The whale kill now stands at 1,255, compared to a low of 326 in 1988, two years after the global moratorium on commercial whaling was put in place. Norway has increased minke whale quotas to 655 this year, and Japan lifted its take to three species under the guise of scientific whaling. The take of 50 Bryde's whales and 10 sperm whales from the North Pacific, on top of Japan's 540 minkes, alarmed global powers, which disclosed they had taken it up formally with Tokyo. The United States IWC Commissioner, Dr. James Baker, told the meeting the U.S. has raised the issue at the highest level with the Japanese government.
Japanese whalers strip a minke whale.
Britain's Fisheries Minister, Eliott Morley, said he was concerned that the Japanese decision foreshadowed something much greater. My government is concerned that these plans represent not just a feasibility study for a research program, but also a feasibility study for the resumption of full scale pelagic whaling. A UK motion condemning Japanese proposals to add 50 Bryde's whales and 10 sperm whales to its whaling programme was passed by delegates. Japan is flying in the face of world opinion which strongly supports the IWC's moratorium of commercial whaling. Australia told the meeting that many lawyers believe Japan may not be acting within its rights under international law by using scientific permits as a disguise for commercial whaling.