David @ Tokyo

In my usual supermarket today and surprised because whereas I thought they didn't sell any whale products I found out that I was wrong:


My, we are well stocked this summer aren't we?

UPDATE 2010/09/04: And I was at the supermarket the other night again and saw that they have whale bacon too. How did I ever miss it?

Labels: whale gourmet, whale meat market

A few months ago when I peeked in a near-by supermarket I found the shelves were almost bare of canned whale products. What was the situation I wondered?

Were the products so popular they were selling out quickly? (Well whale is tasty, but it's no "miracle" product - just a type of meat - albeit much better than that nasty cow meat from Australia)

Or were the products unpopular so they weren't being restocked? (But then empty shelves in Tokyo supermarkets are not good at all for profitability)

Neither idea really seemed to make good enough sense.

So I was in the same supermarket yesterday, and found that not only were the shelves now packed full of whale products, there were also a couple of products I hadn't seen before, so I picked up a can each.

First up is "KUJIRA YAKINUKU":

The description on the can notes that this item is produced from whale by-products from Minke, Bryde's and Sei whales of the western north pacific and antarctic, sampled under Japan's special permit programs. The labelling on my can here in particular indicates that the whale inside came from an Antarctic minke whale.

Second up, is SANRIKU KUJIRA CURRY:

This can doesn't have such precise information about the origins of the whale, but the homepage of the company in Ishinomaki that produced it notes that they handle mainly research whaling by-products. Can't wait to try this one sometime, I love Japanese style curry and with whale it should be pretty good too (usually I use pork).

Anyway, now I have another idea about why the supermarket shelves for whale products were almost bare a couple of months ago, but packed yesterday. When in the supermarket looking at the shelves, one forgets that whale overall is limited in supply by how the volume of by-products eventuating from the research programs, and particularly with the Antarctic research being hampered again last winter, one expects that the whale meat supply this year is again down. But with it being August now, what by-products were available from last season's Antarctic research will now be available to the markets at least in part, and quite possibly the companies producing these canned products had put production on hold until such a time as they had more base products to work with, hence the lack of supply a few months ago versus now.

Labels: Ishinomaki, whale gourmet, whale meat market

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

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

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

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

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.

Labels: Kushiro, whale meat market

Interesting story from IcelandReview:

Representatives of Japanese companies who plan to import the Icelandic fin whale meat were present during the processing; carrying their own knives to taste the meat and to grade the different cuts.

“They were always with us in the old days and will probably stay for the summer,” Loftsson said.

Commercial anti-whaling industry groups have been constantly trying to tell the west, and sympathetic Iceland officials, that there is "no demand" for Icelandic whale products in Japan (e.g. this).

This revelation that Japanese representatives are on the ground in Iceland tells a different story, one that is consistent with what I think is the case.

Labels: Iceland, whale meat market, whale meat trade

A local Japanese newspaper has a report of another by-caught minke whale.

My summary translation is below.

Labels: whale by-catch, whale meat market

Tena koutou again,

Isanatori let me know about this article here in the Asahi's Kanagawa edition, covering latest developments with regard to this project. (I wrote a bit about it before here.)

Visit the original page to check out the picture of the juicy whale cutlets, but here's a summary of the story:

- A group of shops situated in the Noge area in Yokohama city is working on a project to promote their district with whale cuisine.
- The "Whale Map" which was being prepared is now completed.
- A total of 30 restaurants are participating, with traditional menu items such as bacon and cutlets being served in izakayas and western style eateries, and sushi shops and cafes have introduced new recipes for their menus.
- The participating shops have also secured a bulk distribution route for good quality whale meat.

The article covers the background of the story (see here), some of the new recipes being created, etc.

However, Masanobu Tai (53) who is a member of the co-operative notes that "the biggest problem was securing whale meat". "Commercial whaling was put on hold in 1987 ... ", the article continues, "... leaving only research whaling left. Domestic whale meat supply, which peaked in 1962 at 220,000 tons, had decreased to 4,000 tons in 2007 (Fisheries Agency figures). Whale bacon too became a luxury, and not often seen at the dinner table."

The article says that until now apparently around 50 shops had been serving whale cuisine on their menus. "Each restaurant was ordering in whale meat independently, however this time a new bulk supply route has been secured. The town has made a framework for serving whale."

Mr. Tai was surprised that they were able to muster 30 shops to join the co-operative. The article elucidates that "whale meat that the co-operative orders in is frozen at sea, and isn't thawed out until it reaches each shop. At around 4,000 yen per kilogram, it costs about twice the market price, but compared with whale meat that is thawed out during it's path through the distribution chain, the meat is said to have much less smell, and better flavour."

As for the "Whale Map", it is set to be laid out at main Keikyu train line stations from the end of this month. Restaurants that are featured in the map will all share a common logo. And they have plans to hold a cooking contest at the Noge district's annual "Daidogei" event.


Good luck to them!

Pictured are a couple of dishes some friends and I enjoyed at an unrelated Shinjuku restaurant (Hatsumomiji) back in March this year.

Labels: Noge Whale Row, whale meat market

More news from Japan, this time from Yokohama, in Kanagawa prefecture just south of Tokyo. This story again from Tokyo Shimbun.

Bring back vigor to "Whale Row"
Restaurants in Noge district, Yokohama city aim to create a speciality with new menu development

This is how the headline from the article dated 2009/02/05 reads.

In Noge district of Yokohama city's Naka ward, there is an area lined with restaurants for common people, and there the restaurants are cooperating together in an effort to create a guide map and new menu items. Noge became lively after the end of WWII when a "Whale Row" of restaurants serving whale meat formed there. The restaurant operators there today are looking to liven up the area once more with whale.

The Whale Row was located in the vicinity of Sakura River New Road, in front of the JR rail station of Sakuragicho. The New Road was made by filling in the river there. In those days, the riverside was packed with restaurants selling whale cutlets and so forth, and the air was thick with the smell of cooking whale meat. Supposedly it was packed with people as at that time of food shortages whale was a precious source of protein. But with the filling in of the river, the "row" disappeared, and the increase in diversity of food, along with the banning of commercial whaling for resource conservation [says the article], shops dealing in whale dwindled.

The arrival of the Black Ships [of Commodore Perry] led to the opening of Yokohama port 150 years ago in June, and this event is regarded as resulting in the USA choosing to establish Japan as it's base for reprovisioning it's whaling vessels. With that historical background, last year 9 shops developed speciality menus such as gyoza and Japanese style curry using whale meat. In a taste testing event these items were popular, and as such the "Noge Restaurant Association" decided to expand the menus through the whole area.

According to the plan, a "Noge whale map" illustrating all the restaurants in the area with whale cuisine will be produced by April. With whale meat limited in distribution volume, the association aims to purchase whale meat on behalf of all shops, so as to ensure whale is available at cheap prices with stable supply.

On January 30, a whale meat taste testing event and cooking lecture were held. The article quotes a Mitsuo Ono (69) who runs a sushi restaurant as saying, "I think I'll use the red meat for nigiri (hand-rolled sushi) at my shop". The head of the association, Masanobu Tai (53) is quoted saying "There are people who are against whaling, but whale cuisine is Japan's precious food culture. I hope that we'll be having people say 'Let's go to Noge, and eat whale'".

Noge has a web page with more information about the plan and the recent cooking event (in Japanese) at the link below:

http://www.noge.biz/guide/kujira.html

It sounds like some port opening commemoration events will be held from April, which is why they are targeting April for the completion of the map.

Labels: Noge Whale Row, whale gourmet, whale meat market, Yokohama

There's a few restaurants along side the Yamanote line on the north west side of Shinjuku station that serve whale amongst there other offerings. I digitized one of the advertisements (seen on 2009/2/22) as below.

The Japanese text labels the product in the center as "kujira sashi", so there's no doubt what it's supposed to be, but the misspelling as "WHEEL" put a smile on my face.

This meat (683 yen) doesn't look too good to me though (nor do the grubby restaurants there beside the train tracks) so I don't plan on visiting this place. You can't go wrong over the other side of the tracks at Akanedoki or Taruichi in Kabukicho, just a couple of minutes from there.

Labels: whale gourmet, whale meat market

Making the news both in Japan and abroad this week was a special sales promotion in central Japan.

Originally breaking the story was the Asahi newspaper's Kansai region edition, with the headline "Whale meat sold off at less than half-price Osaka - Hanshin department store".

"Blow away the recession!", starts the Asahi article.

The Yomiuri's online Osaka edition also ran the story with the headline, "Whale meat on sale at prices of 30 years ago"

"So as to make familiar the taste of whale meat, which sky-rocketed in price after the cessation of commercial whaling, Hanshin department store in Umeda, Osaka, commenced a sale at less than half the normal prices", says the Yomiuri. "Sale lasts until the 31st".

"It's precisely because of the economic gloom that we are selling the now-luxury foodstuff of whale meat at cheap prices", is the theme of the promotion. The store bought in a ton of Sei whale obtained through research whaling, and set prices at 248 yen / 100 g for red meat, and 420 yen for blubber, the same as about 30 years ago" (Yomiuri).

"From the 27th of January Hanshin department store started selling off Sei whale meat at less than half the normal price. Hanshin says it is precisely because of the bad economic situation that they want customers to eat whale meat at low prices , noting that whale has become a luxury food item. This was the first time that this store has run such a promotion. Prices are set to return to normal from the 1st of February".

"In Hanshin's sales area on the first floor below ground level, shoppers had their eyes fixed on the whale products. Items included meat (15 kg block, before being cut up), and long (90 cm) strips of blubber" (Asahi).

"As for the prices, they were said to be set at the same level as the early 1980's, before the cessation of commercial whaling and subsequent sky-rocket in prices."

The Asahi, like the Yomiuri, reports the precise price details.

A 65-year old housewife who bought whale for the first time in 10 years said "I'll enjoy the nostalgic taste" (Asahi). A similar customer, definitely the same lady, is quoted by the Yomiuri: "I often ate whale for school lunch, but recently it's become too expensive and I couldn't buy it. This evening I hope to enjoy this as sashimi."

The story later appeared in the Asahi's national edition online, and the picture of the sales area even made the "top picture" in the Asahi news headlines that automatically stream into my mobile phone every 30 minutes.


Later in the foreign media, an AFP story appeared.

Basically the story is the same as the Japanese version, although interestingly the AFP journalist comes at the matter from a different angle:

"Mr Matsui did not comment on whether the store had been losing money before starting the offer but said sales have more than doubled since the prices were cut on Tuesday."

It's not clear whether the journalist was referring the the sales of the store in general, or whale meat sales in particular, but if it were the latter and the journalist is wondering whether the whale meat sales were making money, it's hard to imagine why the store would do something like buy in a ton of extra of the product just so they could sell it off at less than half price! Sometimes it's a mystery what these foreign journalists are smoking.

But that was nothing - an Italian site also ran a story, but the original theme in the Japanese story is lost completely:

"Japan: Crisis, whale meat half price", reads the headline (the original site uses upper case letters, seemingly for "effect")

"The economic crisis is truly hitting all sectors, and even Japan's passion for whale meat has been effected."

Right from the outset the article is off the mark. The Japanese stories and even the AFP story report that the store operator is looking to use the limited offer whale meat promotion to brighten up their customers.

"The main shopping centre in Osaka has decided to put whale meat on sale at half price"

This much is correct...

... " in spite of criticisms from many countries who believe that Japan should respect the international ban on whale hunting."

There is no reason why domestic private sector retail promotions should take in to consideration the international situation with regards to whaling. Japanese people also eat beef without respect for what non-beef eating cultures think. It is strange that the Italian article author would expect Japanese retailers to behave as certain foreigners would wish, rather than as they the Japanese themselves wish to.

"Instead of adhering to the moratorium set by the International Whaling Commission, Japanese authorities continue to avoid it justifying whale hunting with a vague "scientific research" explanation. Now they have decided to cut prices, trying to increase consumption of the precious meat."

It wasn't the authorities that decided to sell the meat at cut prices, it was a private retail outlet operator, and the reason they bought in the ton of meat and put it on sale was to brighten (and probably lure) customers. The only link between "Japanese authorities" and Hanshin department store is that both are ... Japanese.

"A move that is in contrast to official reasoning, explaining that traditionally in Japan, whale meat is eaten by common people."

Despite getting the story wrong, the article spouts this nonsense as well. It's obvious to any calm thinking, rational person that normal trends in whale meat retail will not hold while Japan continues to abide by the IWC's commercial whaling moratorium.

"The manager of the Osaka shopping centre, Tadashi Matsui, has decided to sell 100 grams of whale meat for 248 yen, of just over 2 euro, compared to its full price of 630 yen or 5 euro. Greenpeace estimates that Japan hunts hundreds of whales per year, the rest are hunted by Norway and Iceland."

Greenpeace "estimate" the figures, which are publicly available at the IWC's website in through other public sources, to give the impression that Japan is conducts it's research programmes in secret. On the contrary, the quotas are announced and actual numbers taken are released as well. It hardly takes skill or special knowledge to estimate figures that are already in the public domain!

So welcome once again to the wacky world of the foreign anti-whaling media. It's amazing how far a story can be twisted when some journalists have been instilled with certain preconceptions and misinformation. The reference in the article to Greenpeace seems to be indicative of the reason for the gross inaccuracy of this article.

Labels: Japanese media perspective, whale meat market

The ICR released details about the upcoming sale of the JARPA II research by-product whale meat last week, bringing some clarity to the situation with the stockpile and the recent ministry statistics released for April 2008.

The ICR press release states that 327.9 tons of whale meat from JARPA has been allocated for "public purposes" this year (this includes the portion set aside for use in school lunches, etc). Last year 344.8 tons were allocated for this purpose, so the amount available in 2008 drops by 5%.

The rest of the by-product, 1654.6 tons, is destined to be disposed of on the market between July 7 and August 9, in wholesale markets around the nation.

So, a total of 1982.5 tons of whale meat resulted from JARPA II this year.

If we reconcile this back against the April 2008 stockpile figures released early last month, we see that 2,021 tons of whale meat were reported as entering whale meat stockpiles for the month. Most of this evidently entered a facility or facilities in Tokyo, with possibly a small portion in Kawasaki, and perhaps a another small portion not coming under the survey coverage. But from the numbers it appears the survey reflects the new available stock pretty well, almost all of the April incoming stock volume is obviously accounted for by the JARPA by-product influx.

Note, however, that as this new stock isn't on sale until July 7, the stockpile figures for May and June will include up to 1982.5 tons of whale meat that isn't actually available for sale. The actual available amount of whale meat in the stockpile as of the end of April was the April 2008 end-of-month stockpile figure (3,640 tons) less approximately the total by-product (1982.5 tons), hence a maximum 1657.5 tons of the whale meat represented in these figures was available for consumption as of the end of April. With more than two months before the start of the sale of the JARPA by-product, clearly stocks are relatively low at the present time.

Also noted in the ICR press release were decisions regarding the pricing of various types of meat. Overall, prices are to be on average 6.1% higher than the meat that sold after last year's JARPN cruise. The ICR notes the increasing costs of fuel as being a factor behind the increase.

However, related articles (here and here) from the Sankei newspaper suggest that the price increases were also influenced by the lower volume of product available due to the obstruction of the JARPA cruise by Sea Shepherd. The Sankei says that red meat prices will be raised by an average of 70 yen per kilogram to 2,060 yen, high grade Unesu meat will go up 250 yen to 4,000, but some other types of cuts will actually be lowered in price as well.

The Asahi newspaper also reported on the matter, suggesting that the ICR has a short fall in funds, and additional support for the ICR is hoped to be provided by the OFCF, although the article doesn't mention specifics.

Labels: stockpile figures, whale meat market, whale meat school lunches

I mentioned recently that Japan might make clear it's intentions regarding the import of Icelandic and Norwegian whale products once the situation with the IWC has been cleared up.

Well, I was wrong there, as has widely been reported in both the Western and Japanese media. Whale products from Iceland and Norway were said to have already arrived in Japan, although the paperwork to complete the import appears yet to be finalized.

Ministry of Agriculture officials noted that there is no legal problem with the import of whale meat from Iceland and Norway, although they noted that had not received any import request. At a press conference, one reporter asked the vice-minister whether the Ministry would tell the media if such an import request were received. The official responded that such a transaction is a matter between private entities in different states, and he did not think it necessary to announce to the media every single such matter.

The Daily Suisan Keizai newspaper apparently ran an article on the topic, with some interesting points:

• When importing whale meat, the import procedure includes DNA checking (to keep a track of legal sources of whale meat), some kind of food checks, and apparently approval from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, including certification for the country of origin etc, is required, making the customs procedure a slightly time consuming affair.

• Kyodo Senpaku (KS) was also contacted for comment, as they are currently in charge of sales of Japan's research whaling by-product meat. KS noted that they weren't aware of the import, but recognised the import as a sign that whale meat is a normal kind of food in these European countries as well. Finally they noted that once the import is formally confirmed by the government that if there is a request to assist in sales that they would like to do so. These comments were apparently made by a Mr. Tajirou Tsurumoto who is a director at KS.

• Someone from the Icelandic embassy made similar comments to Japanese officials, with respect to the matter being one between private entities, although the official also noted that they were interested in observing the matter to see what happens.

(a copy of the article was posted here)

At this stage, there is still only 60 ~ 80 tons of meat, according to the reports, so this won't have a huge impact on whale meat stockpile statistics, at least at this point in time.

* * *

Update 6/19 to add some links.

Labels: Iceland, Norway, whale meat market, whale meat trade

It's been interesting to observe the response from a group of International Whaling Commission members to news of Iceland's 2008 commercial whaling quota.

Then

In the year to August 2007, Iceland had issued permits for nine fin whales, and 30 minke whales (there was also an outstanding scientific permit for a small number of minkes as well).

The fin whale quota was granted to Hvalur, which had the hope of exporting fin whale products to the Japanese market. The issue of access to the Japanese market remains unresolved, with the most recent reports in the news media that I have seen noting that Norway and Iceland are "waiting for Japan's response" regarding the matter - this was in late 2007. Depending on the outcome of IWC 60, Japan may finally be able to announce a decision on this matter.

As for the quota for 30 minke whales, meat products from this activity were marketed in Iceland itself.

When the quota period came to an end in August 2007, there was a furore in the western media with Icelandic Fisheries Minister Einar Guofinnsson issuing no revised quota at the time. Reuters quoted him as saying:

"I will not issue a new quota until the market conditions for whale meat improve and permission to export whale products to Japan is secured ... There is no reason to continue commercial whaling if there is no demand for the product."

Many in the west appear to have taken these statements to mean that Iceland intended to withdraw from whaling on a permanent basis, perhaps under the impression that there is no demand for whale meat products - something we often hear from some groups in the commercial anti-whaling industry.

However unlike the media, these groups did (correctly) recognise that this was not a permanent end to whaling, although continued to reiterate their claims that market conditions were unlikely to improve. Also, the International Whaling Commission homepage still today includes a page on Iceland's commercial whaling, unmodified since the time of Iceland's original decision to resume it back in 2006...

Now

With the northern winter over, in May 2008 officials from Iceland's fisheries ministry have recently acknowledged to western media that a new quota has been set for minke whales, with reports that the meat from last year's hunt completely sold out.

The commercial minke quota is up 10, from 30 to 40 this time, although still short of the hopes of Iceland's minke whalers who reportedly hoped to be permitted a catch closer to 100.

Through their new quota allocation, Iceland's fisheries ministry has essentially reaffirmed an official view that Iceland's population of 300,000 appear happy enough to snaffle down at least 40 minke whales (this year).

Said one fisheries ministry official to Bloomberg:

"Minke sashimi is a quite popular starter in Reykjavik restaurants"

Response

Predictably, the same groups from the commercial anti-whaling industry that assert that there is no demand for whale meat were furious, quickly issuing statements suggesting Iceland's economic future is at risk because of the new quotas. Statistics, on the other hand, have shown that tourism to Iceland has continued to increase in recent years, despite Iceland's decision to resume first scientific, then commercial whaling since 2002.

Still, the junior party of Iceland's coalition government sees some risk associated with pursuing a policy of sustainable whaling. Social Democratic Alliance (SDA) party member and current foreign minister for Iceland, Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir reportedly said of the latest quota decision:

"I believe this is sacrificing long term interests for short term gains"

Her recognition that there are (at least) short term gains to be had from sustainable whaling is noteworthy, but I've not been able to find more detail about her beliefs regarding Iceland's long term interests. Later when speaking with Condoleeza Rice, she reportedly asserted that the minke quota is sustainable, so I presume she thinks there is something to the idea of sustainable whaling being a threat to the rest of the Icelandic economy.

My prediction is that time will (continue to) show those concerns are largely misplaced.

Below is a round-up from representatives in countries where commercial anti-whaling groups are prominent.

United States of America:

“This is frustrating news. Iceland is pursuing a completely commercial enterprise driven by profit motive with no oversight by IWC members nor analysis by their scientific committee ... I urge Iceland to reconsider this decision and focus on the overarching principles of the Commission rather than the short-term interests of its whaling industry. At a time when we should be doing more to help protect whales, Iceland is going in the wrong direction”

-- U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez

“The United States is deeply disappointed in Iceland’s decision ... The IWC has begun a process to reduce provocation and enhance negotiations within the organization. This new unilateral commercial quota will only serve to undercut progress and good faith negotiations for long-term solutions in the Commission.”

-- Bill Hogarth, U.S. IWC Commissioner
(link)

European Union

"While there's an exception to the International Whaling Commission's moratorium on the hunt for scientific or indigenous whaling, Iceland still needs to be demonstrate that it is killing these whales for genuine non-commercial purposes"

-- Barbara Helfferich, Commission Environment spokesperson
(link)

New Zealand

“New Zealand welcomed Iceland’s decision to halt whaling last year, and I am troubled that Iceland may be reversing its decision ... Iceland’s resumption of whaling would come at a time when the IWC is making a genuine effort to build trust, and would undermine the trust developed through recent diplomatic efforts.”

-- Steve Chadwick, NZ Conservation Minister
(link)

Australia

"The loopholes that exist - and this is a loophole, frankly, that Iceland have used - need to be closed ... we need to have firm and rigorous science when we discuss the issues of so-called scientific whaling, and we'll be arguing very strongly that the global moratorium can't be compromised any longer."

-- Peter Garrett, Australian Environment Minister
(link)

Closing thoughts

I was somewhat surprised by Mr. Hogarth's comments, albeit only in his capacity as U.S IWC Commissioner. Recall that Norway too continues to unilaterally issue commercial catch quotas, but on a much larger scale than Iceland. This year they set their quota at 1,052, but so far as I have seen Mr. Hogarth has not singled out Norway in the same way as he has with respect to Iceland. This kind of unbalanced and unfair criticism itself bodes poorly for the "good faith negotiations" that he claims will be undercut by Iceland's continuing to issue sustainable whaling permits.

The US's Gutierrez's declaration that Iceland is "going in the wrong direction" by issuing a coastal whaling quota for just 40 minke whales also seems to confirm my expectation (or lack of) with regards to progress towards a compromise at the IWC meeting in Santiago next month.

Finally, if the EU is so keen to speak for member nations on whaling issues their spokesperson will probably want to check those facts before saying irrelevant things in the media.

Labels: Iceland, IWC 60, whale meat market

Another by-catch incident in Iwate was reported in the Japanese media.

This time thankfully it wasn't another endangered western gray whale, but a more common fin whale.

The Iwate edition of the Asahi Shimbun has the story (see the original article for a good photo), my rough translation follows:

11-metre whale caught in set net - Iwaizumi town
2007/12/18

A huge baleen whale measuring 10.75 metres in length was found caught in a set net belonging to the Komoto bay fisheries cooperative of Iwaizumi town on the morning of the 17th. It took all of 27 set net fishermen to bind the whale to a boat and bring it back to shore, where it was landed by a large truck at the Miyako market.

According to the set net's lead fisherman, Ichiro Miura (42), when the salmon set net was checked at around 9 A.M., a whale was found entangled in it, already limp.

After receiving notification from prefectural authorities, the Institute of Cetacean Research (Tokyo) investigated and advised that the whale was a large fin whale, which can grow up to 20 metres. As for whales entangled in set nets which can not be set free, except in the case of specially designated species, it is possible to sell whale carcases under Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries law. This whale too was quickly put to auction as soon as necessary procedures, including the preservation of a sample from the whale's fin for DNA examination, were completed.

With fin whales falling in the "high-class item" category amongst whale species, a Miyagi prefecture dealer bought the whale for 7,000,000 yen. Even the initially sober faced Miura, who had been lamenting the ruin of his net, said "Great, I got a bonus", after fetching the unexpectedly high price.

Another article notes the Miyagi buyer was a marine products processor, and the whale was cut up at the market. The ICR was also quoted again, noting that fin whales are found throughout the world, but are rarely landed in Japan. Most whales landed off the coast of Iwate are apparently minke whales, and they tend to be caught off the Ofunato coast, in the south of Iwate (Miyako city is further north). A Miyako market related person said that usually they will only see about 1 whale a year there, and was surprised to see such a large one come in.

Incidentally, 7,000,000 yen is more than $60,000 USD at today's exchange rate. It's not clear exactly how much meat was obtained, but it seems like a pretty good deal compared with the regulated whole-sale prices.

Labels: whale by-catch, whale meat market

An Iceland representative in Japan was reported in the Chunichi newspaper on October 9 saying that they were continuing to negotiate with Japanese officials on a recommencement of trade in whale meat products, and were hoping to secure access "by next spring".

Unfortunately the article disappeared from the Internet quite quickly so I'm unable to provide additional detail but, as avid readers will know, around the same time the Iceland government also announced that they wouldn't be renewing the commercial quotas for the new season.

Most anti-whaling groups were rather pleased, but others (if I recall correctly, WWF International namely) were critical, as the reason for the quota not being renewed was that "no market" for the whale meat had been secured. Indeed at the time Iceland's IWC representative was quoted in the western media stating that negotiations to gain access to the target Japanese market were continuing. Nonetheless, earlier statements from related parties had suggested that the Icelanders had been hoping access would be secured by the end of summer 2007.

Incidentally, the apparent stock of meat Iceland has available - something like 250 tonnes of fin whale meat - would seemingly be absorbed pretty easily by the Japanese market, which over the past 12 months has seen average outgoing stock at around 700 tonnes per month, or 8,400 tonnes. Iceland's additional supply would amount to only an additional 2~3% supply.

More recently, this Jiji Tsushin article appeared on December the 13th. This time it's about Norway, my rough translation below for English readers:

Whale meat imports "waiting for Japan's response" - Norwegian ambassador to Japan hopes for recommencement after 19 years

Norway's Ambassador to Japan, Åge Grutle, made it known that his country is proceeding with negotiations with the government regarding Norway's desire for Japan to import meat from whales caught there. The Ambassador stated that "Norway wants to resume exports next year. We are waiting for Japan's response". It would be the first time since 1989 if Japan does resume whale meat trade with Norway.

Regarding whale meat imports, Japan is also considering a trade resumption with Iceland, with which the trade had continued up until 1991. There is said to be no problem with whale meat trade with respect to the Washington Treaty (CITES). Japan is also hoping to strengthen ties with nations that support whaling through the trade resumption. However, as there would be an inevitable response from western anti-whaling nations, the Fisheries Agency "wishes to carefully observe the circumstances both at home and abroad" (far seas fisheries division), and is taking a cautious approach towards making the final decision.

As for circumstances abroad, apparently a Norwegian whalers union recently called upon it's government to cease co-operation with Japan on whaling issues until the issue of trade access is resolved.

The Iceland government's decision to hold off on issuing further commercial whaling quotas until a market for the meat has been found appears to have a similar intent behind it.

Back in Japan, Toshio Katsukawa, a fisheries researcher who regularly criticises the Fisheries Agency, suggested on his blog that Japan ought to move to resume trade with Iceland and Norway, and in doing so make clear the financial benefits available through sustainable whaling. As I understood him, it seemed he thought this would see other nations also switch to the sustainable whaling camp at the IWC, and thus heighten the pressure for overturning the moratorium.

As far as the whaling issue is concerned, to my mind resuming trade can only be a positive for Japan and the whaling camp (although I won't be holding my breath waiting for the western anti-whaling nations to adopt a sustainable whaling policy as a result). However these matters evidently aren't quite so simple. More waiting-and-seeing I'm afraid!

Labels: Iceland, Norway, whale meat market, whale meat trade

Back in January this year I had some stories from Ishinomaki about whale meat (see my Ishinomaki label).

Sanriku-Kahoku.com again had a report on the 9th of December about local whale meat sales. Check the original article for a picture, below is a bit of a summary / translation:

The first day at the "Refined Hometown" roadside station Ichinomaki citizens form long lines

Ishinomaki's "winter whale meat distribution event" started on the 8th. The first day was held at the "Refined Hometown" roadside station, and many residents formed lines in advance of the 10AM start to sales.

Frozen minke whale meat, a by-product of research whaling, was distributed at the bargain price of 2,300 yen per 900 grams. 500 units were prepared for the first day, but had completely sold out in around 30 minutes. Again at the same station on the 9th, a further 600 units, 100 more than scheduled, will be distributed.

According to municipal authorities, interest in whale cuisine has heightened amongst city residents following the first ever "Whale Forum 2007" event that was held in Ishinomaki city in July, and the response to the distribution event was excellent.

Again on the 23rd from 6:30 AM at an early-morning market at the station square 100 more units will be available, and on the same day from 9:00 AM until noon 1,200 units will be prepared at the Ishinomaki city ultra-low temperature cold storage facility. Back at the roadside station, another 500 units are scheduled to be distributed on the 29th from 9:00 AM at the "Misoka market".

The city's marine resource section says "This year we secured an extra 1.1 tonnes, or 20% more whale meat for distribution than last year. We hope that many city residents will try it, and will continue to work to spread whale cuisine food culture"

Here we are only talking about a relatively insignificant amount of whale meat (several tonnes). The Ishinomaki area currently has the largest amount of whale meat in Japan, and saw more than 200 tonnes leaving storage there in October.

Another article dated December 16 has coverage of Ishinomaki's 2007 marugoto festa, again with lines of customers queuing for whale meat attracting the media's attention.

Labels: Ishinomaki, whale meat market

Recently I noted that the JARPN II by-product auction has already started this year. The ICR has a Japanese press release on it's website each year announcing this, and until this year, each auction has started in around late November or early December.

In 2007, it started about four weeks earlier than usual, and is only scheduled to last until the end of the month.

The JWA homepage's news section has a reproduction of an article from Japan's top marine products newspaper related to this.

"Western North Pacific research whaling by-product sale brought forward a month - healthy sales, stock shortage see sale start from November", reads the headline.

The article, dated the 19th of October, says that that the by-product sale from the JARPN II offshore research will start a month earlier than normal, from November 1. There had apparently been a series of calls from distributors to bring the auction forward, as sales have been going well. With stock in hand from the previous research almost gone, an early start to the sale was decided. The article notes that the supply from JARPN II in 2007 is approximately equal to that from the previous year's JARPN II programme, about 1,900 tonnes. The breakdown by species was 100 minkes (258 tonnes), 50 Bryde's whales (414 tonnes), 100 Sei whales (1220 tonnes), and 3 Sperm whales (8 tonnes). The portion destined for the market will be on sale from November 1 until November 30.

The article also has info on prices. The price for minke whale is left the same as the price from May (1,990 yen per kilo). Prices for Sei and Bryde's whales were raised 5.6% and 5.2%. Red meat, in plentiful supply, rises in price 20 yen per kilo for Sei whale meat (1,920 yen), but for Bryde's whale a price rise was put off (1,950).


Indeed sales do seem to be going well. 2007 consumption already appears to be approximately equivalent to consumption from 2005, and that's with only 2/3rd's of the year gone.

With the JARPN II by-product auction having been brought forward, unless consumption slows down, perhaps we may see the 2008 JARPA II auction brought forward as well.

Labels: whale meat market

Back in June I did a post illustrating how much of the by-product from Japan's whale research programmes is allocated for public purposes.

The ICR released figures relating to the disposal of the by-product from the 2007 JARPN II program. So here's an update to the graph:

That is, the total by-product made available by Kyodo Senpaku in 2007 will be 4,005.41 tonnes, with 661.3 tonnes (16.5%) of that allocated for public purposes.

The JARPN II by-product auction has in fact already started this year - it's running from November 1 through until November 30 in wholesale markets around the country.

The ICR press release also notes that by-product obtained in the coastal component of JARPN II off the waters of Kushiro (up to 60 minke whales to be taken) is being sold off separately. I believe the reason for this is that the coastal component of the research is currently being conducted using small-scale whaling vessels rather than with Kyodo Senpaku's fleet. The by-product from the offshore component is seemingly frozen before going to auction, where as the meat from the coastal component hits the markets fresh.

This article from the Kushiro Shinbun in September has coverage of the first catch to hit the market. It notes that the meat from this activity is distributed to traditional whale meat consumption centres around the country, with proceeds going towards the research costs. Apparently the meat from the first whale caught each year is allocated on a preferential basis to Kushiro (where the research work is based out of), and 800 kilograms had been distributed into fresh food shops in the area after being sold off through the regional wholesale market there. A shop mentioned in the article that was selling off it's portion for 580 yen per 100 grams had sold out by night fall.

Labels: whale meat market

Japan's leading economic newspaper, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) carried a report on wholesale whale meat prices yesterday:

Whale meat wholesale prices raised for the first time in 10 years

Whale meat wholesale prices have risen for the first time in 10 years. This
is due to a strong sense of stock shortage following a decrease in supply due to
a fire accident on a research whaling vessel, and a recovery in demand since the
latter half of last year. The percentage price rise for product categories such
as red meat and blubber was an average of 7%. At the current time the effect of
the price rise hasn't been observed in shop prices, but amongst retailers there
are concerned voices that "if wholesale prices rise further, it may throw cold
water on the recovery in whale meat popularity".

Whale meat is sold by the Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research
foundation ("Geiken", Chuo, Tokyo) as a "by-product" of research whaling.
Research is mainly conducted twice a year, in the Antarctic Ocean and in the
western North Pacific. This year in February, the mother ship "Nisshin Maru"
suffered a fire outbreak while in the Antarctic. The research was cancelled and
the ship returned to Japan with approximately 2,100 tonnes of whale meat,
approximately 60% of what was scheduled. (19:01)

No surprises in this for regular readers of this blog (I suggested upward pressure on retail prices in my previous whale meat stockpile update), but it's worth noting that Japan's leading economic newspaper has picked up on the story.

One thing in the article that I don't agree with is the suggestion that whale popularity has only been increasing since the second half of last year. The 12-month moving average outgoing whale meat stock figures in the stockpile figures I have been covering indicates that consumption has been increasing since at least the beginning of 2005.

Furthermore, given that whale meat prices are still relatively high (even before this 7% price hike), I believe that limited supply has had a capping effect on consumption (as opposed to low demand). The report from an anti-whaling journalist last year of a whale meat "glut" was seemingly accepted by the media without any critical analysis.

Labels: Japanese media perspective, whale meat market