade that this is essential research.

At the same time, WWF is also concerned by Norway's announcement earlier this month that they plan to hunt 674 Northern Minkes this year, up from 549 last year, with the expectation of making large profits from re-opening the export trade to Japan.

"It is vital that the IWC does not cave in to commercial whaling thinly disguised as science. It is time for Japan to stop putting its efforts into undermining the IWC and, instead, to focus on working with the international community to ensure a safe future for the world�s whales,� said Dr. Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF's Species Programme.

For further information:
Matthew Davis, WWF's Species Programme, tel: +44 1483 412 572, email: mdavis@wwf.org.uk
Kyla Evans, Head of Press, WWF International, tel: +41 22 364 9550, email: kevans@wwfint.org

Notes to Editors
1. The IWC has been discussing a Revised Management Scheme (RMS) since the mid-1990s. This includes how to calculate precautionary catch limits and other rules including inspection and observation.