Commentary by Captain Paul Watson
Founder and President of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Just hours before the announcement that Japan will not kill endangered humpback whales, the leading spokesperson for the Japanese Fisheries Agency Hideki Moronuki said the killing of humpbacks was justified and denied the hunt would be halted.

"We do not have any intention to change our harvesting plans," said Hideki Moronuki, head of the whaling division at Japan's Fisheries Agency.

It appears that Moronuki's fanatical entrenched position, the same stubborn attitude that he has arrogantly displayed for years is beginning to crack. It looks to me like Hideki Moronuki is quite prepared to tarnish the reputation of Japan to promote his own nationalist prejudices.  The killing of the whales by Japan has nothing to do with subsistence necessity, it is not a major contributor to the gross national profit of the nation, there is little consumer demand for whale meat. No, it is being undertaken for the sole purpose of national pride, an issue that some nationalists in Japan like to use to insult and anger nations they view as weak and sentimental.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is convinced that Japan intends to escalate the number of whales killed in the next few years. They have plans to construct a much larger whale meat processing vessel to replace the aging Nisshin Maru.