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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 13, 2000
CONTACT:
David Willett , 202-675-6698
SIERRA CLUB APPLAUDS U.S. ACTIONS AGAINST JAPAN'S WHALING
Washington, DC: The Sierra Club expressed its support for the Clinton
administration's announcement today that it will deny Japan future
access to fishing rights in U.S. waters and will consider possible
trade sanctions in response to Japan's decision to increase its
whaling activities conducted in the name of "scientific research".
The White House announcement was a response to Japan's recent decision
to expand its whaling program to include two new species, Bryde's and
sperm whales, both protected under US law.
"We live during a time in which endangered species extinction has
become an all-too-common occurrence," said Carl Pope, Sierra Club
Executive Director. "Sierra Club applauds President Clinton for
sending a message to the Japanese government that the American public
values species protection over species consumption. This further calls
into question Japan's so-called `scientific' whaling scheme that
appears to exist mainly to provide whale meat for Japanese
restaurants."
"We appreciate the effort the Clinton administration has made to
convince the government of Japan to end its expanded whaling program
before moving to sanctions, a step that gives no one satisfaction,"
said Pope.
However, Pope expressed "concern that a possible appeal by Japan to
the World Trade Organization (WTO) would only serve to further expose
the American people to the failings of an international trade
organization that has repeatedly placed corporate interests before
public interests."
Secretary of Commerce Mineta reached his decision to certify the
Government of Japan under the terms of the Pelly Amendment to the
Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967. The insistence by the Japanese
government on expanding their whaling under the guise of 'scientific
research' in recent months fails to meet standards set forth in the
Pelly Amendment:
* it compromises the effectiveness and work of the International
Whaling Commission and of the Convention on Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES);
* it targets one species, sperm whales, which are listed as endangered
under the provisions of the US Endangered Species Act, while all
three of the whale species being hunted by Japan are protected under
the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act.
For many years, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has passed
resolutions calling upon Japan to cease its scientific research
whaling because that program does not meet IWC criteria for scientific
research. During its 52nd meeting in Adelaide, Australia this July, a
large majority of the IWC condemned the announced expansion of the
Japanese whaling program in the North Pacific, emphasizing the lack of
any critical need for the data to be developed by killing minke,
Bryde's, and sperm whales. In August, the ambassadors of fifteen
nations, including the US, met in Tokyo with the Japanese Foreign
Ministry to ask urgently that Japan refrain from further whaling, both
in the North Pacific and in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. Japan has
rejected all such appeals.
"The Sierra Club hopes that the prospect of closing Japan's vessels
out of fishing in US waters will encourage the country to reconsider
its research whaling program. The practice of whaling places Japan
increasingly out of line with global standards and public opinion,"
added Pope.
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