Slashdot Mirror
Japan Defends Scientific Value of New Plan To Kill 333 Minke Whales (sciencemag.org)
sciencehabit writes with news that Japan plans on killing 333 minke whales this year as part of their whale research program in the Antarctic Ocean. "We did our best to try to meet the criteria established by the ICJ and we have decided to implement our research plan because we are confident we have completed our scientific homework," Joji Morishita, the nation's representative to the International Whaling Commission said. Science reports: "Japan has resumed its controversial lethal research whaling because it wants to determine how many minke whales can be harvested sustainably while studying the environment, Joji Morishita, the nation's representative to the International Whaling Commission (IWC), told a press conference today. 'We'd like to find out how the marine ecosystem of the Antarctic Ocean is actually shifting or changing and not just look at whales but [also at] krill and the oceanographic situation,' Morishita said.
Japan's whaling fleet last week departed for the southern seas for the first time since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered the nation to halt its research whaling in March 2014. The court ruled that Japan's JARPA II program, which sought to take some 850 minke whales, 50 fin whales, and 50 humpback whales, was not for the purposes of scientific research as stipulated in the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. The convention allows countries to kill whales for research."
Japan's whaling fleet last week departed for the southern seas for the first time since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered the nation to halt its research whaling in March 2014. The court ruled that Japan's JARPA II program, which sought to take some 850 minke whales, 50 fin whales, and 50 humpback whales, was not for the purposes of scientific research as stipulated in the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. The convention allows countries to kill whales for research."
Would any of these whales killed for "scientific" purposes happen to end up on the dinner plates of Japanese restaurant-goers?
I thought we were done with this shit. No one in the world believes Japan actually cares about the research and their "research program" has been debunked by the ICJ the one time it did come under scrutiny.
Heck even Terry Prachett made a joke about it in the discworld series:
"The Kappamaki, a whaling research ship, was currently researching the question: How many whales can you catch in one week?"
"it wants to determine how many minke whales can be harvested sustainably"
It's just happens that their test method is "kill them until it is no longer sustainable"
that you can't harvest 333 minke whales sustainable than it is too late... "Japan has resumed its controversial lethal research whaling because it wants to determine how many minke whales can be harvested sustainably while studying the environment"
I tried Whale when I was in Iceland. You know what? Its really yummy. You should try it!
mostly kids... part of our advancement? truth + mercy = justice .. in the moms we trust...
Looks like meat's back on the menu boys!
Save the whales - eat a nip today!
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
They could at least wait until Fukushima stops leaking radioactive waste (which has now reached North America) before sending boats to kill more whales.
lucm, indeed.
One wonders if one would get the go ahead to perform the same experiment substituting "Japanese Whale Scientist" for "Mink Whale"... how many would we need to cull in order to put an end to such ridiculous idea and an end to hunting and killing these amazing animals?
And, unlike them, the fruits of our hunting won't make it onto any dinner plates...
I don't see why Japan is allowing this. Whales are an endangered species in Japan.
They should try this in the US, where whales are everywhere.
Minke Whale is still a misnomer based on the japanese "Minkku Kujira" chosen by conservationists because it sounds cuter than the correct "Lesser Rorqual".
When did the wrong name become right?
If it were truly for scientific purposes, they should discard the carcasses back into the ocean after research is done, and ban the meat from reaching dinner plates.
This should stop any activities falsely done in the name of science, as there is no longer an incentive to hunt the animals for food.
> Would any of these whales killed for "scientific" purposes happen to end up on the dinner plates of Japanese restaurant-goers?
Yes. One of the largest users is the Pierrot fast-food chain in Hokkaido. In fact, Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan is their evil spirit when it comes to whaling, as they are the most fanatical supporters of the carnage and they consume most of the giant sea mammal meat.
I would recommend the general public to target Hokkaido for effective boycott. One big bulls-eye is Hatsune Miku, the holografic jpop star. She is run by Crypton Future Media, a Sapporo, Hokkaido based company (which is effectively a front for Yamaha Music Corp.) In May 2016, Miku is to tour across North America (USA, CAN, MX) and people could urge venues like the Microsoft-Nokia Theatre to revoce her concert allocations over the whaling outrage.
(Note: Miku is really big for Hokkaido, about 1.2bn USD/year, but her PR value is magnitudes greater. In recent years she has effectively taken over the famous Sapporo Snow and Ice Festival, everywhere is placarded with "Snow Miku" and even streetcars are painted teal in her homage, it has become an outright commie personality cult for a piece of synthesizer software with a manga girl on the boxart... Her Project Diva / Mirai rythm games, to a large degree keep the PS Vita and Nintendo console markets alive. An international boycott of Miku could hurt the government's "Cool Japan" cultural export initiative very painfully, this is not a joke.)
Another, more carpet bombing style counter-action could be to boycott and mock of the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. Should harpooning become a demonstration sport? Sumo wrestling in man vs dolphin setup?
Who gives a flying fuck. Minke whales are common as muck and not threatened in any way by this.
Why don't you all shed a hypocritical tear for the millions of pigs we kill every year while you're at it.
Won't happen. Holographic pop stars are only popular outside of Japan with obese pedophile geeks, and they won't boycott if their mothers' lives were on the line.
How would atom bombs teach about whaling?
The nastiest thing is that whales live amazingly long (if not hunted...) Finds of black-powder propelled 1880's era harpoon fragments in recently deceased whales and analysing the aspartic acid level decay in their eyeballs has convinced scientists that whales can live until 185 to 211 years old. In other words, a matsuselah whale today may have been a calf witnessing the naval Battle of Trafalgar or the inaugural journey of Fulton's steamship, in first person!
People no longer find it acceptable to turn 200-year old giant turtles into soup and hopefully the same criterion will now be applied to whales!
Please correct me if I am wrong but whale populations in the world have been recovering. And multiple species are less than a decade away from not being endangered any more. So the opposition to whaling is from people who don't want to kill whales per se. I am not arguing for premature killing of whales that leads to extinction and I know that has been as issue in the past. But that problem for most areas is going away. And it really only remains a big problem in Oceania. But if you eat meat and your culture eats whales why not eat them? I know that many people here don't eat meat and that is increasing in the Bay Area but consider that not everyone lives in that cultural bubble.
And using whale products for other purposes such as for their skins and oil is much better for the environment than making synthetic products from crude oil. Generally animal products produce fewer allergies and have fewer carcinogens than synthetic materials.
So isn't all the griping here just a matter of people who never want sustainable whaling to resume. But they don't have that right. If they don't want to eat whales or use their skins - that's fine - but they don't have the right to ram down their viewpoints down everyone else's throats, particularly other countries. It reminds me of abortion - if you don't like it, then don't have one but leave other people alone.
http://www.marriedtothesea.com...
You're telling me in a world where humans bomb and murder one another, where entire nations lie in ruin at the hands of criminal cabals, and where all of this is endlessly apologised and even lauded by the very same who condemn this, that the Japanese shouldn't do this? Why? Because they didn't pay enough media protection money, or because "The West" suddenly has standards?
Spare me. And go visit a slaughterhouse before bitching at the Koreans over their dogs too.
Which intends to answer the question, are whales delicious? Note this year's quota is one-third of its previous quota, and closer to the real quantity caught under aggressive, Australian-funded eco-terrorism. Using 333 whales to feed an entire country shows what a novelty whale meat is in Japan.
So Japan can create a new research program and the legal wrangling starts again. Or Japan can cancel its commercial whaling moratorium.
They might consider it if they notice that after a few days, Mom has stopped bring food down to the basement.
Of course, they won't notice the smell; it's been weeks since they last used the Shower...
I think so...
He said slirpingly...It would be a shame to waste the flesh!
No one owns the Earth either
Does that mean we can continue to trash this planet?
Slashdot users are known for watching anime. By watching anime you are funding whale hunting. Watch American shows instead.
U.S. Department of Transportation continues the practice of capturing motor vehicles on I94 and I75 in Michigan. The 2016 quota have been negotiated to be 850 Fiestas, 50 Transits and 50 Corvettes.The department states that "it's necessary to maintain a high standard of scientific research on interstate transportation safety". USDOT secretary Anthony Foxx adds "We are acting in a environmentally responsible manner; all vehicles are duely recycled. No animals come to harm during these operations, and the contribution to the yearly US road fatalities is less then 3%".
I know you Americans are gun crazy and gung ho but I also believed that you weren't crazy enough to use nukes as a whaling deterrent.
Fail. There is no 'v' in Japanese. Had you written 'belly' or 'welly' it would have been semi-accurate. Regardless, fuck you.
One wrong (or many) does not make another wrong right.
"I need to say that they never betrays anything"
A bias indicator if I have ever seen one.
Hahaha, oh Japan, you are funny.
It's undeniable that whales sing much better than Hatsune Miku.
"This has nothing to do with one wrong / many worngs"
..."
This has everything to do with it and how you put forward your argument defending Japan in this "scientific research" hypocrisy scheme. I am not condoning any country breaking international law, and in the case of Japan, every indication is that they are getting away with it as well, so no "DOUBLE STANDARD" here.
"Just because the Japs ain't 'whites'
No one is mentioning skin color except you so that should tell you something.
If whale populations have recovered to the point where they can support commercial whaling again then fine but in that case there should be quotas, just like there are for fish, and all nations which want to whale should be allowed to within the scientifically established quotas. Lying about "research" as a way to avoid all of this is not acceptable. At a minimum the rule should be that any whales killed for scientific reasons are destroyed afterwards and no part of them may be consumed to avoid extremely dishonest requests like Japan's.
In that case the correct actions are to present the research about how many whales can be harvested sustainably (this must meet international peer review standards, not just some national government review) to the IWC. Then request that whaling be allowed within these quotas. If they cannot come back with sensible, scientifically supported reasons as to why this is not sensible then you threaten to leave and, if ignored, you do leave (citing the unscientific, irrationality) and then limit yourself to the scientifically established limits.
That's the honourable way to behave. The dishonest, dishonourable way is to openly flout the international treat you signed by lying about the need to kill whales for research.
The field where humans really excel over other species, the field that really allowed us to take off, is communication...
We want to kill these whales so we can study how many whales we can kill.
If killing 333 whales doesn't cause population problems, we'll kill 366 next year to see what happens.
So I know little about whales, which whales there are a lot of and which aren't, and I'm not going to state any opinion on if they should be hunted or not.
However, I've been on whale spotting trips where we saw Minke whales which the spotters said were very rare to see (next to the Humpbacks that are apparently endangered but seem to be as common as any other fish). At the same time, I've been to several restaurants in Scandinavia that have Minke whale (specifically) on the menu.
Considering that, how much sense does it make to be angry at Japan here, while these animals are hunted and served in Europe as well, perhaps even in larger numbers?
How to sink Japanese whaling ships.
Just for science. Honest.
How come when the Americans, the Brits, the French, and the rest of Western countries violate the 'international laws' it's okay, but when the Japs go for a hunting trip, it's not okay?
Because when they do it, it's terrorism and when we do it, it's counter terrorism. Think of it this way, if you are walking down the street and think 'hey, that guy is thinking of harming me', it's totally acceptable to beat the living crap out of him and his family because you think he might hurt you. If he does the same thing you are perfectly entitled to beat the living crap out of him.
Got that!.
Incidentally the leading cause of whale deaths in the environment is scientific research.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
One wrong (or many) does not make another wrong right.
True, but since when was the breaking of an "international law" by a nation even remotely a wrongdoing?
Is a nation, not being a human itself, even capable of right and wrong? How would you even define this?
Is that the same as the scientific value of testing the a-bomb on them?
Yes, I know that's over the top, but just as logical.
Just another day in Paradise
There is no `b' or `w' in Japanese. Nor is there an `e' or an `l' or a `y'. Please try to learn the language, or at least the difference between a poor transliteration and the language, before you make further comments on this subject. Thank you.
Then I defend the scientific value of sinking some Japanese Whaling ships. For science of course.
"I don't which is worse, that everyone has a price, or that the price is always so low"--Hobbes
Because they aint a permanent 5 on the UN.
This is one time where I hope GreenPeace is as crazy as South Park presents them. Does anyone remember the movie "Day of the Dolphin" ?
How about training Minke Whales to attach explosive devices to the hull of Japanese Whaling ships ? That would be the ultimate payback.
Yummy, minke whale blubber!
If we just stopped buying their cars and other products.
Obligatory.
1. Minke whales are not endangered.
2. Where is the outrage against Norway, Russia and Iceland? None.
3. Australia and New Zealand are the most vocal about Japan, but where is the outrage against the largest slaughter of land-based animals on the planet, the million+ kangaroos hunted every year?
4. Where is the outrage against the slaughter of cows, pigs and chickens every day for breakfast lunch and dinner. Pigs are smarter than whales and most Aussies and Kiwis.
International law exists only the treaties an individual country agrees to follow. Remind me where America signed away their right to militarily interveen in other countries as they see fit.
Japan signed away their right to hunt whales. So they are in violation of international law until they stop hunting whales, or choose to exit this specific agreement.
Fuck japan and the amerikan it road in on.
This should have been one of the things addressed in WWII
Just send few B-52s their way until they stop killing whales and Dolphins.
Are minke whales still tasty?
Seems a perfectly reasonable research project.
"Now, friends, we should probably reel the whale in, the experiment is over. sushi time!"
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
Culinary science?
https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
F U CHICKEN AND COWWWWW!!!
> Fail. There is no 'v' in Japanese.
1) The post you're replying to is not, apparently, in Japanese.
2) Some Japanese people can learn sounds from other languages.
Fail yourself with knobs on, monkey shoes.
I propose we imprison every politician that doesn't hold up their campaign promises so we can study the effects of incarceration on complex political constructs. Rei raised the best point of all the threads. Minke whales are not endangered so unless we start an outcry over hunting dear or wild boar I don't think this is a big deal.
Sadly I think they are only researching the taste.
please go back to the third grade and learn the difference between its and it's.