Sentimental Anti-whaling Lobby No Longer Cuts Much Ice
- The columnist of the Australian, Padraic McGuiness interviewed -

(from "ISANA" No. 7, 1992)

Shigeko Misaki


*** Padraic McGuiness writes his column under his own name every day from Monday to Saturday on Australia's national daily, the Australian. His coverage encompasses areas of politics, economy, diplomacy, culture and all that comes newsy at the time, while he continues on his academic career in university as a lecturer in economics. He published his positive view on whaling in his column on July 1 this year under the headline, "Sentimental anti-whaling lobby no longer cuts much ice. The case for sustainable exploitation is overwhelming", in which suggestions were made to work out reconciliation between anti-whaling lobby and whaling nations. Shigeko Misaki from ISANA interviewed Mr. McGuiness in Sydney. ***

ISANA (I) - "Mr. McGuiness, your column on 1st July in the Australian has made a fresh impact on us, your views were the fairest ever published by a western media. In it you have quoted comments by the late Dr. John Gulland published in 1988, and based your views on his theory. Did you know Dr. Gulland?"

McGuiness (M) - "Dr. Gulland was a scientist who had a lot of foresight and he clearly expressed his views in the earlier years. He said that since it was evident there were about one million minke whales in the Southern Hemisphere, moratorium was unnecessary, and the Japanese research method was the only credible way to collect age data of the minke whale stocks, and therefore, it might be better for Japan to face the issue directly instead of cloaking it in the concept of scientific whaling. Unfortunately, he passed away before I had an opportunity to meet him."

(I) - "Your comments about 'the sentimental anti-whaling....' was published on 1st of July, at very timely time after the 44th IWC Annual Meeting in Glasgow. Had you had these comments standing by in your desk drawer waiting for the timely publication?"

(M) - "I have always been interested in fisheries economy. I have been researching on various fisheries management procedures that are aimed at utilization of the resources without harm to the population; that is what we now call sustainable use, which concerns not only the whale resources but all fish resources. In the last century, the Australians hunted seals around the Rocks of Sydney and this industry thrived. But because of the lack of proper management, the industry depleted the stock and the industry itself collapsed. Now, we hear that seals are coming back. The very fact that it has taken so long for the seals to recover shows we did not have good management tool in those days. In June this year I was interested in the news that IWC had developed the Revised Management Procedure. I thought this would be relevant to my search for a good management tool. While I was looking into the prior publications in this relation, I came across with Dr. Gulland's papers. I found his views stimulative and forward looking. So, I quoted from his papers to write my column."

(I) - "I suspect that your comment on 1st July was somewhat unnerving to many Australians. Did you receive any interesting response from Canberra?"

(M) - "I have heard some favorable reactions in Canbera, particularly from the scientists, who thought it was a good idea to look at the whaling problem in the scientific perspective."

(I) - "In that column, you wrote that there is nothing inherently more nasty about killing and eating whales than about killing and eating other animals. You further went on to say why on earth should Australia not be willing to sell whale meat to Japan and anyone else who wants it, as Australia already sells beef? Would you please elaborate on that point?"

(M) - "I think it's wrong to rank the animal meat by preference. Because it is purely the matter of culture. For example, horse meat is popular in Belgium, but most Australians would not like to even think about eating horse meat. Dog meat is traditionally consumed in China and Korea, but who are we to blame them? In Japan, some Shinto shrines treat deer as sacred animals. But in Australia and New Zealand, deer are bred and used for human consumption. The Japanese and Norwegian have habit of eating whale meat, which is their culture and it is not the matter to be condemned by ethics."

(I) - "Do you think that Australia would ever review its whale protection policy in future?"

(M) - "There is a possibility for review, if change of power takes place in the next election. The whale protection policy is a legacy from the Fraser Government (1975 - 83). The Hawke Government that followed disseminated about the Antarctic Territorial issue as if it was the issue of our right over all the resources, not only the minerals but also biological resources. This should be corrected sooner or later, since the claim should be for the minerals only. In relation to this correction, the policies on biological resources including whales may be reviewed. When the Fraser Government adopted whale protection policy, the Australia had whaling industry which was located in the remote area in the Western Australia. Few people noticed any impact of the closure of this industry, then, without due compensation given by the Government to the people in the closing industry. These are the reasons why I believe such a unilateral policy should be reviewed."

(I) - "Thanks very much for your talk. I hope you will keep your interest in the whaling problem and make fair comments."

(M) - "I will keep my interest in the sustainable use of fisheries resources including whales."

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