The Japanese have lied about the size of their catches and the number of reproductive age females caught
Massively hunted for oil since 1700, the sperm whales have enjoyed hunting regulations established by the International Whaling Commission, which only allowed the hunting of adult specimens of sizes greater than 11.6 meters. In order for the illegal collection of oil could not be identified, the Soviet fighters ignored these regulations by falsifying the data on the length of the females or the number of females captured.
According to scientists, the Japanese, who were fishing in the same areas have had the same practices. Evidence has been reported by a Japanese retired former manager of a whaling station that has acknowledged the data falsification by the stations and even after 1986, which is yet year moratorium on whales. To identify falsified data from Japan, Ivashchenko and Clapham analyzed the Soviet data were focusing on Great Sperm whales hunting by the 2 countries. According to research, the Japanese reached their quota each year as they spent less time hunting at the same place and at the same time, highlighting the falsification of official figures.
Falsification invalidating many studies about sperm whales’ population and conservation
Ivashchenko and the Clapham researchers recently published in the Royal Society Open Science precise comparison of the two countries between 1968 and 1969 hunting Sperm Whale that revealed the unrealistic figures for these two years. During this period, the Japanese fleet hunting of whales in the North Pacific have reported they had harpooned 1568 females. On these figures, in 1525, 97% were listed as the standards of the IWC. Their sides yet the Soviet fighters killed during the same period and the same zone 12 578 females and only 141 whales were of the required size.
Also if Japanese official reports show that they had killed 141 females with a size of 12.5 meters in 1969, the same year the Soviets had harpooned 5680 females and only 2 of them were the size reported by the Japaneses. After 1972, independent observers were required by the International Whaling Commission hunters aboard boats, and curiously figures immediately fell on the Great Sperm whales are larger or the required size.
According to John Frizell, spokesman for Greenpeace in England, the discovery of these false data on whaling will invalidate multiple population studies and the current conservation of whales, which are based on historical data.
Moreover, the researchers note that while the Japanese falsified figures on the Sperm Whale, they certainly did not hesitate to adopt the same approach for other whale species.
While the Japanese have managed to establish commercial whaling, independent observers should be mandatory on board their ships!
