Whale meat plentiful; demand sluggish
Despite efforts in Japan to increase consumption of whale meat, consumers aren’t rising to the bait, as discussed in this article from The Daily Yomiuri (8 September 2006) by Takeo Miyazaki.
Food companies and restaurants that sell whale meat are increasing as stocks increase and the whaling industry makes an effort to boost demand.
Sales of whale meat are an important source of income for whaling research so it is imperative to stimulate demand as poor sales may hinder future research.
Whale meat is mainly taken from whales that have been processed and sold once research has been undertaken.
The Institute of Cetacean Research, which conducts whaling research, distributes whale meat via the Tokyo-based shipping company Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd., to whom the institute commissions its whaling activities.
Kyodo Senpaku has been promoting its whale meat, resulting in increased sales to food companies and restaurants.
Hoko Co. in Tokyo, a subsidiary of Nippon Meat Packers Inc., began sales of three products, including cooked whale and canned broiled whale in March.
Hoko said baby boomers who had eaten whale during the post-war period would remember the taste and welcome the new products.
The restaurant chain Chimney Co. in Tokyo has been serving seven whale dishes, such as fried and raw whale, at all 200 branches of its seafood restaurant, Hana no Mai, since November.
Before then, these dishes were served for limited periods, but now the company has made them standard items on the menu.
Fried whale is 50 percent more expensive than fried chicken, but the company said it is popular and is among the top 10 best-selling items.
Major food supermarket chain Maruetsu Inc. has had 10 products, including raw whale, on its shelves since June last year.
The institute established a private company, the Tokyo-based Geishoku Labo LLC, in May this year to increase sales of whale. The company is marketing the product to food catering businesses in hospitals and universities.
The company’s chief executive officer, Hiroshi Nakada, said: “whale is high in protein and low in calories. It was thought to be a tough meat in the past, but that has been dealt with through improvements in freezing techniques.”
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Plentiful supply increasing stocks
Efforts are being made to promote the sale of whale meat because consumption has remained low, though supply has greatly increased.
The institute has increased the number of whale species it catches for scientific research, causing the supply of whale meat to increase from 2,450 tons in fiscal 2000 to 5,560 tons in fiscal 2005.
But demand has not met the institutes level of expectation. In 1982, the International Whaling Commission passed a resolution declaring a moratorium on all commercial whaling and Japan stopped commercial whaling in 1988. Consumption of whale per person dropped from about 2,000 grams 40 years ago to about 50 grams in 2005.
As a result, the annual average stock of whale meat in cold storage rose to 3,945 tons in 2005, a 45 percent increase from the previous year and about twice as much as 1995.
Since the institute, which is responsible for fixing the wholesale price of whale meat, lowered the cost by 20 percent last December, sales from January to July this year increased by 50 percent compared with the same period last year. But the measure has not reduced the stockpile.
The Fisheries Agency’s Whale Section said, “The image that whale is difficult to get has taken hold among consumers.” There also is a tendency to shy away from eating whale has grown, mainly among young people.
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Plans afoot to increase whaling
Of the 6 billion yen cost of annual whaling research, 90 percent is covered by sales of whale meat.
If insufficient whale meat is sold, whaling research becomes difficult to undertake to the institute’s satisfaction.
The institute plans to increase whaling research catches from fiscal 2007 and supply is expected to increase to 7,000 or 8,000 tons annually.
If demand does not rise, stocks will build up, and it is feared that there funding for whaling research will be affected.
Japan is requesting a resumption of commercial whaling at the IWC. At the IWC annual meeting in June this year, a declaration jointly proposed by countries that support whaling was adopted by a margin of one vote. The declaration notes that the moratorium on commercial whaling as a temporary measure is no longer necessary.
But if demand for whale does not maintain a steady rise, it may influence any international debate on the whaling issue.