Minke whale

With dramatic timing a planned whale and dolphin meat processing factory due to be built in the host city of this years International Whaling Commission (IWC) has been shelved. The decision, reported in the South Korean publication The Hankyoreh comes just days before this years IWC negotiations on conserving whale stocks begins.

This years IWC meeting is due to be held in the south-east port of Ulsan, historically known as the city of whales. The local council Ulsan City Council had planned to build a whale meat processing plant in Jangsaengpo, Ulsan. Work was due to commence in the autumn of 2005 after the construction of the Cetacean Research Centre was finished.

After learning of the whale butchery plans Greenpeace and Korean Federation for Environmental Movement (KFEM) volunteers set up a protest site in the form of a whale embassy outside the proposed factory site, volunteers have been occupying the site for the past two months.

Greenpeace Oceans campaigner Willie Mackenzie said:
"Greenpeace and KFEM are greatly encouraged by news released today in the South Korean publication, The Hankyoreh, that plans to build a whalemeat factory in Ulsan, South Korea have been scrapped."

"If these reports are true, Greenpeace and KFEM welcome the South Korean government's courageous move. By scrapping the planned whale meat factory, the South Korean government is showing that it does not support whaling, and it does not wish to follow in the footsteps of the Japanese government in their determination to destroy the world's dwindling numbers of whales. We hope that this move towards whale protection will be extended to the IWC, and that the South Korean government will now vote in favour of whale protection and vote against a resumption of commercial whaling."

Scientific evidence shows that whales are in serious decline in Korean waters because of high incidents of 'accidental' by-catch, amongst other threats. In 2003 alone, Korea "accidentally" caught in excess of 84 whales, compared to less than five per year in non-whaling nations. Dead whales are sold for prices up to $100 000 on the legal whale meat market.

Despite a worldwide ban on commercial whaling, it is estimated that this year three countries (Japan, Norway & Iceland) will between them kill over 2,000 whales. Japan and Iceland do this under the guise of 'scientific' whaling and Norway has resumed commercial whaling and continues to hunt. The IWC is due to commence on 20th June and run until 24th June.

Further information:
Contact Greenpeace UK press office: 020 7865 8255

Whale meat. on sale in Pusan, South Korea

Secret plans by the South Korean Government to build a whale and dolphin meat processing factory, despite an international ban on whaling, have been exposed today (7 April) by Greenpeace.

The factory is planned to be built in the very city that will host this year's meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the body set up to halt the loss of whale populations. Historically known as the 'City of Whales', the south-east port of Ulsan will host the IWC meeting in June.

Earlier today, 50 activists set up a protest camp at the site of the meat factory and unfurled a banner calling for 'Sanctuary Not Cemetery'.

The international hunting of whales is banned but South Korean Government figures show that 'accidental' catches of whales in their waters are up to 100 times greater than other countries.

While South Korea has no official whaling industry, if a whale or dolphin is caught in a fishing net it can be sold for a huge price. In 2004, the average price of a mature minke whale was US$100,000.

Scientists believe that even the most populous whale species in Korean waters, minke whales, are in serious decline because of this trade.

Sarah Duthie, head of Greenpeace's oceans campaign, said: "Is South Korea planning on harpooning whales out of the ocean and onto their dinner plates? There seems to be no other reason to build a brand new whale and dolphin butchery plant.

"Any resumption of the whaling industry will decimate whale numbers. South Korea mustn't be allowed to drive whales towards extinction. It's vital that governments attending the IWC meeting, under whose very noses this factory is being built, make sure that whales get the protection they deserve."

A total ban on whaling was implemented in 1982 by the IWC, in order to protect the marine mammals from being hunted to extinction; whale populations were dwindling and attempts to regulate the industry had failed.

Further information
You can contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255, or Sarah Duthie on 020 7865 8297.

For more details, including a plan of the proposed whale and dolphin meat processing factory, visit www.comebackwhales.com