The Japanese whaling fleet left port this morning to kill almost 1,000 whales, including endangered fin whales.
The fleet is heading towards the Southern Ocean, flouting an international ban on commercial whaling. Earlier this year, Japan announced its intention to more than double its cull of minke whales to 935 and to increase its programme further by killing 70 fin and 50 humpback whales - both of which are endangered - within the next three years.
Japan vows to fight for resumption of commercial whaling
On the last day of the 2005 International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting, Greenpeace sounded the alarm over the future of the world's whales. Despite the pro-whaling countries failing to win key votes to increase whaling at this years meeting, the Japanese Government has announced it will press ahead and double its hunt in Antarctic waters. This coming December, they plan to hunt nearly a thousand whales, including the endangered fin whale in so-called 'scientific' whaling.
This year the International Whaling Commission (IWC) is meeting in South Korea. South Korea has a history of whaling and its waters are an important habitat for the Korean Gray Whale, one of the most critically endangered whale populations in the world.
Greenpeace is concerned that as human activities continue to degrade the world's oceans, species and populations of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are under increasing threat.
With dramatic timing a planned whale and dolphin meat processing factory due to be built in the host city of this years International Whaling Commission (IWC) has been shelved. The decision, reported in the South Korean publication The Hankyoreh comes just days before this years IWC negotiations on conserving whale stocks begins.
Secret plans by the South Korean Government to build a whale and dolphin meat processing factory, despite an international ban on whaling, have been exposed today (7 April) by Greenpeace.
The factory is planned to be built in the very city that will host this year's meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the body set up to halt the loss of whale populations. Historically known as the 'City of Whales', the south-east port of Ulsan will host the IWC meeting in June.
Japan's 'research' whaling fleet set sail to the Antarctic on 13/11/04 to kill more whales in the name of 'science'. 2004 will be the 18th year of Japanese whale hunting, thinly disguised as 'scientific research'. In that time over 6,000 Antarctic Minke whales have been killed.
It has been claimed that the research is for the International Whaling Committee (IWC) but the IWC has said they do not need the data and has repeatedly asked that the programme be stopped. The waters surrounding the Antarctic were made into a whale sanctuary in 1994.
