Japan’s whale killing ruled illegal

TOKYO - Japan’s whaling operations have suffered a big setback after the “scientific” hunt for sei whales in the Northern Pacific was effectively declared illegal by an international body that regulates trade in endangered species.

The Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) found Tuesday that Japan had broken the rules by selling thousands of tons of meat from endangered sei whales commercially.

Sei whales are the ninth-largest living animal on the planet, usually growing to between 45 and 60 feet in length and weighing 20 tons. They also are among the fastest whales, possessing the ability to swim up to 35 mph. They are found in almost every ocean and sea in the world but were hunted almost to extinction in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Japan has killed more than 1,500 sei whales in 16 years, supposedly in the name of scientific research. It then sells the meat openly in the country, saying it uses the proceeds to fund further research, even though the International Whaling Commission agreed to a global moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982.

But the CITES Standing Committee overwhelmingly ruled that Japan had broken its rules by taking the whale meat from international waters, effectively constituting illegal trade across international boundaries.

Japan has until Feb. 1, 2019, to remedy its noncompliance and report back to CITES.

“This means Japan must close its domestic market for sei whale meat, which is currently widely available in grocery stores, restaurants and the Internet,” Lyman said.