Octopus Overlords

In a remarkable diplomatic coup, Japan, the leading pro-whaling nation, is poised to seize control of whaling's regulatory body, the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and so hasten the return of commercial whale hunting, which has been officially banned worldwide for the past 20 years.

Dirt wrote:All we need to do is get about 10,000 dna samples for genetic diversity and start cloning them.

Tareeq wrote:

Dirt wrote:All we need to do is get about 10,000 dna samples for genetic diversity and start cloning them.

Cute. Each egg would require a female whale for implantation and gestation.

I'm sure there's a clever reference to the Rape of Nanjing in there somewhere, if we think long and hard about it.

SuperHiro wrote:Hasn't Japan been hunting whales for "research purposes" in blatant violation of the ban for years already?

ralph wiggum wrote:Despite this trend, the government is still trying to revive what they consider is a fading cultural tradition; some schools have even gone so far as serving whale as the only meat during certain lunches.

tcweidner wrote:We should nuke em, oh right, we did.

LawBeefaroni wrote:Personally I don't see the need for whaling (we have oil) and don't approve of it.

yossar wrote:

LawBeefaroni wrote:Personally I don't see the need for whaling (we have oil) and don't approve of it.

Because imitation whale sandwiches just aren't as good as the real thing. If vegetarian propaganda can be believed, there's no "need" for eating any kind of meat.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Interestingly, there was a report on NPR recently about how whale meat no longer sells well in Japan. A couple of decades ago, a large part of the Japanese diet consisted of whale meat, but now the vast majority of young people won't buy it and prefer to eat other meats. So even most of the limited whale meat that is on the Japanese market now is usually not sold and ends up frozen. Despite this trend, the government is still trying to revive what they consider is a fading cultural tradition; some schools have even gone so far as serving whale as the only meat during certain lunches.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:

yossar wrote:

LawBeefaroni wrote:Personally I don't see the need for whaling (we have oil) and don't approve of it.

Because imitation whale sandwiches just aren't as good as the real thing. If vegetarian propaganda can be believed, there's no "need" for eating any kind of meat.

But it's one thing to eat chicken and cows when they reproduce quickly and abundantly and the world is full of them. It's quite another thing to hunt a struggling species that plays an important part in the ecosystem and would have a hard time ever recovering due to their slow reproductive cycles (for example, it takes minke whales between 6-8 years to reach sexual maturity).

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: But it's one thing to eat chicken and cows when they reproduce quickly and abundantly and the world is full of them. It's quite another thing to hunt a struggling species that plays an important part in the ecosystem and would have a hard time ever recovering due to their slow reproductive cycles (for example, it takes minke whales between 6-8 years to reach sexual maturity).

ChrisGwinn wrote:

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Interestingly, there was a report on NPR recently about how whale meat no longer sells well in Japan. A couple of decades ago, a large part of the Japanese diet consisted of whale meat, but now the vast majority of young people won't buy it and prefer to eat other meats. So even most of the limited whale meat that is on the Japanese market now is usually not sold and ends up frozen. Despite this trend, the government is still trying to revive what they consider is a fading cultural tradition; some schools have even gone so far as serving whale as the only meat during certain lunches.

I wouldn't be at all shocked if I was told my school lunches had been whale. They certainly weren't meats I recognized

Nade wrote:If 6-8 years is slow, then it's never stopped us from reproducing quickly.

Ironrod wrote:Has anyone here ever eaten whale? I mean, if it tastes good....

The International Court of Justice ruled Monday that Japan can no longer continue its annual whale hunt, rejecting the country's argument that it was for scientific purposes.

"Japan shall revoke any extant authorization, permit or license granted in relation to JARPA II, and refrain from granting any further permits in pursuance of that program," the court said, referring to the research program.

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
...
The Australian government challenged the Japanese whaling program in the International Court of Justice, leading to Monday's ruling.

Gryndyl wrote:

Ironrod wrote:Has anyone here ever eaten whale? I mean, if it tastes good....

Yes, and no, it doesn't. Possibly the worst taste I've ever encountered. It was a struggle not to vomit.

Five small Japanese whaling ships set sail for the first time in more than three decades Monday following that country's controversial decision to resume the hunt for the huge marine mammal.
...
The ships will spend much of the summer hunting for minke and Baird's beaked whales, Reuters reported.

Neither species is listed as endangered or threatened in the U.S. by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Japan last year announced its withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), an international organization that deals with whale conservation and management of whaling, in a move that sparked global condemnation.
...
Norway and Iceland also openly defy the international ban, while an exemption allows indigenous communities in places like Greenland and Alaska to hunt whales.

The World Wide Fund for Nature estimates nearly 32,000 whales have been killed by whaling since the moratorium was imposed.
...
Japan has long maintained that eating whale is an important part of its culture and that most species are not endangered.

It said the commercial hunts will be limited to Japan's territorial waters and its 200-mile exclusive economic zone. However, it promised to stop its annual whaling expeditions to the Antarctic and northwest Pacific oceans.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:45 pm Interestingly, there was a report on NPR recently about how whale meat no longer sells well in Japan. A couple of decades ago, a large part of the Japanese diet consisted of whale meat, but now the vast majority of young people won't buy it and prefer to eat other meats. So even most of the limited whale meat that is on the Japanese market now is usually not sold and ends up frozen. Despite this trend, the government is still trying to revive what they consider is a fading cultural tradition; some schools have even gone so far as serving whale as the only meat during certain lunches.

Grifman wrote: ↑Tue Jul 02, 2019 10:37 am

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:45 pm Interestingly, there was a report on NPR recently about how whale meat no longer sells well in Japan. A couple of decades ago, a large part of the Japanese diet consisted of whale meat, but now the vast majority of young people won't buy it and prefer to eat other meats. So even most of the limited whale meat that is on the Japanese market now is usually not sold and ends up frozen. Despite this trend, the government is still trying to revive what they consider is a fading cultural tradition; some schools have even gone so far as serving whale as the only meat during certain lunches.

Yeah, it's really crazy. This isn't something that the Japanese public is really demanding - that the govt there keeps insisting on this doesn't make much sense to me.

For the first time in 17 years, there will be no commercial whaling in Iceland after the sole company certified to hunt whales failed to renew its license in time.

Hvalur hf, started in 1948, will not be hunting the endangered fin whale or the more common minke whale for the remainder of the year, according to the Reykjavik Grapevine. The company, which exports most of its product to Japan, cited a shrinking appetite for whale meat as the reason for foregoing the hunt.
...
Gunnar Bergmann Jónsson, CEO of whaling company IP Útgerð, says he will focus on sea cucumber instead, and import minke whale meat from Norway to meet what little demand remains. He predicted his company would resume hunting for minke in spring 2020.