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March 3, 2002

Japan defends its plan to kill endangered whale as 'essential research'
                                               by Shane Green
Japan has provoked a new furore over reports it is planning to hunt an endangered species of whale as part of new "scientific research" in the North Pacific.

Under the plan, Japanese whalers will hunt 50 sei whales, listed as an endangered species, and take 50 minke whales on top of the 100 they already kill. In addition, Japan also kills 50 Bryde's and 10 sperm whales. The whale meat ends up in Japanese restaurants and supermarkets.  The Japanese Government was forced to confirm and defend the plan yesterday after details were leaked through the World Wildlife Fund in Washington.

The head of the Institute of Cetacean Research in Tokyo, Seiji Ohsumi, said that the plan was based on an "urgent scientific need to collect data on the competition between whales and fisheries".

Dr Ohsumi said whales consumed three to five times the amount of the fish caught for human consumption.

"Our whale research is providing valuable information required for improving
the management of all our marine resources."

News of the increased take comes less than three months before the International Whaling Commission meets in Japan to vote on continuing a worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling. Conservation groups claim Japan is offering aid to countries who will support lifting the ban. Australia is one of several countries opposed to the Japanese whale hunt, claiming Japan is exploiting loopholes in the commission's ban.

Japan says it is doing nothing illegal, that the criticism is based on emotion, and ignores science and international law.

Richard Mott, the World Wildlife Fund vice-president, said Japan was taking action without any scientific assurance that the whale population in the North Pacific could survive the increased take.

"The Japanese Government is attempting to prop up its whaling industry while
it sets about dismantling the global moratorium. But commercial whaling has
historically proven impossible to police and should not now be resumed under
the cynical guise of science."

Sandra Abels
U.S. Citizens Against Whaling
"Saving Our Oceans One Whale At A Time"
www.usagainstwhaling.org

On January 23, 2002

The Hawai`i County Council unanimously passed the following resolution:
A RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA'S
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY'S PROPOSED DEPLOYMENT OF
SURVEILLANCE TOWED ARRAY SENSOR SYSTEM LOW FREQUENCY ACTIVE (SURTASS LFA) SONAR

WHEREAS, the United States Navy is requesting a Letter of Authorization from the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) in order to facilitate its proposed Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS) Low Frequency Active (LFA) sonar program; and

WHEREAS, the Navy states that the proposed SURTASS LFA sonar program would
meet the need for improved detection of foreign submarines, thereby  providing the Navy with adequate time to react to, and defend against, submarine warfare; and

WHEREAS, during deployment, the proposed SURTASS LFA sonar systems would
introduce low-frequency acoustic signals into the world's oceans that could
potentially affect marine life; and

WHEREAS, the protection of whales and other marine mammals is of great
concern to the citizenry of the County of Hawai`i; and

WHEREAS, the protection and preservation of the ocean and marine mammals that inhabit the ocean are of great cultural and historical significance in Hawai`i; and

WHEREAS, numerous scientific and environmental groups have proffered evidence that the use of SURTASS LFA sonar may be linked to internal bleeding, disorientation and hearing loss, resulting in whale deaths and strandings; and

WHEREAS, according to the Navy's own test results, certain low frequency sonar levels may have harmful effects on humans who swim or dive in nearby waters; and

WHEREAS, the Hawai`i County Council believes that there are other
technologies already deployed or soon to be deployed, that can perform the
same function as SURTASS LFA without the harmful side effects; and

WHEREAS, the protection of marine life in Hawai`i's waters is not just an ecological, biological, or cultural concern, but also a matter of economic necessity because a healthy ocean environment is an integral part of Hawai`i's visitor-driven economy.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I, that it hereby opposes the United States Navy's proposed deployment of Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS) Low Frequency Active (LFA) sonar program unless and until scientific evidence clearly and independently
establishes that no harmful effects on the marine environment will result from the program.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council requests that the National Marine
Fisheries Service reject the United States of America Department of the Navy's application for a Letter of Authorization to take marine mammals during the deployment of the SURTASS LFA sonar unless and until it is established that no harmful effects will result from such deployment.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council requests that that National Marine
Fisheries Service conduct public hearings in East and West Hawai`i on the application for the proposed deployment of the sonar program.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be transmitted to
President George W. Bush, Senator Daniel K. Akaka, Senator Daniel K. Inouye,
Representative Neil Abercrombie, Representative Patsy Mink, Governor Benjamin Cayetano, Mayor Harry Kim, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Introduced by:

Julie Jacobson
Council Member, County of Hawai`i

Passed unanimously by the 7 members present
Members Yagong and Chung absent during the vote

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