Whale meat in Japan

[Mid]

as out of line as Sea Shepard are , the Japanese are not clean either ...........

Whale meat in Japan


Whale meat - a luxury food and not a staple ingredient.

Whale meat is a luxury food in Japan - and has been for several decades.

An opinion poll conducted in 1999 showed that only 11 percent of Japanese adults support whaling, with a similar number of 14 percent of Japanese adults opposing it.

More recent research, in the summer of 2006, showed that 95% of Japanese never or rarely eat whale meat and that 69% of Japanese do NOT support whaling in the Southern Ocean.

According to the Japanese Hamburger Association, Japanese people are 40 times more likely to eat hamburgers than they are to eat whale meat.

This is not just because of the influx of Ronald McDonald - the Washington Post reported in 2005 that "last year, the [whaling] industry put 20 percent of its 4000-ton haul into frozen surplus."

The whale meat surplus has led to desperate attempts to find new markets, including school lunches and dog food.

Nevertheless, in 2007 more than 4,000 tonnes of whale meat sat frozen, unsold, and unwanted in Japanese warehouses.

Research by the Japanese Bureau of Statistics suggests that the consumption of beef, pork and chicken was rising, and that of whale meat dropping, from as early as the mid-1960s.

The whale meat scandal

Whale meat's market position as a luxury food was recently demonstrated when activists from Greenpeace Japan uncovered evidence that choice cuts of whale meat were being smuggled ashore by the crew of the Japanese whaling factory ship, Nisshin Maru.

After being shipped in boxes disguised as personal effects to crew member's homes, the meat is said to be sold illegally, for massive personal profit, at the Japanese taxpayer's expense.

The story drew massive media coverage in Japan, and the ire of many Japanese people, incensed at the corruption at the heart of the whaling industry.

The box of meat intercepted by the activists contained 23.5kg of meat, with a potential value of up to USD$3000.

Some crew members were said to be receiving as many as 20 of these boxes.

greenpeace.org

[Norton]

the ire of many Japanese people

When this ire translates into political pressure on government to make laws stopping Japanese whalers and ban the sale of whale meat, then it will stop.

Same thing goes for clubbing baby seals in Canada, hunting foxes in England, whaling in Norway, or any other unjustified slaughter.

If the Sea Shepard organization is truly interested in the elimination of whaling, then use the money they are spending on buying ships to harass whalers to bring about laws in Japan which effectively eliminate the practice. Many seem to believe they are on a "justified" cruade to save the whales but IMO, they are simply no better than pirates.

[Mid]

as stated in the first line of the OP , Sea Shepard are out of line

however I'm hoping that they will not derail this thread ?

[Norton]

as stated in the first line of the OP , Sea Shepard are out of line

Noted. Just reinforcing your opinion.

[Mid]

what is of interest is why are the minority of pro whalers in Japan doing everything to prolong an outdated practice ?

[Norton]

why are the minority of pro whalers in Japan doing everything to prolong an outdated practice ?

23.5kg of meat, with a potential value of up to USD$3000. Pretty much sums it up. Of course pro whalers will never admit this but will claim "Japanese tradition" or some othe rot.

[Mid]

doubt those sums go anywhere near the cost of running the show , and note that in '07 4000 tons sat unsold in a warehouse .

[Wayne Kerr]

1 * Southern Bluefin Tuna (100kg+, sashimi grade fish) sold in Japan this week for close to $200,000. Was hailed in the media as a record breaker, it wasn't, and fish are often sold for more. Choice whale cuts bring in 10 fold profits. The box of meat the activists "intercepted" would normally be used in soup for ya average Joe trying to impress his bird.

Whale populations on the east coast of Aus are growing at 10% per year following the moratorium, was only a few years back it was estimated that about 8,000 migrate past Cape Byron each year, this year it was 13,500. I went for an early swim recently back in late October and had about 50 humpbacks only 100m off the beach. Awesome stuff which I'd never seen despite a life doing the same. Wayne Jnr was with me and was so stoked he missed school. His mother was equally as excited and sat on the beach for hours with a pair of binocs.

Was thinking at that time whilst they bring us such joy, I'm sure there will come a time we have to think about harvesting them again. Many fishermen and coastal shipping orgs in Aus are complaining there are too many, navigational hazards. Some are blaming the increase in big sharks (and attacks on swimmers) on a rapid, unexpected increase in whale calves migrating back down the coast each spring.

Sea shephard is about as useful as a fart in a picnic basket. I reckon the Aus government will be looking at an agreement with Japan on the sustainable use of whales within the next 10 years.

[Mid]

I reckon the Aus government will be looking at an agreement with Japan on the sustainable use of whales within the next 10 years.

if current info is correct there is not the demand .

[Norton]

doubt those sums go anywhere near the cost of running the show

Probably right. If so then the whalers are getting subsidized by well to do "traditionalists". Doubt they would continue if the costs of operations was losing them big bucks.

[Mid]

then the whalers are getting subsidized

indeed , so it looks more about the dreaded face than any solid reason .

found this :

I hate whale meat, Japan's PM confides : I hate whale meat, Japan's Prime Minister confides on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

found this also :

“Precisely because whaling attracts so much worldwide attention, Japan can’t afford to lose,” said Mr. Sato, who supports whaling.

Tetsu Sato, a professor of environmental science at Nagano University

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/wo...14whaling.html

[Wayne Kerr]

if current info is correct there is not the demand .

Yes I may be too optimistic, someone once told me to apply the Pi rule to anything political, i.e., it will take 3.14159 longer than you first think. Certainly I think if whale populations remain off limits to fishing, Australia will be looking to create "demand" for whale meat within 30 years (not 10).

[Rural Surin]

doubt those sums go anywhere near the cost of running the show

Probably right. If so then the whalers are getting subsidized by well to do "traditionalists". Doubt they would continue if the costs of operations was losing them big bucks.

.....as is 'saving the world', Norty. Nothing but a racket.

[Norton]

so it looks more about the dreaded face than any solid reason

The Japanese are extremely nationalist so wouldn't surprise me. Could be a case of "no one is going to tell us what we can and cannot do". Which leads us back to my original contention. When the majority of Japanese citizens make it politically uncomfortable for the government to maintain a nationalist position, the whaling will stop.

I remember the furor over Japanese rice vs imported rice. Up until 1993, Japan had a ban on imported rice. It was lifted only after the Japanese public who were paying far to high a price for Japanese rice pushed the government to lift the ban.

[Mid]

apply the Pi rule

not heard that one before , like it

from the quick search I've been doing , it looks more and more about face than any sensible argument .

an emerging theme is that it's one area where the Japanese can thumb their noses at the Americans with impunity .