Japanese businesses hopeful appetite for whale meat recovers

MONDAY marked the resumption of Japan’s commercial whaling after a 31-year hiatus. It was a moment that people in the whaling industry had long been anticipating. However, it remains unclear whether the currently sluggish market for whale meat will improve, and a backlash from anti-whaling countries is likely.

With the resumption of whaling, Japanese vessels are now free to catch whales of certain species in numbers that do not exceed government-set catch limits.

Japanese vessels conducting research whaling had to nav igate in waters where there were no whales and could not choose the size of the whales they caught. Therefore, the annual production volume of whale meat that reached the market as a by-product of research whaling fluctuated bet ween 2,000 tonnes and 5,000 tonnes over the last 10 years. Fuel and ot her costs had a lso been increasing.

The whaling industry expects production will increase.

“From now on, we’re aiming to catch large whales in a short period of time,” said a crew member of the Nisshin Maru, the mothership of a whaling fleet t hat set out for whaling grounds from Yamaguchi prefecture’s Shimonoseki cit y.

Joji Morishita, a professor

of internationa l marine policy at Tok yo Universit y of Marine Science and Technolog y, said: “Production costs are expected to decrease, which will help streamline operations.”

If the amount of whale meat on the market increases, the price could decrease to the point that whale meat hits supermarket shelves and sees a resurgence in popularity.

However, several challenges must be overcome.

For instance, though t he government compiled a budget for research whaling that included an annual subsidy of about five billion yen ($46.5 million), no nationa l subsidies will be prov ided for commercial whaling. A sound business model is needed to secure profitabilit y.

In recent years, annual whale meat consumption in Japan has been around 3,000 tonnes, about oneeightieth of the more than 230,000 tonnes consumed in the peak year of fiscal 1962. While people in the younger generation who have never eaten whale meat are increasing, a resurgence in whale meat consumption is far from a sure thing.

“There’s no point if demand doesn’t increase along with supply. It’s necessary to boost demand for whale meat,” said Fisheries Agency counsellor Hideki Moronuki.

Japan Small-Type Whaling Association head Yoshifumi Kai said: “I’m concerned about the future because I don’t know how much whale meat will be sold and what the costs will be.”

In the first year, six commercial whaling businesses will jointly operate vessels and share the sales.

Backlash likely to continue

Anti-whaling countries may also continue their opposition after Japan resumes commercial whaling.

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, known as the “marine constitution”, stipulates that state parties to the international accord shall “work through appropriate international organisations” to conduct whaling activities. Japan does not belong to an international whaling organisation after withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

Japan insists that resuming commercial whaling does not v iolate t he convention because it will remain involved in the IWC as an “obser ver” through conducting v isua l research i n the Antarctic Ocean and prov iding scientific data.

However, there is a risk that antiwhaling countries could file suit in international court, claiming that Japan’s activities as an IWC observer do not constitute “working through appropriate international organisations”.

According to the Fisheries Agency, the quotas it announced on Monday are intended to ensure there is no negative impact on the whale population “even if whaling were to continue for 100 years”.

“Japan will conduct appropriate resource management grounded in science,” a Foreign Ministry official said.

It is necessary for Japan to notify other countries about how it conducts whaling to obtain their understanding.