Australia threatens Japan over whaling program

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Australia's prime minister on Friday set a November deadline for Japan to stop its research whaling program that kills hundreds of whales a year in Antarctic waters, or else face legal action.

Australia, a staunch anti-whaling nation, has long threatened international legal action. Two years ago, it sent a ship to Antarctic waters to follow the Japanese whaling fleet and collect videos and photographs it said might be used as evidence in an international forum.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Australia would prefer to use diplomatic means to persuade Japan to end its hunt.

"If that fails, then we will initiate court action before the commencement of the whaling season in November 2010," he told the Seven Network. "That's the bottom line and we're very clear to the Japanese, that's what we intend to do."

Japan hunts hundreds of mostly minke whales — which are not an endangered species — in Antarctic waters each year under its whaling research program, an allowed exception to the International Whaling Commission's 1986 ban on commercial whaling. Whale meat not used for study is sold for consumption in Japan, which critics say is the real reason for the hunts.

Rudd's threat came on the eve of a visit to Australia by Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada. Whaling is expected to be a key topic of conversation when Okada meets with Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith this weekend.

Australia has said it could argue that Japan's whaling is illegal before the International Court of Justice at The Hague or the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Germany.

The whaling is conducted in international waters, but usually within the huge patch of ocean that is designated Australia's maritime rescue zone and that Canberra considers a whale sanctuary.

Don Rothwell, a professor of international law at the Australian National University, was commissioned by the International Fund for Animal Welfare in 2005 to explore Australia's legal options in its fight to end whaling. His report was later presented to both the Australian and New Zealand governments.

Rothwell said Australia could request the courts grant an immediate injunction requiring Japan to stop whaling. Either court would almost certainly grant the injunction, which would remain in place until the case was resolved, he said.

On Wednesday, a group of conservationists clashed with Japanese whalers in the Antarctic Ocean, the most recent in a string of increasingly aggressive confrontations between U.S.-based activist group Sea Shepherd and the whaling fleet.

Sea Shepherd activists threw bottles of butyric acid at Japanese whalers and blasted their ship with paint, while the Japanese returned fire with water cannons. No one was injured, but Japan condemned the conservationists' actions as dangerous and violent. Sea Shepherd officials said they are simply doing what is necessary to protect whales.

Earlier this month, Japan claimed three crew members on one of its whaling vessels suffered face and eye injuries from an acid attack.

On Monday, Sea Shepherd activist Peter Bethune jumped aboard the Shonan Maru 2 from a Jet Ski with the stated goal of making a citizen's arrest of the ship's captain and presenting him with a $3 million bill for the destruction of the Ady Gil.

He was taken into custody by the whalers and will face charges in Japan of trespassing and assault.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said officials had spoken with Bethune by telephone on Thursday and were assured he was being treated properly. Bethune indicated he was happy to remain on board the Shonan Maru II and return to Japan with the vessel, McCully said.

On Feb. 6, Sea Shepherd's ship the Bob Barker and a Japanese harpoon boat collided, causing minor damage to both vessels. And in January, a Japanese whaler struck Sea Shepherd's high-tech speedboat Ady Gil, which sank a day later. No one was seriously injured in those incidents.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35454511/ns/te...cience-science/

[Pooky 3,784]

Gooooooooooo Australia!

[scandal 951]

I like whales. They are large. They are mammals. Japanese are mammals too, only smaller.

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

I like whales. They are large. They are mammals. Japanese are mammals too, only smaller.

I knew you wuz a chubby chaser.

[William33 110]

Japan hunts hundreds of mostly minke whales — which are not an endangered species — in Antarctic waters each year under its whaling research program, an allowed exception to the International Whaling Commission's 1986 ban on commercial whaling. Whale meat not used for study is sold for consumption in Japan, which critics say is the real reason for the hunts.

If the Japanese people want to eat whale, so be it.... There is no crime here and the Japanese, like all Asians, utilize everything.....

Think about other over fished products by other countries, such as:

Shrimp

Cod

Haddock

Flounder

Scallops

Question: Why is it that most shrimp available on the market today is farm raised?

Answer: Supply cannot meet demand....

Farm raised is a solution that creates jobs and feeds the growing masses.

On the other side of the coin, I seriously condemn Shark Fin harvesting... This ridiculous practice is marginally justified for "health benefits" and other "spiritual" reasons and is no excuse for that cruelty. If you are going to eat meat, you should utilize almost everything to justify the kill. Just a thought....

Edited February 20, 2010 by William33

[alienlovechild 75]

Rudd's threat came on the eve of a visit to Australia by Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada. Whaling is expected to be a key topic of conversation when Okada meets with Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith this weekend.

Australia has said it could argue that Japan's whaling is illegal before the International Court of Justice at The Hague or the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Germany.

The whaling is conducted in international waters, but usually within the huge patch of ocean that is designated Australia's maritime rescue zone and that Canberra considers a whale sanctuary.

Rothwell said Australia could request the courts grant an immediate injunction requiring Japan to stop whaling. Either court would almost certainly grant the injunction, which would remain in place until the case was resolved, he said.

Has anything ever stopped Japan from whale hunting? Maybe WWII but how long will an injunction last?

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

If the Japanese people want to eat whale, so be it.... There is no crime here and the Japanese, like all Asians, utilize everything.....

Think about other over fished products by other countries, such as:

Shrimp

Cod

Haddock

Flounder

Scallops

Question: Why is it that most shrimp available on the market today is farm raised?

Answer: Supply cannot meet demand....

Farm raised is a solution that creates jobs and feeds the growing masses.

On the other side of the coin, I seriously condemn Shark Fin harvesting... This ridiculous practice is marginally justified for "health benefits" and other "spiritual" reasons and is no excuse for that cruelty. If you are going to eat meat, you should utilize almost everything to justify the kill. Just a thought....

Not true. Economic factors. Give me Louisiana wild shrimp over farm raised ####### any day, I'm willing to pay more.

[Ali G. 37]

If the Japanese people want to eat whale, so be it.... There is no crime here and the Japanese, like all Asians, utilize everything.....

Farm raised is a solution that creates jobs and feeds the growing masses.

Targeting whales is just wrong.

I remember seeing a documentary on farm raised fish in Thailand and have not eaten shrimp from there since. They waters were grossly polluted and they would even collect the dead fish, to be sold to western markets.

Not true. Economic factors. Give me Louisiana wild shrimp over farm raised ####### any day, I'm willing to pay more.

Damn straight.

[William33 110]

Not true. Economic factors. Give me Louisiana wild shrimp over farm raised ####### any day, I'm willing to pay more.

What's not true?

Of course I would prefer and do purchase "wild caught" over farm raised. I am speaking about the "masses"

Targeting whales is just wrong.

Why? If people eat whale like beef, chicken, lamb or lobster, what is the difference?

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

What's not true?

Of course I would prefer and do purchase "wild caught" over farm raised. I am speaking about the "masses"

You didn't mention the masses in your orginal post vis-a-vis shrimp but the masses don't know the difference. They only know about cost, i.e. economic factors. Fish farms may create jobs but at what cost to the gene pool, environment, etc. Feeding the growing masses? The vast majority of that stuff is exported.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Targeting whales is just wrong.

:thumbs:

[William33 110]

You didn't mention the masses in your orginal post vis-a-vis shrimp but the masses don't know the difference. They only know about cost, i.e. economic factors. Fish farms may create jobs but at what cost to the gene pool, environment, etc. Feeding the growing masses? The vast majority of that stuff is exported.

Farm raised is a solution that creates jobs and feeds the growing masses.

5, you may have missed it, but it was there....

The gene pool of shrimp? Seriously?

The vast majority of farm raised seafood is actually imported to the USA, Canada and Europe.....

No arguments here, simply pointing out the facts as they are....

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

Why? If people eat whale like beef, chicken, lamb or lobster, what is the difference?

Those are all domesticated or farm raised. Whales aren't the same thing.

[William33 110]

Those are all domesticated or farm raised. Whales aren't the same thing.

Agreed, but nothing was domesticated prior to the world population exceeding 6 Billion people..... Something had to change....

I don't agree with it, but I understand the reasons for it.

Farming/harvesting anything for sustenance is OK if properly utilised.

Edited February 20, 2010 by William33

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

Farm raised is a solution that creates jobs and feeds the growing masses.

5, you may have missed it, but it was there....

The gene pool of shrimp? Seriously?

The vast majority of farm raised seafood is actually imported to the USA, Canada and Europe.....

No arguments here, simply pointing out the facts as they are....

Hell, yes. One nasty virus or fungus in a fish farm can easily destroy the wild stock of whatever, even shrimp. The strongest shall survive but not if they are all the same, then we have extinction.

Farm raised seafood in the US and Canada is usually high priced items like Atlantic Salmon. The rest of the seafood is imported shrimp and whatnot. People in Thailand, for example, aren't consuming much of the farm raised product. So we are talking about slightly different interpretation of which growing mass we are discussing.