FISHERIES AGENCYMINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES, GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN

2-1, 1-Chome, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100, Japan TEL:03-3502-8111 EXT:

MEDIA RELEASE

Australian Parliamentary Secretary“Misinformed”
January 9, 2002.
A senior official in Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr.
Masayuki Komatsu, today issued a challenge to Australian Parliamentary Secretary
Sharman Stone to tell the Australian public the truth about Japan’s whale research
program in the Antarctic.
Mr. Komatsu said“Parliamentary Secretary Dr. Sharman Stone is clearlymisinformed about whaling issues. I urge her to read the reports of the International
Whaling Commisison’s Scientific Committee and tell the Australian public the truth.
The fact is that Japan’s whale research in the Antarctic is providing valuable scientificinformation.”
Mr. Komatsu’s remarks came in response to a press release issued by Dr. Stone’s
office on January 2, 2002 following a meeting in the Antarctic between the Australian
icebreaker Aurora Australis and Japan’s whale research vessels. Mr. Komatsu said
“if Dr. Stone had done her homework before simply repeating the anti-whaling
rhetoric of Greenpeace, she would know that both the quality and quantity of datafrom Japan’s research programs have been commended by the IWC’s ScientificCommittee.”
In 1997, the IWC’s Scientific Committee conducted a major review of Japan’s whale
research program in the Antarctic. This review concluded that that the research
program has provided considerable data which could be directly relevant for
management and that the results of this program have the potential to improve themanagement of minke whales. Contrary to Dr. Stone’s comments, the ScientificCommittee also noted that non-lethal means to obtain some of this information areunlikely to be successful in the Antarctic.

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Mr. Komatsu said “I don’t know if the Australian public ever listens to parliamentary
secretaries but if they did so on this occasion they were certainly misinformed. Dr.
Stone’s comments directly contradict the conclusions of the IWC’s ScientificCommittee.” Mr. Komatsu also urged “Dr. Stone should also read the text of theInternational Convention for the Regulation of Whaling so that she would know thatthe reason whale meat ends up on Japanese dinner plates is because the Conventionrequires that the by-products of the research be processed.” “This is simply a matterthat valuable food resources should not be wasted” he added. Mr. Komatsu noted
however that Dr. Stone did acknowledge that Japan’s whale research program isperfectly legal under the Convention.
Mr. Komatsu explained that “historically, Australia, New Zealand and a number ofother western countries decimated whales stocks only for their oil and wastefully
dumped 90% of the whale carcass while Japan has a long tradition of fully using theanimals caught without waste.” “Further,” he said “Australia is not doing any
significant research on whales. They should understand that the management of all of
our marine resources should be based on scientific findings and appreciate Japan’s
research as a significant contribution”.
Mr. Komatsu explained that Japan’s research program in the Antarctic began in 1987
in response to claims that there was insufficient scientific information on whales andthat the program involves both lethal and non-lethal research techniques such assighting surveys and biopsy sampling. “While certain information can be obtained
through non-lethal means, other information requires sampling of internal organs suchas ovaries, ear plugs and stomachs” he said.
Mr. Komatsu explained that while Australia has a position opposed to whaling, antiwhaling is not the majority world-view. In fact, in 1992, the UN Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, reaffirmed theprovisions of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, an agreement that permits
whaling on the high seas, and explicitly rejected the efforts of anti-whaling nations toexclude whales from the list of resources open to sustainable use and development.
Further, at both the 1997 and 2000 Conferences of the Parties to the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species, more than half the countries present
supported the controlled use of minke whales. Many fishing nations including
Norway, China, Korea, Russia and Iceland, as well as many developing countries
support the sustainable use of all marine resources (including whales) and research
programs that provide for science based resource management decisions.
Mr. Komatsu noted that even Australia supported a resolution adopted by consensus
at last year’s meeting of the IWC to make the study of interactions between whalestocks and fisheries a matter of priority. Mr. Komatsu said “perhaps parliamentary
secretary Stone doesn’t understand that this means that we need to examine stomach
contents of some number of whales”.

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FISHERIES AGENCYMINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES, GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN

2-1, 1-Chome, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100, Japan TEL:03-3502-8111 EXT:

Mr. Komatsu said “Sustainable use of resources is the world standard. Australia,
along with New Zealand, are beginning to be isolated on the issue of whaling”.
“Australia’s position that its OK to kill millions of kangaroos each year and at thesame time criticize Japan for killing 440 minke whales from an abundant populationin the Antarctic is simply an irrational, hypocritical double standard” he said. “Dr.
Stone should stick to kangaroos but if she wants a briefing on the issue of whales, I
would be happy to send 1 or 2 of my staff to explain these matters” said Mr. Komatsu.

For more information contact:
Masayuki Komatsu, Counsellor, Resources Management Department,Fisheries Agency, Government of Japan (Tel: +81-3-3591-1086) orJoji Morishita, Deputy Director General, Far Seas Fisheries Division,Fisheries Agency, Government of Japan (Tel: +81-3-3502-2443).
For further information see
http://www.icrwhalesci.org/Q&Ajapanswhaleresearchpro2.html
http://www.icrwhale.org/JwhaleresAntarctic.htm

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