Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

And as copy paste seems so popular when the desperate get frothy mouthes ,, here is a little bit of factual history about Japan and her whaling history. You may notice they are not the destroyers and whale haters that is implied by the Nazist Greenies.
Whaling has been an important part of Japanese society for over 1,000 years. Recently, however, it has come under fire from countries and organizations who strongly oppose this practice. It is important to be familiar with the history of whaling in Japan if one wants to fully understand the issue.

Whaling in Japan dates back to the seventh century during the Yamato-Asuka period in ancient Japan. The oldest Japanese book in existence, called the Kojiki, chronicled that the Emperor Jimmu, the first emperor of Japan, ate whale meat. In addition to the Kojiki whaling is also mentioned in numerous other historical writings in Japan.

The 17th century saw a dramatic development in whaling techniques in Taji, Wakayama. In 1606, Wada Chubei founded a system that involved hunting in groups. He also introduced a hand-held harpoon. Later on, Wada Kakuemon introduced the Amitori hou, a safe and efficient whaling net technique that has greatly improved the industry since.
For a great portion of history the Japanese have obtained their food, oil, and other materials from whales. In fact, when the US naval officer Commodore Matthew Perry docked in the Edo Bay (now Tokyo bay), he was believed to be seeking a whaling base for the USA in the northwest region of the Pacific Ocean.

The Meiji era, 1868-1912, saw the introduction of power-driven vessels with guns designed after the Norwegian style of whaling. However, Japanese fishermen opposed this practice, as they believed it promoted indiscriminate killing of whales. The early Japanese viewed whales as deities of the sea as well as being useful for corralling fish. Many whaling villages built Whale Shrines, or Kujira Jinja, to worship the whales they hunted as gods. Whaling in Japan aimed to provide the Japanese people with as many resources, not just oil and animal protein, as possible. A famous proverb in Japan says, "There's nothing to throw away from a whale except its voice." This is quite different from the American whaling of the past that was solely aimed to extract oils for the industry sector.

And where they REALLY in OUR waters ???? Or just waters that we declare (illegally) as ours , or as a whale santuary
"Japan's annual hunts, which it says take place in international waters that include an Australian maritime rescue zone that Canberra regards as a whale sanctuary."

Australia is starting to look VERY arrogant here , we DON'T own the Whales and we DON'T own the Southern ocean

Seen pics of the Japs herding dolphins into a bay somewhere up in the north of Japan and slaughtering them. The whole bay runs red.
Dolphins FFS, the friendliest animal to man bar maybe the dog.

Love them if you like Chappo but Im not a fanboy.

look chappo we could argue all we like, but ultimately the winner would only be the loser . . .

believe what you will, but i am in full support of seashepherd and ther anti-whaling campaigns in the southern ocean. the Japs are more than welcome to whale, but in theor own water, usinf traditional methods, and not on a commercial scale, like they were. its like the aboriginals continuing traditional hunting of tutrless and dugongs in NW australia.

as far as i am concerned, they are not permitted to whale in the antarctic, as it is not their waters (but the waters of the international commuity who have signed an anti-whaling moritorium).

mantis, your refering to the cove. disgusting practice. but i do believe the seashepherd campaign stopped this last season ??

I will not be arguing this again. its just getting stupid now.

Good to hear that they stopped that one too, and I'll be signing off this one as well, as its losing battle it seems

OH Chappo Didnt you know elephants could fly?

How else do you think all those Dumbo's got from Africa to Indonesia?

Not sure if they did get their Visa's approved but Im sure its all legal.

I love a good argument as much as the next person and, like any heated anti vs pro argument everyone is entitled to their opinions and I see your passionate about your own views.

I think what most people are upset about is the fact that they are using a bullpoo excuse to harvest meat by calling it scientific research, and considering that it wasnt really a nation wide food source until post WW2 (fed to kids in schools...which they tried to do again recently because of the massive stockpile they currently have... but hit a LOT of opposition by parents) it shows that its only considered a cheap source of meat and not done in a way that a high percentage of the Japanese population approve of anyway.

netab over and out... Cheers

And apparantly the demand for whale meat is so low... that there's freezers full of the stuff all over the place...

And that's probably more the reason that they've gone home...

Yep, they have a fair bit stockpiled and demand seems to be decreasing. They were trying to introduce it into schools more, but heavy metal levels were above safe levels.

This is part of an article from Japan.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ ... 912rh.html

Went to Tangalooma resort last December (before the floods thankfully!). Was a whaling station that closed down as the new powered boats etc were so successful in ten years the whales the hunted were so few they could only get 10% of the numbers they were after and it became unprofitable. Im a bit rough on the detail but its on the web Im sure. In S.A., NSW )Eden) and other places whaling stations were closed because the whales ran out. Point is the buggers are endangered. Love or hate the Japs for me regrdless of the 'tradition' - surely thats enough to let them be....
Ironically many of those same place make heaps of tourist $$ now from whale watching - a great tradition that is sustainable long term, not once off $$ from chopping up the whales.

P.s. Tangalooma was cool and they have dolphin feeding as well.

claiming something as traditional doesn't necessarily make any more acceptable. Suicide by disembowelment is also traditional but i wouldn't expect to see to many lining up for that one

nettab32 ,, Japanese whale hunting has existed for many hundreds of years.
I understand a lot of Australian harbour anger toward japanese people because of WW2 , lets not let that cloud fatcs. Also regarding WW2 , I suggest people read some facts regarding the economic sanctions that the USA and others perpertrated upon the Japanese. War is a horrible thing , we as westerners where taugfht how Japan was the agressor ,, Pearl harbour etc ..... but try and find some facts as to what our American friends where doing several years proir to WW2 ..... they basically blockaded Japan , did all things possible to ruin it's economy , they FORCED them to the point that they had to retaliate in some form , or let their people starve.

People talk of honour , it is a lost idea now and especially here in Australia , the USA , NZ.
If you asked me to randomly select a man to stand behind me in war ..... I would select a Japanese man ,,their culture and demand of honour is so far above the animals I see in Australia , NZ and USa it is a joke

Oh ya - that same honor that Toyota exhibited when denying all electrical problems in vehicles. The weeks of lies before congress - followed by millions of recalls and plant suspensions....come on - that japs are as guilty as any other when it comes to "code of conduct" issues. You may find those morals and honor out in the rice fields and with in families - but the big bisiness folks are the same everywhere. And I know a lot of folks that are just naturally "good people"...yes a society can ruin some, but not all. Personally I would choose no other then a U.S marine behind me.

Chappo... Im so excited you singled me out

Firstly let me say that I am NOT RACIST of the Japanese in ANY WAY. I have no beef with them as a people in general and admire their culture, and their tenacity. I have no anger over WW2... No feelings about it at all really - Its history and should be kept there so that everyone can move on. My only beef is the fact that the Government is funding a Whaling fleet under the guise of research. I dont harbour 'anger' toward you or anyone else, Its a wasted emotion... I just love a good heated debate and appreciate a chance to participate in it amongst likeminded people who can enjoy a free-speech argument while still keeping their sense of humour. I have had Japanese friends, workers and co-workers, and find them lovely people.

So that you can get where I was coming from I have cut and pasted a couple of little paragraphs for you to look at and understand...


"However, at the start of the 20th century local traditions conflicted with modern whaling practices. In 1911 the conflict turned violent in Same Village, Aomori Prefecture. Ocean pollution from the whaling stations, including large quantities of oil and blood runoff, angered the local fishermen and threatened their own fishing grounds. In protest the fishermen burned a Toyo Hogei facility down. The people of the Same region also did not consume whales and considered them sacred."

"A professor of environmental studies in Japan wrote in his book that Japan's whale-eating culture is an invented tradition, only lasting 20 years from the end of World War II to the early 1960s to augment Japanese school lunch programs during Japan's reconstruction"

This was what I was referring to when mentioning WW2... no other 'attack' intended or implied.

PS: Yup... I DO realise that ...(I googled it... YEAH BABY )

Saying many hundreds doesnt seem so impressive when you could say... since theyve been doing it since the 7th Century...
...ONE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED YEARS...
Much bigger impact dont you think? Just a suggestion for next time

So what is the excuse to continue doing so...

Most Japanese don;t eat whale meat any longer... many are repulsed by it...

And anyone under 30 probably has never tasted it... and prefer McDonalds....

It used to be tradition amongst many peoples... to eat humans... should we allow them to continue doing so...

Put your hand up Chappo... and dive right into the pot mate...