WWF Japan proposes partial lifting of commercial whaling ban
News
01 Apr 2002 - 18 Jan 2016
The Japanese branch of an international environmental group said Monday that it would support the partial lifting of an international ban on commercial whaling on condition that all catches are closely monitored.
Tokyo-based World Wide Fund for Nature Japan announced its proposal to try to settle a 15-year-old dispute between nations that favor whaling and those opposed to it, said Shigeki Komori, a senior official of the organization.
Komori said a limited hunt of abundant species would have to be monitored by the International Whaling Commission, which outlawed commercial whaling in 1986 to protect endangered whale populations. Switzerland-based WWF is aware of the Japanese branch's proposal but hasn't endorsed it, Komori added.
The announcement comes just weeks before an International Whaling Commission meeting in Japan's southern port city of Shimonoseki in late April. The proposal could help Japan's campaign to get the ban lifted.
Tokyo-based World Wide Fund for Nature Japan announced its proposal to try to settle a 15-year-old dispute between nations that favor whaling and those opposed to it, said Shigeki Komori, a senior official of the organization.
Komori said a limited hunt of abundant species would have to be monitored by the International Whaling Commission, which outlawed commercial whaling in 1986 to protect endangered whale populations. Switzerland-based WWF is aware of the Japanese branch's proposal but hasn't endorsed it, Komori added.
The announcement comes just weeks before an International Whaling Commission meeting in Japan's southern port city of Shimonoseki in late April. The proposal could help Japan's campaign to get the ban lifted.
Related Topics: Marine Mammals
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