The proposals: Japan has submitted two proposals, one for minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and the other for Bryde's whales (B. edeni). The proposals would downlist the northern hemisphere populations of minke whale (except the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and Sea of Japan populations) and the western North Pacific stock of Bryde's whales from Appendix I to Appendix II.

HSUS Position: Oppose

In these two proposals, Japan is asking the Parties to move certain populations of minke and Bryde's whales from Appendix I to Appendix II and to allow commercial trade in meat and blubber from those populations.

The decimation of whale stocks by decades of unregulated and unsustainable commercial whaling reduced the populations of some species by more than 90%. In 1986, the International Whaling Commission implemented a ban on commercial whaling of all the great whales. In support of that ban, CITES listed all great whale species on Appendix I. Japan, along with Norway, has fought both the IWC ban and the listing of great whales on Appendix I at every opportunity, taking advantage of loopholes to continue to kill whales and sell their meat. Disappointed by losses at the last IWC meeting on its home turf, Japan has come to COP12 determined to undermine the IWC's authority.

The "guarantees" of regulated trade set forth in the proposals are neither reliable nor enforceable. Furthermore, the supporting population data (meant to show that these populations of minke and Bryde's whales do not need Appendix I protection) are inaccurate, incomplete, and misleading. The IWC's Scientific Committee has already rejected some of Japan's population claims. Japan's reported catch numbers are also held in question: Information reported to the IWC in 2001 and 2002 revealed significant falsification of catch data by Japan.

Furthermore, unlike the case of the Black Sea bottlenose dolphin, this proposed split-listing (putting some populations of a species on Appendix I and some on Appendix II) will make enforcement impossible. The populations are visually indistinguishable, and the proposals do not detail how national databases and domestic legislation will prevent meat from Appendix I populations of minke and Bryde's whales from reaching international markets. Already, meat from Appendix I species is being found in commercial circulation in Japan. Passage of these proposals will only make CITES and IWC enforcement more difficult.