Greenpeace activists operating in the Antarctic today approached ships from the Japanese whaling fleet and demanded that they "STOP WHALING." The action is the opening move in a campaign leading up to a crucial governmental meeting next year at which the future of whaling will be decided.
The research vessel MV Arctic Sunrise - with 30 activists from 16 countries on board - tracked the fleet since it started an operation to take 440 minke whales 8 days ago. The activists also informed the fleet that Greenpeace will be taking non-violent direct action to protect the whales of Antarctica.
As the Greenpeace vessel approached the fleet, Japanese campaigner Yuko Hirono boarded an inflatable and moved alongside boats in the fleet, radioing the Greenpeace demand that Japanese whaling be ceased.
"Greenpeace will stop disrupting whaling when the Japanese whalers stop taking whales," said Hirono. "When even the International Whaling Commission has urged Japan to end this catch there is no justification whatever for the whalers to continue."
The IWC - the intergovernmental forum in which global whaling policy is decided - met in a highly publicised meeting in Hammersmith in July. Especially concerned that their scientific committee could not rule out a decline in minke whale numbers in the southern hemisphere, the IWC passed a resolution stating that it "strongly urges the Government of Japan to halt the lethal takes of minke whales."
Despite being an IWC member, Japan has this week demonstrated its determination to ignore the resolution.
The IWC will next meet in May in Shiminoseki, the home port of the whaling fleet. There is a very genuine fear that Japan could have a majority of votes at the meeting following the Tokyo government's high-profile campaign to secure the support of states through the use of Overseas Development Aid - the so-called 'vote buying policy.'
Japan wants the IWC to allow the resumption of full-scale commercial whaling despite the fact that some species were hunted to the brink of extinction in the last century, before the IWC imposed a ban.
The Japanese Government claims it takes minke whales in the Antarctic for scientific research. But of an estimated 2000 metric tons of whale meat taken annually, only a few grams are used for science - the earplugs, sex organs and stomach parts.
Meanwhile, recent data suggest the minke population may be much lower than previously thought. Scientists working in the Antarctic have reported that schools of whales are smaller than usual, while the influential IWC Scientific Committee has said it cannot rule out a drastic decline of up to 50%.
Greenpeace whale campaigner Richard Page said: "This take of whales is about profit not science and is intended as the forerunner of a much larger hunt. It's wrong to think that because we've had a temporary ban on commercial whaling the whales are protected - they're not. Unless Governments like the UK confront Japan on vote buying, Tokyo will overturn the ban and full-scale whaling will resume."
Further information:
Contact:
Greenpeace UK press office on 020 7865 8255
Editor's Notes:
The spotlight is certain to fall on Japanese whaling as the world descends upon the region for next summer's World Cup. Although the event is being co-hosted with South Korea, this month's draw ensured the England team will play its games in Japan.
The international crew of the MV Arctic Sunrise includes nationals from Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Ireland, Japan, Sweden, Turkey, Tunisia, Netherlands, New Zealand, UK, and USA.
The Fisheries Institute of Japan claim they need earplugs to determine age, sex organs to examine reproduction rates, and stomachs to understand food consumption. In fact, none of this is necessary. For example, of the 5000 minke whales stomachs so far 'sampled' in the Antarctic, every one has contained krill and only krill, a fact that was known long before the 'research' began.
