Will São Tomé and Príncipe sell their Whales..?
Seems Japan will keep exploring all avenues from Small Developing nations in order to gain access to whale meat. In this part of the world Japan seems to have been very generous, practicaly all these nations support Japans twisted logic to justify their whaling and fisheries agenda.
While poaching fish from its neighbor ! Russia....
"Kamchatka’s Environmental Prosecutor’s Office has passed to the court a criminal case against the captain of the Japanese fishing vessel, the Hoshinmaru 88.............The vessel, owned and operated by Ikeda Suisan company, was seized by Russian marine border guards with a crew of 17 off Kamchatka’s eastern coast on June 1 carrying a catch exceeding by 14 tons the documented payload, with sockeye salmon instead of the chum salmon declared. The boat was later escorted to the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky."
And now making overtures to the small and vulnerable island nation of São Tomé and Principe.
No doubt a result of the recent dynamics at both the annual International Whaling Commission(IWC) and CITIES (Convention on International Trade in endangered species).
Breaching Sperm Whale CITIES responded by denying the request and adding that the IWC was the appropriate body for such research. This also went to reinforce the ban on trade in whale meat currently in place.
Also reinforcing the "market based" decision taken by Iceland recently not to issue quotas for whale hunting next year due to a surplus of stock and no export market.
Ooh, BTW, Japans many years of research has still not provided any abundance numbers according to the the scientific committee report of the IWC 59 meeting.
This article seems to be the only reference to the whaling question, however Japan has graciously given food aid and a grant to construct the infamous "fishery facility". This will also make a neat geographical plus, certainly in the realms of food security.
Japans success at this courtship will be the fruit of the long worn battle.
Next will be representation at the IWC, perhaps!
Japan wants to hunt whales in Sao Tome’s waters [ 2007-08-09 ]
Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe, 9 Aug - Japan has presented proposals to Sao Tome’s fisheries authorities aimed to open the archipelago’s territorial waters to Japanese commercial whaling, officials said.
Sao Tome’s fisheries minister, Cristina Dias, said Wednesday that she considered the Japanese proposals “interesting”, noting that before Sao Tome gives approval for this type of fishing it would carry out economic and environmental studies and also sign up to an international convention on whaling.
Besides discussing financial compensation for whale fishing in its waters, Sao Tome would also discuss job creation prospects related to the whaling proposals with the Japanese authorities, added the minister.
Dias was speaking after a fisheries conference in Sao Tome, which was attended by a Tokyo delegation headed by Japanese MP Tadahiko Ito, who is to deliver an invitation to President Fradique de Menezes for the Japan-Africa summit next year.
Japan made US$ 6.9 million available to Sao Tome less than a month ago for fisheries development as part of Tokyo’s bilateral cooperation with the islands.
Japan is one of Sao Tome’s main cooperation partners in the fisheries sector. Tokyo sends annual food donations of rice to the islands worth around US$ 1.3 million. (macauhub)
So should you want to drop the good Minister a note
Hon.Cristina Maria
ambassade.sao.tome(AT)scarlet.be
Ministre de l'Economie S.E. Cristina Maria Fernandes Dias
Government of Sao Tome and Principe
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