Japanese Appetite For Whale Meat Dimishes

Fried whale meat at a restaurant in the Japanese capital, Tokyo. Photo courtesy: Yuriko Nakao/Reuters

Japan's failing appetite for whale meat left three-quarters of meat from whales caught in the north-west Pacific last summer unsold, according to a report.

Junko Sakuma, a freelance journalist, said the body responsible for selling meat from Japan's controversial "scientific" whaling programme had failed to sell 908 tonnes of the 1,211-tonne catch, despite holding 13 public auctions since last October.

The report, published on the website of the Tokyo-based Dolphin and Whale Action Network, said the Institute of Cetacean Research, a quasi-governmental body that oversees the hunts, had hoped to use sales from the meat to cover the costs of the whaling fleet's expeditions.

The failure of the auctions to pique consumer interest in meat from minke, Bryde's and sei whales has forced the institute to revert to private sales through Kyodo Senpaku, the for-profit firm that collects, processes and sells the meat on behalf of the institute.

Sakuma said the oversupply of whale meat, despite pockets of demand for the highest quality produce, had made Japan's lethal research programme unsustainable.

The Institute of Cetacean Research blamed low demand on the complicated auction procedure and reluctance among food suppliers to attract criticism from anti-whaling groups such as Sea Shepherd. I'm sure that even though he is in jail, Capt. Watson is rejoicing over this news.

"We could not achieve the results we had anticipated," an institute official told Kyodo.

Although the International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commercial whaling in 1986, Japan is allowed to conduct so-called "scientific" hunts in the north-west Pacific and the Antarctic. The IWC stipulates the meat must be processed and sold on the open market.

But campaigns to revive the tradition of eating whale meat – which was largely confined to a few coastal towns – have failed to capture the public's imagination.

A 2006 survey by the Nippon Research Centre found that 95% of Japanese people never or rarely eat whale meat. Consumption of whale meat rose after the second world war as it provided a much-needed source of protein.

Sakuma's report will come as another blow to Japan's beleaguered whaling industry.

Campaigners claimed a major victory when the Antarctic whaling fleet returned to port in March with just 30% of its planned catch of more than 900 whales. The fisheries agency blamed the poor catch on bad weather and "sabotage" by Sea Shepherd.

Late last year, it was revealed the government used 2.28bn yen (£18.5m) from the 11 March earthquake recovery fund, on top of its existing $6m (£3.87m) annual subsidy, to pay for the most recent Antarctic hunt.

The justification the fisheries agency gave for this atrocious mishandling of earthquake disaster funds is that it was a perfectly acceptable use of the money because one of the towns destroyed by the tsunami was a whaling port.

Who do you think you're kidding, Japan?

Whale and Dolphin Meat Contains Dangerous Levels Of Mercury

Slices of raw whale meat are served in restaurant on Japan's west coast. Dolphin meat is also considered a delicacy in the region. Photograph: Toru Hanai/Reuters

Japan has long been known for its whale hunts carried out under the thinly-veiled disguise of “scientific research”. Somehow the meat from these whales and dolphins captured in the name of science always seems to find its way to the thriving fish markets of Japan. Whale and dolphin meat is considered a delicacy in Japan and diners are prepared to pay premium prices for it.

Now, continued whale and dolphin eating will do more than cause a dent in your wallet. Continued indulgence will cause you to flirt with international condemnation; and, put your health at serious risk also.

Taiji is a whaling town on the Pacific coast of Japan where the inhabitants regularly eat the meat of Pilot whales – a member of the dolphin family. Two Japanese universities (Health Sciences University of Hokkaido and Daiichi University’s College of Pharmaceutical Studies) studied the residents only to find that they have mercury levels approximately 10 times the national average. The national average is somewhere between 2.15 ppm and 1.20 ppm.

In hair tests of the residents, three had quantities of mercury higher than 50 parts per million (ppm). Neurological problems are known to occur at this level. The three men whose mercury levels were so dangerously high said they ate pilot whale meat more than once a month.

Tetsuya Endo, a member of the research team, said the residents faced no immediate threats to their health; but, suggested they cut back on their dolphin and whale meat consumption, according to the Kyodo news agency.

Among those people who discontinued eating the meat for two months, many of them reduced their mercury levels by up to 50%. The body is capable of flushing mercury out of the system given enough time; but, the health risks are as yet not fully known.

Last year a study was undertaken on the levels of mercury in the dolphin meat served in the school lunches in the Taiji area. The Health Ministry’s accepted level for this 0.4 ppm; but, the results showed mercury levels 10 to 16 times higher than this.

Taiji is about 280 miles west of Tokyo and is gearing up for the annual dolphin cull. Local fisherman are expected to harvest (read: slaughter) approximately 2,000 of the estimated 20,000 dolphins that will be killed in the coastal waters off Japan between now and April.

For the dolphins, it’s a time of horror and death. Hunter bang on metal poles to drive pods of terrified and disorientated dolphins in secluded coves from which there is no escape. They are then speared and hacked to death. If they somehow manage to survive this nightmare, the traumatized survivors are sold to aquariums in Japan, Europe and the USA.

The international condemnation of the culls doesn’t seem to deter the people of Taiji, where coastal whaling is said to stretch back 400 years, from claiming the local economy would collapse if coastal whaling and dolphin hunting were banned.