We Urge President Biden to Keep Pressing Japan to End Whaling
By Mark J. Palmer
A recent article in the Financial Times reports that the Biden Administration and the US Office of the Trade Representative, in negotiating the Indo-Pacific trade pact, have pushed a provision in the treaty opposing commercial whaling.
The Japanese government, to show just how far it will go in propping up the inhumane, illegal, and very weakened commercial whaling industry, has opposed the provision. Some Japanese government authorities are even threatening to pull out of the agreement, sacrificing trade benefits with the US in favor of a dying whaling industry.
Last Monday, August 14th, 2023, the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute sent the following letter to President Biden and Ambassador Katherine Tai, head of the US Office of the Trade Representative:
President Joseph Biden, The White House
Washington, DC 20500
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Ms. Katherine Tai, Ambassador
US Office of the Trade Representative
600 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20508
RE: Please Continue Pressing for an End to Japan’s Commercial Whaling in Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Negotiations
Dear President Biden and Ambassador Tai:
Our organization celebrated with you in 1990 with the passage of the Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act, which you, President Biden, sponsored as a Senator with then-Congressmember Barbara Boxer. That legislation, as you know, protects tens of thousands of dolphins from dying in tuna nets annually – a great conservation success story!
The International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute would like to thank you for supporting a provision in the Indo-Pacific trade pact to end commercial whaling. We further encourage you to keep that provision in negotiations despite the negative reaction of the Japanese government.
Japan’s whaling efforts have been denounced by the World Court and the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The government of Japan’s insistence on promoting and subsidizing commercial whaling is a clear case of a special-interest upending international politics for self-serving purposes, even at the cost of blocking a free trade agreement.
After Japan quit the IWC in 2019, commercial whaling in Japan was restricted, via the Law of the Sea, to Japan’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone. Japanese commercial whaling continues to be subsidized but is unlikely to survive in the current economic climate. Very few Japanese eat whale meat.
There is no place in our world for continued commercial whaling. Whales are intelligent, sentient beings. They contribute to the health of the ocean ecosystem, recycling nutrients, and help sequester CO2 in the ocean. Many populations of whales are still on the edge of extinction due to over-exploitation in the 19th and 20th centuries. Only Japan, Norway, and Iceland continue commercial whaling, ignoring international agreements at the IWC, and Iceland’s government may very well end whaling later this year.
Please hold tough on putting an end to commercial whaling during negotiations.
Thank you for your consideration of our concerns about protecting the environment and the health of our oceans.
Sincerely,
David Phillips, Executive Director
Mark J. Palmer, Associate Director
Japanese whaling. Photo Credit: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
What You Can Do:
Please send your own polite letter or email to President Biden and Ambassador Tai. Thank them for proposing an end to commercial whaling and urge them to keep pressuring the Japanese government.
Time is short! Take Action Now!
President Joseph Biden
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
To send the President an Email, go to this online form: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Leave a phone message here: 202-456-1111
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Ms. Katherine Tai, Ambassador
US Office of the Trade Representative
600 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20508
Leave a phone message here: 202-395-2870
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Thank you!
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For More than 40 years, the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute has been in the forefront of efforts to end commercial whaling. You can help protect whales from the agony of exploding harpoons by donating to our work and by sending your own message as noted above, to President Biden and Ambassador Tai. You are among the best advocates for whales and dolphins! Show your support today. And thank you for caring.
