[File photo]

Japan’s new whaling plan poses a potential threat to the ongoing survival of the large mammals. It will also harm the maritime interests of surrounding countries including China, experts said.

The remarks were made after Japanese authorities shared their decision on Nov. 8 to capture 100 more whales in 2017. According to a Kyodo News report, Japan will capture 174 minke whales and 140 sei whales in the northwest Pacific Ocean next year.

“After years of overfishing, the population of minke whales in the northwest Pacific Ocean has been reduced to a dangerous level. Thus, Japan should stop whaling in the region,” said Wang Yaming, former Chinese representative of the International Whaling Commission, to Thepaper.cn.

According to Wang, most whales living in the northwest Pacific Ocean are migratory mammals, and their migratory route includes the exclusive maritime economic zones of Russia, South Korea, North Korea and China. Japan’s whaling will also have a negative effect on those countries.

Despite the global ban on commercial whaling, Japan justifies its killing of the large mammals by using a provision in the 1946 Whaling Convention that allows whales to be killed for scientific purposes. However, many experts reject this justification.

“From the perspective of animal protection, Japan should not kill more whales, as doing so would harm the sustainability of international whale resources. Japan’s whaling in the northwest Pacific Ocean hasn’t drawn attention from more of the international community because it hardly involves Western countries’ interests,” Wang speculated.