Areas of concern on the latest amendment to the dolphin catch quota.
The figures in parentheses are last year's value.
Quota of Each Species
Type of hunting
Number of boats
Dall's/Dalli
Dall's/truei
PWhiteS.D
Striped.D
Bottle nose
Spotted.D
Risso'sD
SFPilotW.S
False K.W.
Total
Hokkaido/HH
16
(1,451)
1,399
(98)
95
(1,549)
1,494
Aomori/HH
8
(18)
16
(18)
16
Iwate/HH
196
(6,969)
6,721
(8,054)
7,805
154
(15,177)
14,680
Miyagi/HH
7
(269)
260
(16)
16
(285)
276
Chiba/HH
11
(72)
64
(72)
64
Shizuoka/DF
50
36
(63)
56
(71)
67
(409)
365
(10)
10
(589)
534
Wakayama/DF
17
134
(450)
450
(842)
795
(400)
400
(295)
290
(277)
254
(70)
70
(2,468)
2,393
Wakayama/HH
100
36
(100)
100
(95)
89
(70)
70
(246)
242
(547)
537
Okinawa/HH
6
(10)
9
(92)
85
(20)
20
(121)
114
Total
(8,707)
8,396
(8,168)
7,916
(360)
360
(685)
670
(1,017)
960
(879)
835
(541)
532
(369)
339
(100)
100
(20,826)
20,108
HH=Hand Harpoon, DF=Drive Fishery
We appreciate the Agency decreased the quota for dolphins, however, we are still strongly concerned about the following:
The estimated individual number lacks accuracy because not enough research has been conducted.
Fishing methods should be more carefully considered, especially
drive-hunting, which can eliminate entire groups of individuals and
involve the use of hand held harpoons and sticks for catching large
cetaceans.
The Agency needs to correctly understand the actual situation of local
fishing industries, for at present, it does not. For example, a small
cetacean hunting operations are not operated in Aomori and a small
cetacean hunting is going to be finished in Shizuoka. Also their stated
number of ships which are permitted to hunt is incorrect.
The Agency should consider consumption trends, so that they can more
appropriately and fundamentally change quotas and initiate bigger
reductions in numbers, which will aid in the conservation of
biodiversity, instead of always trying to benefit the fishing industry.
The Agency should inform consumers of the high mercury contamination in dolphin meat.
Live dolphins are being caught and sold to aquariums. This practice
treats them as objects of consumption rather than as sentient living
beings with their own interests. Viewing dolphins in aquariums
encourages this practice to continue and makes little of it.
IKAN ＜Iruka(dolphin)and Kujira(whale)
Action Network＞
P.O. Box #10 Iruma Post Office Saitama
Prefecture Japan
Email:
QWP06555@nifty.ne.jp
