David @ Tokyo
Perspective from Japan on whaling and whale meat, a spot of gourmet news, and monthly updates of whale meat stockpile statistics10/30/2009
South Park mocks Paul Watson
South Park always was my favourite TV show...
I've never seen an episode of Whale Wars but South Park's makers have made Paul Watson's reality TV show the butt of the joke in episode 11 of South Park's 13th season. You can watch the episode online here at South Park Studios.
Warning: if you aren't familiar with South Park and are easily offended, best not to watch! Paul Watson fans also will not be impressed, as the big bellied vegan gets heavily scorned.
I've never seen an episode of Whale Wars but South Park's makers have made Paul Watson's reality TV show the butt of the joke in episode 11 of South Park's 13th season. You can watch the episode online here at South Park Studios.
Warning: if you aren't familiar with South Park and are easily offended, best not to watch! Paul Watson fans also will not be impressed, as the big bellied vegan gets heavily scorned.
Labels: Humour, Sea Shepherd, South Park
10/26/2009
Iceland economy and whaling
Iceland's is an interesting situation, with the majority of Iceland's populace supporting whaling, whereas their new government seems to be of the "anti-trade" persuasion (at least with respect to whale products), yet not exactly "anti-whaling" per se.
Nonetheless, as this Bloomberg article indicates (without getting into any of the typical western culture cringe) whaling is providing some jobs for people there in need of work.
At the same time, many other reports indicate that currency exchange rates are making Iceland an attractive destination for tourists. This is in very stark contrast to perpetual economic threats that have be leveled in Iceland's direction because of it's exercising its sovereign right to harvest marine resources (here's SSCS' blather, but also see this).
Iceland's government shutting down or scaling back sustainable whaling activities at this point wouldn't make sense for many reasons as far as I am concerned, but let's see what happens next year.
Nonetheless, as this Bloomberg article indicates (without getting into any of the typical western culture cringe) whaling is providing some jobs for people there in need of work.
At the same time, many other reports indicate that currency exchange rates are making Iceland an attractive destination for tourists. This is in very stark contrast to perpetual economic threats that have be leveled in Iceland's direction because of it's exercising its sovereign right to harvest marine resources (here's SSCS' blather, but also see this).
Iceland's government shutting down or scaling back sustainable whaling activities at this point wouldn't make sense for many reasons as far as I am concerned, but let's see what happens next year.
Labels: Iceland
More whale problems in Australia
"It is costly but is the lost of one human worth it because it was too costly to tow [whale] carcasses further out?"It seems a bit of debate going on in Australia about what to do about dead whales, shark nets etc. This continues the theme I introduced previously about increasing whale populations around Australia, and the possibility for it to bring about change in thinking over time. The more money whales cost Australian taxpayers, the more they may start to think about how they ought to be managed and conserved.
Here's another article about beached humpbacks in Australia.
This also made me think - if the meat on these animals is in good condition, they could actually sell it to Japan and use the proceeds to deal with the financial costs of disposal etc. But of course, at this stage such logic probably would not pass in Australia (and they would have to work around international trade issues too... but it's an idea nonetheless.)
Labels: humpbacks
Whale meat inventory update - August 2008
Another delay on my part, but once again here's your monthly (August 2009) update for whale meat inventory statistics from Japan's Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries.
As I alluded to last time, I was unable to put these up sooner as I took a jaunt down to the Philippines. It was smashing - did some snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming, plus enjoyed some local cuisine. Best mangoes I've ever had in my life (don't eat mangoes often, but still they were amazing). More on this another time maybe.
Here's the update:
August Statistics
The figures speak for themselves, it was a busy month with the incoming volume for an August being a record in the history I have on this going back to 2001, and 16% higher than in the prior-year period. The bulk of this seemingly was from the offshore component of the ICR's JAPRN II programme conducted in the western north pacific, which drew to a close at the end of July. Presumably it wasn't until August that by-product meat from this programme hit storage facilities. The ICR press release noted that bad weather hindered the programme this year in the northern sectors of the research area, and as a result only 43 minke whales were taken versus a planned sample size of 100, however for Sei (100) and Bryde's (50) whales, the planned number of whales were caught. Only 1 sperm whale was caught from the 10 permitted.
This additional product, while reflected in the inventory figures, will likely not be going on sale until November, judging by the sequence of events last year. The ICR will probably put out another release shortly, giving a break down of the by-products that they will be putting on sale.
Meanwhile, the outgoing volume figure was also the most for an August since 2002, however only 3% higher than the August 2008 figure. The July 2009 figure had also been the lowest in 5 years, so a somewhat stronger figure in August was not so unexpected.
On a net basis, total inventory was boosted up to 5288 tons, the bulk of which is held in Tokyo storage facilities. The last time inventory was so high was back in the summer of 2006, however in that year inventory peaked in April at a much higher level, just short of 6000 tons. As for August 2009, the outgoing figure was a 25% increase versus the prior month, and again 31% higher than the same time a year ago. While demand for whale products (as indicated through the outgoing volume figures) appears softer this year than prior to the global economic crisis, on the supply side the amount of incoming volume has actually been greater in 2009 than any year except the bumper 2006 year, which is also contributing to the increasing inventory levels.
This situation of relatively high inventory levels is not likely to change over the next few months, due to the additional 1500 tons of Icelandic fin whale products reportedly set for import into Japan. The exact timing of the related transactions does not seem to be clear yet however.
Top Regions
The bulk of the incoming and outgoing volume for the month appears to have occurred in Tokyo storage facilities, with a net 963 ton gain.
Outgoing stock (cumulative)
Incoming stock (cumulative)
Monthly volumes
Annual volumes
As I alluded to last time, I was unable to put these up sooner as I took a jaunt down to the Philippines. It was smashing - did some snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming, plus enjoyed some local cuisine. Best mangoes I've ever had in my life (don't eat mangoes often, but still they were amazing). More on this another time maybe.
Here's the update:
August Statistics
| Statistic | Volume (tons) |
| Outgoing | 809 |
| Incoming | 1851 |
| Month-end | 5288 |
The figures speak for themselves, it was a busy month with the incoming volume for an August being a record in the history I have on this going back to 2001, and 16% higher than in the prior-year period. The bulk of this seemingly was from the offshore component of the ICR's JAPRN II programme conducted in the western north pacific, which drew to a close at the end of July. Presumably it wasn't until August that by-product meat from this programme hit storage facilities. The ICR press release noted that bad weather hindered the programme this year in the northern sectors of the research area, and as a result only 43 minke whales were taken versus a planned sample size of 100, however for Sei (100) and Bryde's (50) whales, the planned number of whales were caught. Only 1 sperm whale was caught from the 10 permitted.
This additional product, while reflected in the inventory figures, will likely not be going on sale until November, judging by the sequence of events last year. The ICR will probably put out another release shortly, giving a break down of the by-products that they will be putting on sale.
Meanwhile, the outgoing volume figure was also the most for an August since 2002, however only 3% higher than the August 2008 figure. The July 2009 figure had also been the lowest in 5 years, so a somewhat stronger figure in August was not so unexpected.
On a net basis, total inventory was boosted up to 5288 tons, the bulk of which is held in Tokyo storage facilities. The last time inventory was so high was back in the summer of 2006, however in that year inventory peaked in April at a much higher level, just short of 6000 tons. As for August 2009, the outgoing figure was a 25% increase versus the prior month, and again 31% higher than the same time a year ago. While demand for whale products (as indicated through the outgoing volume figures) appears softer this year than prior to the global economic crisis, on the supply side the amount of incoming volume has actually been greater in 2009 than any year except the bumper 2006 year, which is also contributing to the increasing inventory levels.
This situation of relatively high inventory levels is not likely to change over the next few months, due to the additional 1500 tons of Icelandic fin whale products reportedly set for import into Japan. The exact timing of the related transactions does not seem to be clear yet however.
Top Regions
| Region | Stockpile size at month end | Stockpile size at previous month end | Movement |
| Tokyo city wards | 3,475 | 2,512 | +963 |
| Ishinomaki | 394 | 261 | +133 |
| Hakodate | 392 | 394 | -2 |
| Shimonoseki | 274 | 339 | -65 |
| Funabashi | 257 | 273 | -16 |
| Nagasaki | 172 | 127 | +45 |
| Sasebo | 79 | - | - |
The bulk of the incoming and outgoing volume for the month appears to have occurred in Tokyo storage facilities, with a net 963 ton gain.
Outgoing stock (cumulative)
Incoming stock (cumulative)
Monthly volumes
Annual volumes
Labels: whale meat inventory statistics, whale meat market, whale meat trade
10/03/2009
Whale meat inventory update - July 2009
Hi everyone, here's your July update on Japanese whale meat inventory statistics, data as usual pulled from the homepage of the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries.
These stats came out last month actually, and indeed the August stats are due for release next Friday (October 9th) but I'm not likely to be able to publish those here until some time after that (will be enjoying a long weekend).
Not evident in these statistics, but the word is that Iceland's fin whaling company will be supplying around 1500 tons of fin whale meat products to the Japanese market sometime in the upcoming months. This will be a pretty historical event for the whale market here, as there haven't been any really significant levels of exports for around 2 decades. There is a fairly good chance that this will result in the total inventory level hitting a new peak in recent history. Good news for whale consumers.
July Statistics
Both the Outgoing and Incoming volumes were around 73-74% of the same month in the prior year, but the Month-end volume was 131%.
Top Regions
Sasebo dropped out of the top 7 in July, with Kawasaki's extra stocks bringing it up into 7th place.
The graph below shows the total inventory (top line) and the regional breakdown below it for illustrative purposes.
Outgoing stock (cumulative)
Incoming stock (cumulative)
Monthly volumes
Annual volumes
These stats came out last month actually, and indeed the August stats are due for release next Friday (October 9th) but I'm not likely to be able to publish those here until some time after that (will be enjoying a long weekend).
Not evident in these statistics, but the word is that Iceland's fin whaling company will be supplying around 1500 tons of fin whale meat products to the Japanese market sometime in the upcoming months. This will be a pretty historical event for the whale market here, as there haven't been any really significant levels of exports for around 2 decades. There is a fairly good chance that this will result in the total inventory level hitting a new peak in recent history. Good news for whale consumers.
July Statistics
| Statistic | Volume (tons) |
| Outgoing | 653 |
| Incoming | 381 |
| Month-end | 4246 |
Both the Outgoing and Incoming volumes were around 73-74% of the same month in the prior year, but the Month-end volume was 131%.
Top Regions
| Region | Stockpile size at month end | Stockpile size at previous month end | Movement |
| Tokyo city wards | 2,512 | 2,865 | -353 |
| Hakodate | 394 | 395 | -1 |
| Shimonoseki | 339 | 447 | -108 |
| Funabashi | 273 | 281 | -8 |
| Ishinomaki | 261 | 185 | +76 |
| Nagasaki | 127 | 107 | +20 |
| Kawasaki | 76 | - | - |
Sasebo dropped out of the top 7 in July, with Kawasaki's extra stocks bringing it up into 7th place.
The graph below shows the total inventory (top line) and the regional breakdown below it for illustrative purposes.
Outgoing stock (cumulative)
Incoming stock (cumulative)
Monthly volumes
Annual volumes
Labels: whale meat inventory statistics, whale meat market, whale meat trade
9/13/2009
Fresh whale products in Kushiro
The Hokkaido Shimbun online newspaper has an article about special permit whale meat by-products lining the shops in Kushiro, with prices pretty much in line with those from last year.
Fresh meat from the minke whales caught under special permit in the waters off Kushiro is the source. The first whale was caught and landed on the 6th of September, and after biological samples such as stomach contents data were taken, around 500kg of fresh meat by-products filtered through the local market into retail shops.
One shop introduced in the article ordered in 70 kgs of product, and the chunks of red meat drew the attention of local people and tourists alike. Prices were noted as being between 380 and 500 yen per 100 grams, about the same as last year.
A 30 year staff member at the shop commented that "Kushiro's whale is much softer (than frozen whale meat products). We hope people will enjoy this taste which is only available at this time of year in Kushiro".
The special permit whaling will continue in the coast off Kushiro until mid October with a limit of 60 minke whales to be taken, the article notes.
Fresh meat from the minke whales caught under special permit in the waters off Kushiro is the source. The first whale was caught and landed on the 6th of September, and after biological samples such as stomach contents data were taken, around 500kg of fresh meat by-products filtered through the local market into retail shops.
One shop introduced in the article ordered in 70 kgs of product, and the chunks of red meat drew the attention of local people and tourists alike. Prices were noted as being between 380 and 500 yen per 100 grams, about the same as last year.
A 30 year staff member at the shop commented that "Kushiro's whale is much softer (than frozen whale meat products). We hope people will enjoy this taste which is only available at this time of year in Kushiro".
The special permit whaling will continue in the coast off Kushiro until mid October with a limit of 60 minke whales to be taken, the article notes.
Labels: Kushiro, whale meat market
9/05/2009
Iceland fin whale catches
Sounds like the whaling in Iceland is going well.
We can tell, because WDCS is "outraged" and making assertions about the economics of the situation, as is prominent Icelandic anti-whaling voice Arni Finnsson, who also claims "damage to Iceland’s international reputation is huge" (by some undescribed measure).
Assuming the reports about the catches are accurate, this will amount to a significant amount of fin whale meat imports in to Japan, which should have a noticeable impact on the whale meat inventory statistics, after the imports take place. (Indeed, some may have been imported already.)
Good luck to Iceland's whalers in their efforts.
* * *
Update: Scrolling back through some history I see some earlier reports from August about the good progress:
1) Successful Whaling Season in Iceland
2) Whaling season in Iceland “a success”
* * *
2009/09/09
Another update: A New York Times blog has an related post entitled "Iceland Defends Its Hunt of 94 Fin Whales". It includes a piece from Iceland's IWC Commissioner, but in the comments section Arni Finnsson himself pops up to tell us what he thinks in some detail.
Interesting is that Finnsson appears convinced that the Japanese market for fin whale meat products is essentially satisfied as it is, and there will be no market for much of this years' Icelandic fin whale meat which he estimates through some kind of peculiar logic to be between 10 and 30 times too high in supply (if I am reading him correctly?). Regular readers of this blog who are familiar with the Japanese whale meat inventory statistics will likely see problems with his logic (as I do), and he also seems to have his facts wrong in one instance (at least), but at the end of the day time will tell whether the fin whale meat products gain export revenue for Iceland from the Japanese market or not.
I suspect that Finnsson won't be changing his anti-whaling stance even if/when the economic viability of this activity has been demonstrated, but we shall see.
We can tell, because WDCS is "outraged" and making assertions about the economics of the situation, as is prominent Icelandic anti-whaling voice Arni Finnsson, who also claims "damage to Iceland’s international reputation is huge" (by some undescribed measure).
Assuming the reports about the catches are accurate, this will amount to a significant amount of fin whale meat imports in to Japan, which should have a noticeable impact on the whale meat inventory statistics, after the imports take place. (Indeed, some may have been imported already.)
Good luck to Iceland's whalers in their efforts.
* * *
Update: Scrolling back through some history I see some earlier reports from August about the good progress:
1) Successful Whaling Season in Iceland
2) Whaling season in Iceland “a success”
* * *
2009/09/09
Another update: A New York Times blog has an related post entitled "Iceland Defends Its Hunt of 94 Fin Whales". It includes a piece from Iceland's IWC Commissioner, but in the comments section Arni Finnsson himself pops up to tell us what he thinks in some detail.
Interesting is that Finnsson appears convinced that the Japanese market for fin whale meat products is essentially satisfied as it is, and there will be no market for much of this years' Icelandic fin whale meat which he estimates through some kind of peculiar logic to be between 10 and 30 times too high in supply (if I am reading him correctly?). Regular readers of this blog who are familiar with the Japanese whale meat inventory statistics will likely see problems with his logic (as I do), and he also seems to have his facts wrong in one instance (at least), but at the end of the day time will tell whether the fin whale meat products gain export revenue for Iceland from the Japanese market or not.
I suspect that Finnsson won't be changing his anti-whaling stance even if/when the economic viability of this activity has been demonstrated, but we shall see.
Labels: Arni Finnsson, Iceland
8/27/2009
Democratic Party of Japan's whaling policy
Those of you who follow the shambles that is Japanese politics will be aware that the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is looking likely to take power in this weekend's national elections here. The incumbent Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has been in office for decades, and looks to be on the way out.
So, will there be any change in whaling policy?
The DPJ's whaling policy from their election manifesto is included here, and below is my translation:
There you have it.
So, will there be any change in whaling policy?
The DPJ's whaling policy from their election manifesto is included here, and below is my translation:
Whaling measures
Regarding whale species that are recognised to have sufficient abundance, promote the resumption of commercial whaling conditional on appropriate management being undertaken.
Also, research whaling is a legitimate right under the 8th Article of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) convention.
There you have it.
Labels: Democratic Party of Japan
8/14/2009
Whale meat inventory update - June 2009
Hi all,
Well just after my previous update for the May inventory statistics, I loaded up some prehistoric email software on my 7 year old Fujitsu laptop (upon which the anti-virus software expired 6 years ago) and I suspect I downloaded a virus infected email, as the poor thing would no longer boot up, afterwards. I reckon it's fixable (just need time and the right gears), but I needed a working computer pretty much immediately for working from home (as well as wanting a new computer anyway), and so buy a new one I did.
So this update for June is coming to you from my brand spanking new laptop with brilliant high definition display... although you don't get to enjoy it like I do... but due to having a newer version of Micro$oft Excel available my graphs might look a little different from this month, as I play around with things. (Incidentally, thanks to the wonders of Linux and the Internet I was able to retrieve my old Excel from the now dysfunctional Fujitsu laptop, so not too much stress was involved in bring this to you)
But anyway, enough computer talk - here we go - the June inventory statistics. Just a rough outline for starters; may come back and provide extra detail later if time presents itself next week (and very likely it may)
June 2009 outgoing stock: 267 tons
Back down to subdued levels again in June, after the jump in May. Mind you, from July 7 sales of the latest by-product were to commence at lower prices than last year. Buyers therefore may have been holding off until July. We'll see next month.
June 2009 incoming stock: 493 tons
A bit of a jump here on the incoming side. Most of this inventory apparently came into Hakodate storage facilities - see below.
June 2009 end-of-month inventories: 4,518 tons
I'm expecting a reasonable drop in this figure in July - with the JARPA II by-product sales ongoing throughout most of the month. As was the case with May, approximately half of this figure was not for sale as of June.
June 2009 top inventory regions
The table below shows whale inventory movements in the leading inventory regions.
There you go - Hakodate the big mover knocking Funabashi out of 3rd place. Not sure what this meat could be though - need to look into that.
Perhaps completely unrelated, but of interest was news out of Iceland that more than 60 fin whales had been caught as of a few days ago. Not sure whether related products from the initially caught and processed fin whales could have been shipped to Japan or not already, but I suppose it's a possibility.
Graph: Inventory ratio
Just when I thought the spike had ended last month, again this month turns out to be rather weak indeed. July and August will likely turn around though, with the JARPA II by-product sales noted above taking place across these next two months of summer.
Graph: Annual volumes
Graph: Monthly volumes
Graph: Outgoing stock (cumulative)
Graph: Incoming stock (cumulative)
Graph: Regional whale meat inventories
That's it for now - see you with more details next week maybe.
Well just after my previous update for the May inventory statistics, I loaded up some prehistoric email software on my 7 year old Fujitsu laptop (upon which the anti-virus software expired 6 years ago) and I suspect I downloaded a virus infected email, as the poor thing would no longer boot up, afterwards. I reckon it's fixable (just need time and the right gears), but I needed a working computer pretty much immediately for working from home (as well as wanting a new computer anyway), and so buy a new one I did.
So this update for June is coming to you from my brand spanking new laptop with brilliant high definition display... although you don't get to enjoy it like I do... but due to having a newer version of Micro$oft Excel available my graphs might look a little different from this month, as I play around with things. (Incidentally, thanks to the wonders of Linux and the Internet I was able to retrieve my old Excel from the now dysfunctional Fujitsu laptop, so not too much stress was involved in bring this to you)
But anyway, enough computer talk - here we go - the June inventory statistics. Just a rough outline for starters; may come back and provide extra detail later if time presents itself next week (and very likely it may)
June 2009 outgoing stock: 267 tons
Back down to subdued levels again in June, after the jump in May. Mind you, from July 7 sales of the latest by-product were to commence at lower prices than last year. Buyers therefore may have been holding off until July. We'll see next month.
June 2009 incoming stock: 493 tons
A bit of a jump here on the incoming side. Most of this inventory apparently came into Hakodate storage facilities - see below.
June 2009 end-of-month inventories: 4,518 tons
I'm expecting a reasonable drop in this figure in July - with the JARPA II by-product sales ongoing throughout most of the month. As was the case with May, approximately half of this figure was not for sale as of June.
June 2009 top inventory regions
The table below shows whale inventory movements in the leading inventory regions.
| Region | Stockpile size at month end | Stockpile size at previous month end | Movement |
| Tokyo city wards | 2,865 | 2,942 | -77 |
| Shimonoseki | 447 | 458 | -11 |
| Hakodate | 395 | 44 | +351 |
| Funabashi | 281 | 292 | -11 |
| Ishinomaki | 185 | 196 | -11 |
| Nagasaki | 107 | 104 | +3 |
| Sasebo | 53 | 43 | +10 |
There you go - Hakodate the big mover knocking Funabashi out of 3rd place. Not sure what this meat could be though - need to look into that.
Perhaps completely unrelated, but of interest was news out of Iceland that more than 60 fin whales had been caught as of a few days ago. Not sure whether related products from the initially caught and processed fin whales could have been shipped to Japan or not already, but I suppose it's a possibility.
Graph: Inventory ratio
Just when I thought the spike had ended last month, again this month turns out to be rather weak indeed. July and August will likely turn around though, with the JARPA II by-product sales noted above taking place across these next two months of summer.
Graph: Annual volumes
Graph: Monthly volumes
Graph: Outgoing stock (cumulative)
Graph: Incoming stock (cumulative)
Graph: Regional whale meat inventories
* * *
That's it for now - see you with more details next week maybe.
Labels: whale meat inventory statistics
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