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David @ Tokyo

Perspective from Japan on whaling and whale meat, a spot of gourmet news, and monthly updates of whale meat stockpile statistics

5/07/2007

 

Japanese media reports IUCN Humpback whale extinction risk downgrade

Y/H-san drew my attention to a Japanese article that appeared in the Yomiuri newspaper in relation to the IUCN Red List and the revised whale species classifications that are due to be published in the updated list (sometime) later this year. The High North Alliance was first on the net with this news, much earlier this year. But here's my translation of the Japanese article from the 27th of April:
Humpback and Minke, removed from "Endangered" list - New impetus for whaling resumption

It has been learnt that the IUCN, after confirming increases in the number of Humpback and Minke whales which had been threatened with extinction, has moved to down list these two species to a lower rank of extinction risk.

The downgrade is expected to be published shortly in the "Red List", which classifies animal species by different levels of extinction risk. Coming on the eve of the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Anchorage USA, the controversy surrounding the resumption of commercial whaling for these two species is likely to be heightened.

According to the Red List, the Humpback was "Endangered (Threatened)", and the Minke whale species, while not meeting the criteria of a Threatened species, had been classified in the "Near Threatened" category, requiring caution, due to a notable decreasing trend in their numbers.

The IUCN, in progressing their re-evaluation of the rankings for the world's mammal species, held a meeting of specialists in January this year, and confirmed that they would downgrade the Humpback and Minke whale species to "Least Concern", a ranking indicating a low risk of extinction, based on scientific data such as that provided by the research whaling conducted by Japan.

The research whaling is currently conducted with respect to Minke whales, and from this autumn will commence for Humpback whales. This downgrade will potentially provide the nations who are aiming for a resumption in commercial whaling
, such as Japan, with a powerful reinforcement. Yoshio Kaneko of Iwate Prefectural University's Faculty of Policy Studies commented that "This is the result of an objective judgement of the status of whale abundance. With respect to these two species, anti-whaling advocates will lose any grounds they had to say that these whales are facing extinction".

(2007/4/27/ 3:10 Yomiuri Shinbun)
In real terms, the recovery of the humpback whale after more than 40 years of protection (i.e. since the 1960's - two decades before the unnecessary commercial whaling moratorium was rammed into effect) is great news.

But this report being published is also great news as well. Today many publications seem to prefer scandal and drama over gradually unravelling success stories, but the IUCN Red List downgrade of the humpback provides a nice conservation milestone for the media to pick up and run with...

... well, the Japanese media at least. You see, meanwhile, the "environmental editor" of a major British newspaper has today published an article referring to "50 endangered humpbacks".

I predict that this sort of reporting (either ignorant or intellectually dishonest) will continue even after the official Red List publication.

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Comments:
デヴィドさん

会社でその記事を見つけましたのでコピーして持って帰ってきました。以下引用ということで皆さんには日本語で失礼ですが書いておきます。

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・
4月26日(読売新聞)環境百科 

「調査捕鯨を考える。」

水産庁資源管理部 森下丈二漁業交渉官

一部の反捕鯨団体には知能が高い鯨は一頭たりともとるなという考え方もある。しかしオーストラリアでカンガルーを百万単位で間引きしているように反捕鯨を主張する陰に、クジラ以外の野生動物の狩猟は問題視しない「ダブルスタンダード」が見え隠れしている。
私達は捕鯨は野生生物利用の象徴で、鯨を将来まで使える「持続的な資源」として活用したいと考えている。

日本は過去、漁業で乱獲してきた。その反省からマグロなどは率先して資源保護や管理につとめている。クジラも再び乱獲するような事はありえない。そのためには、鯨の(種類ごとの生息数や繁殖率、死亡率などを調べる)科学的な調査を徹底しなければならない。調査捕鯨はその一環で南極海でも種類を選んで捕獲している。
たとえば約76万頭と充分な数まで回復したミンククジラは年間765~935頭、年間10%以上の増加が見られるナガスクジラは年間10頭捕獲している。

逆に約2000頭しかいないシロナガスクジラ
は率先して保護を主張しており、80年代後半から生態調査を続けている。北西太平洋に200頭しかいないコククジラについても同様だ。調査の技術も範囲もここ20年で格段に向上している。クジラの持続的利用のため、調査でえられた情報を公開し、様様な立場の人たちとよりよい方策を考えていきたい。

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

グリンピースのほうは・・全く内容が馬鹿馬鹿しく書くのに手が疲れるだけなのでのでやめておきます。


Y・H(Japan)
 
Hi David. I wish I'd found your blog a long time ago. It's great. I just wanted to tell you that I picked up on you via JapanProbe this morning, and I reproduced your translation of this Yomiuri article on my blog here. It's a great follow-up to my original take on whaling in Japan. Thanks.
 
Hi David - According to the IUCN Redlist at this moment in time, the Humpback whale is STILL listed as "VU A1ad" - i.e., Vulnerable.

A1ad refers to:
"A) Population reduction in the form of either of the following:
1) An observed, estimated, inferred or suspected reduction of at least 20% over the last 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer, based on (and specifying) any of the following:
a) direct observation
d) actual or potential levels of exploitation
"

Don't get too excited yet...
 
Dave,

If one reads the article carefully, one will see that this news isn't about the existing Red List which is based on the humpback assessment from 11 years ago in 1996, but the assessment done in January 2007, and the 2007 Red List that is due to be published shortly.

The downgrade of the humpback from the Red List is exciting, and it should be celebrated by all who care about whale conservation.

Some people seem frightened by the news.
 
The 2007 IUCN Red List has not given any reassessment of the Humpback Whale. The Humpback Whale is still listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.
 
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