KFEM has been conducting a non-lethal, scientific survey on whales and dolphins for the past eleven days off the Korean coast, on board the Greenpeace flagship, Rainbow Warrior. Preliminary results (1) indicate that whales and dolphins in the area are in serious trouble and that they face many threats, the most serious of which are over-fishing and high incidents of ‘accidental’ by-catch.

“We’ve been lucky enough to see some beautiful and rare creatures in these waters – common and bottlenose dolphins, finless and Dall’s porpoise and a minke whale. But I would’ve expected to see more,” said Libby Eyre, marine biologist and independent observer who led the cetacean survey.(2)

“It’s clear cetaceans have a great deal to contend with in this environment. I’m particularly concerned about the sheer number of fishing vessels, traps and nets I’ve seen here; concerns that are shared by scientists around the world,” she added.

Only one minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) was sighted, even though they are the most populous of all the whale species in Korean waters. This lends support to scientific studies (3) which state that minkes, far from increasing, have actually continued to decrease in the area since whaling was banned in 1986, due to high levels of ‘accidental’ by-catch.

“The only effective conservation strategy for whales and dolphins is a total ban on whaling in all its forms. As a first step, the government must remove the incentive for ‘accidental’ whaling by banning the trade in whale meat. It’s clear that, while there’s a lucrative price paid for dead whales in Korea, they’ll continue to be hunted and legally sold on the open market as by-catch. Unless this trade stops, our minke whales will continue to be caught and killed and, like the rare Korean gray whale, will spiral towards extinction,” said KFEM Chairman, Mr. Yoon.

An average of 100 whales are trapped in fishing nets in Korea every year, in spite of the authorities attempts to regulate it. This is higher than every other country in the world, except Japan. Government statistics for 2003 (4), show that the number of ‘accidental’ catches in countries that trade in whale meat, such as Korea, are on average over ten times higher than catches in countries that do not trade in whale meat.

“Greenpeace fully supports KFEM’s call for a nationwide ban on the trade in whale meat. Banning the trade in whale meat would give a clear signal to the world that Korea cares about its environment, and that it can and will stand firm against the pro-whaling lobby led by the government of Japan at the upcoming IWC meeting in June,” said Greenpeace International oceans campaigner, Jim Wickens.

Contacts:

Mr. Choi, Ye-Yong, Senior Researcher, KFEM, on +82 (0)16 458 7488

Jim Wickens, Greenpeace International oceans campaigner on +82 (0)10 2233 0760

Matilda Bradshaw, Greenpeace International communications, on +82 (0)10 2233 0753

Rainbow Warrior satellite phone: +87 324 453 510

For further information on the KFEM and Greenpeace campaign to protect whales, see: www.comebackwhales.com/news/

Notes: (1) The full report of the survey will be available before the 57th International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting will take place between 27 May and 24 June in Ulsan, south Korea.

(2) Libby Eyre has been observing whales and dolphins for 20 years. She is a biological sciences museum curator and scientific officer at Macquarie University, Sydney.

(3) “Predicted decline of protected whales based on molecular genetic monitoring of Japanese and Korean markets,” C.S.Baker, G.M. Lento, F. Cipriano and S.R. Palumbi (2000), Royal Society of London, Series B. 267:1191-1199. The report states that, even if current by-catch rates of minkes in Korea were reduced by 50%, they would continue to decline.

(4) Government by-catch statistics for 2003, submitted to the IWC in 2004.