Cylvi Lim - Africa fish fall blamed on Japan

A coalition of conservation groups and a leading fisheries scientist have accused Japan of damaging the fisheries interests of poorer countries. They say Japan promotes the argument that whales are responsible for declining fish stocks in order to boost support for whale hunting.
They say this stops poor countries from focussing on real causes of decline. A spokesman for Japan's whale research institution described the accusation as "absurd and irresponsible". "Blaming whales is an issue that is not only false - whales are no more responsible than the Martians - but which prevents the very small resources of West African countries from being devoted to understanding the real reasons why their fisheries are declining," he said.

Personal response:
There is little doubt that fish stocks globally are shrinking. One recent major study projected there would be no commercial fisheries left in 50 years if current trends continued. Some developing countries, notably along the west coast of Africa, have seen stocks fall abruptly as fleets from Europe and East Asia have moved either legally or illegally into grounds that had previously been the preserve of small scale local fishermen. Overfishing is one cause to declining fish stocks and blaming on whales is not a good reason as whales do not eat fish. "Absurd allegation and a gross misrepresentation" may cause conflicts between the countries.