By TJ Kennedy

Back in December, Japan decided to resume commercial whaling. It was an extremely controversial decision, at least in terms of environmental protection and conservation. The International Whaling Commission (IWC), of which Japan was a member, has banned commercial whaling since 1986. But Japan has also withdrawn from the IWC, and is thus no longer bound by their requirements, at least when operating in Japanese waters.

The history of whaling is complex. Many cultures from around the world have engaged in the practice, from Japan and Korea to Northern Europe to indigenous cultures in North America. Whale meat and blubber was an important food source, baleen was used for fishing line and rope, and whale bones were used to make tools. For most of human history, whaling had very little impacts on overall whale populations. After all, it takes quite a bit of effort for groups of land-dwelling humans to get out to sea and kill one of the largest mammals on the planet. But all of this started to change in the 1700s and 1800s. Increasing demand for whale products, such as whale oil, led to technological advances in whaling. Faster, more reliable ships allowed whalers to hunt further out in the open ocean for longer periods, and newer weapons such as gun-loaded harpoons made the hunting more efficient. Whale populations shrunk dramatically, and many species were on the verge of extinction; by the 1970s, the US listed eight different species as endangered.

The IWC’s moratorium on whaling has been vital to allowing whale populations to recover. However, many countries were never fully in support of the whaling ban. Today, Japan is not the only country still engaged in whaling. Norway, Iceland, and South Korea still allow for limited commercial whaling, and a number of nations including the United States, Canada, Russia, and Greenland still allow limited subsistence harvests by indigenous communities. In 2017, the IWC reports a total 2759 total whales caught.

This may not seem like a lot. And it’s important to note that nearly half of these whale catches came from indigenous Arctic peoples, for whom subsistence whaling is a traditional way of life. But whale populations are still recovering from the dramatic losses of the past few hundred years. Four species that are common targets of whaling-the blue whale, sei whale, fin whale, and right whale-are still considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. And while some species are doing better overall, some of the subpopulations are still endangered as well. For example, while the gray whale is classified as “Least Concern” meaning they’re doing very well as a species, the western subpopulation is still classified as critically endangered. In addition, whales face many threats other than whaling. The majority of right whale deaths are caused by collisions with ships. Increased noise pollution from ship traffic interferes with the whales’ ability to echolocate. Pollution in the ocean builds up overtime in whales, affecting every part of their lives. While whaling may seem like an inconsequential act in and of itself, it’s one of many problems affecting whales throughout the globe.

However, does this mean Japan’s decision to resume commercial whaling erases all the progress conservationists have made? Not necessarily. For one, Japan has already been engaged in the practice of whaling for several years, under the lens of scientific research, which is legal under the IWC’s moratorium. But more importantly, whaling is an economic enterprise. And right now, the desire for whale meat is shrinking. In Iceland and Norway, two countries that already allow for limited commercial whaling, very few people in those countries actually consume whale meat. In Iceland, the majority of whale meat is consumed by tourists. In Norway, the whaling industry is government subsidized, and the government is actively working to encourage whale meat consumption in order to keep demand matching the supply. And in both countries, the total amount of whale meat consumed continues to drop as consumers become more conscious of ethical and environmental implications of what they eat. These same market trends are true in Japan as well—a 2006 study showed that 95% of Japanese people rarely or never eat whale meat (Japan, like other countries that engage in whaling for scientific purposes, is allowed to sell whale meat from these hunts).

There’s also the geospatial aspect to consider. Article 65 of The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) requires all its signatories to “cooperate with a view to the conservation of marine mammals, and in the case of cetaceans shall in particular work through the appropriate international organizations for their conservation, management, and study.” This means that because Japan is a signatory of UNCLOS, they are still bound by the IWC’s decisions in international waters, and by withdrawing from the IWC, they can no longer take advantage of the IWC’s exemption for scientific whaling. In other words, Japan will now be able to hunt for whales for any purpose within their own waters but can no longer hunt for any whales in international waters. Bad news for some whales, but good news for others.

Overall, it may seem very discouraging that Japan is set to resume commercial whaling. And considering the overall health of the oceans today and the multitude of threats whales are facing today, we must continue to monitor their health for any negative trends. But there are many different factors that play into this, and we’ll need a lot more data before we get too discouraged.