Institute of Cetacean Research
The Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR, Jap. 日本鯨類研究所 , Nihon geirui Kenkyujo , dt "Japanese Cetacean Research.") Is a Japanese non-profit organization in Tokyo, the scientific investigation and the industrial fishing which whales dedicated . It was founded in 1947 as the Geirui Kenkyūjo Foundation ( 鯨類 研究所 , English Whale Research Institute ), which in turn emerged from the Nakabe Kagaku Kenkyūjo ( 中部 科学 研究所 , English Nakabe Scientific Research Center ) founded in 1941 .
The institute obtained its data from commercial whaling in Japan until 1986 when the International Whaling Commission set all quotas for commercial whaling to zero and the Institute of Cetacean Research was then re-established. The institute took over the entire whaling fleet in the country and continues whaling; partly for scientific purposes to justify the commercial activities.
The ICR has chartered the whaling fleet from the company Kyōdō Sempaku KK ( 共同 船舶 株式会社 , dt.: "Ship Cooperation "), Japan's largest operator for whaling ships. After five large companies withdrew from their stake in the operator in April 2006, the ICR itself took over some of these stakes.
criticism
Anti-whaling opponents accuse the ICR that whaling for research purposes is only a circumvention of the catch quotas and that commercial whaling continues. One of the clues for this is the sale of whale meat to fish markets, which covers part of the ICR's expenses. This is countered by the fact that whale meat is only in low demand in Japan and therefore no profit can be made from whaling. It is estimated that the ICR needs around 10 million euros in subsidies from the Japanese government each year. In addition, the regulations of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) stipulate that the meat of whales caught for scientific purposes must be reused. Another clue of the opponents is the size of the fleet and its focus on meat processing, for example with factory ships like the Nisshin Maru .
The President of the Scientific Committee of the IWC, Arne Bjorge, said that the Japanese contribution to whale research should not be neglected either. Opponents of whaling criticize, however, that the ICR can provide few informative research results in quantitative terms and that these results are in an unequal relationship to the killing of thousands of whales. Twenty members of the IWC's scientific committee are also critical: "Only a few findings that are significant for the IWC can only be obtained through whaling, so that it seems impossible to justify the killing of animals on this basis."
The ICR replies to critics that the IWC's own interpretation of the moratorium is to temporarily suspend commercial whaling until more data on whales has been collected. According to Joji Morishita from the ICR, Japan is only fulfilling the mandate to advance whale research. The ICR also aims to ensure the continued existence of the whales. However, this position meets with a lack of understanding, as some of the species hunted, such as the fin whale , are critically endangered for various reasons. The whale populations are therefore unable to recover, which is the real background to the moratorium.
Web links
- Official website (Japanese, English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ P. Garrett, Australian Minister of the Environment and B. Debus, Australian Minister of the Interior: Whaling Announcement - Release of images from the Oceanic Viking , Interview Transcript (PDF) February 7, 2008. Accessed April 16, 2016.
- ↑ Australia has 'shocking' evidence of Japan's whaling ( Memento February 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive ). "The meat is then sold in supermarkets and restaurants." Retrieved June 25, 2010.
- ^ Norway, Japan prop up whaling industry with taxpayer money . Retrieved June 25, 2010.
- ↑ a b Whaling: The Japanese position . Retrieved June 25, 2010.
- ↑ Under the skin of whaling science . Retrieved June 25, 2010.
- ↑ Philipp J. Clapham, et al .: Whaling as Science . In: BioScience . 53, 2003, pp. 210-212.