SERIOUS VIEW TAKEN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26792, 8 June 1948, Page 5

SERIOUS VIEW TAKEN

EXPANSION OF JAPANESE WHALING FLEET BRITISH INTERESTS PROTEST Rec. 11 p.m. LONDON, June 7. Representations to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries on the danger to British and Norwegian interests by the threatened expansion of the Japanese whaling industry and the possibility of a revival of German whaling are to be made by the Council of the Chamber of Shipping. At a meeting in London of the Whalers' Committee of the chamber it was stated that if the Japanese were allowed to expand and the Germans to revive their whaling fleets, the results must inevitably be a curtailment of operations of the whole of the whaling fleets of the world. Any materia] restrictions of operations in future seasons would have a serious effect on the results of British whaling fleets, on which a very great deal of capital lias been expended for rebuilding. It was added that a return to unrestricted killing of whales on the same scale as pre-war days, which had been the subject of strong representations by the dominion Governments, would be a serious matter. Reuter reported from Tokio on May 27 that General MacArthur’s headquarters had proposed that factory ships for the third Japanese post-war Antarctic whaling expedition be increased from two to three. The correspondent added that it was understood chat the move was strongly opposed by Britain, Norway, New Zealand and Australia. General MacArthur's headquarters refused to discuss the size of the third whaling expedition. “ Information is restricted ” was the only comment.