Japan strives to defend whaling

Press, 24 June 1978, Page 9

Japan strives to defend whaling

NZPA London A Japanese delegation has < gone to great pains to * explain Japan's need to ’ continue their whaling in- ( dustry against a backdrop of j . increasing hostility from ■ conservationa lists. While the five-man Japanese delegation was talking to f the press, members of the. 1 Greenpeace Organisation t 1 were picketing the confer-: < ence hall. < The whaling argument is F gathering steam ahead of the annual meeting of the Inter- { national Whaling Commis- ' ! sion which will start in Lon- '<■ cion next Monday. One motion on-the agenda, which will be hotly con-( tested, is whether to place a moratorium on all comntercial whaling. The Japanese argue that a ■ moratorium would seriously i affect their food supply, in ■ which whale meat is a : prime source of protein, and greatly affect the livelihood iof Japanese workers in the! I whaling industry. ' The Japanese delegation; | also told reporters that ails ■ the whale species are now increasing in number after ( passing the danger point of extinction. This came about because of the I.W.C. quota , restriction placed on the world’s whaling fleets, ’hey said The Japan Whaling Association has suggested to its . Government that it start ‘ political dialogues with im- , portant member countries of , I the I.W.C. for a realistic so- ( . lution to the whaling question. Asked why Japan could not import other meat subi stitutes given its enormous I trade surplus, the delegation | said. “You can only import : what the people want. You I can’t force people to change! I their tastes.” The delegation said they ! agreed with LW.C. whaling quotas as long as they were; I backed by sound scientific; ■evidence, but would appeal! !if a moratorium were im-! posed on them. In a press release, Green- : ■ peace said: “The industry!' ! knows the whales are dis- ' i appearing, but that’s the I only way to make a profit. < ; “Whales breed far too;; ! slowly to provide a sustai-;. ! liable economic base,” they!: ; said, adding that Greenpeace! was particularly angry at: the “complete inaccuracy” of! the claim that Japan needed] I whale meat.