Although support for whaling is still strong in Japan according to a recent telephone survey conducted by Asahi Shimbun, the younger generation is not as enthusiastic.
"Consumption of whale meat has decreased to 30 grams (one ounce) per person -- equivalent to a slice of sashimi -- compared with 2.5 kilograms (five and a half pounds) in the early 1980s."
This domestic consumption had in fact been dropping well before the 1980s and the introduction of the international ban on commercial whaling.
Among Japanese restauranters the enthusiasm for whale meals has been tempered by the fact that whale meat has not been available to ordinary people for a long time and many have not tasted whale meat.
It has been reported that Japan's whale meat industry generated the equivalent of around AUS $74 million annually by 2006.
Either this is making for incredibly expensive meals that only the rich can afford or whale meat and by-product are being used by industry for other purposes - pet food perhaps?
Might be time for those with companion animals to contact Australian pet food companies and seek assurances that they are not buying generic seafood product from Japan to include in local cat and dog food.
1 comment:
Nice article.
Whaling in Japan is governed under 3 main bodies.
The Japan Fisheries Agency
"Deliver Marine Products to your table every day"
The Institute of Cetacean Research
The Japan Whaling Association
Japan has authority to whale in the Antarctic as long as the whales are only taken for scientific purposes. However, if the whale meat was found to be used for commercial purposes it would violate the rules of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endagered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) which only allows the Nisshin Maru to transport the meat back from the Antarctic for research.
Therefore, it would pay to track the path of the whale meat once it arrived back in Japan. I am sure you would find it would be sold for commercial purposes:
The average size of a minke whale is 16,000 lb. The market price is around $70/lb. So, for just one whale you would make = $1,120,000 Correct me if I am wrong but they are projecting a kill of 850 whales. That's 952 million dollars going into the hands of the men behind the 3 agencies that govern the kill.
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