MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Japan threatens to leave IWC.

Japan suffered a new setback in the annual International Whaling Commission, IWC meeting when the request to sixth fold its Antarctic minke quota was rejected. During the meeting currently held in Sorrento, Italy, 19 countries supported Japan but 30 voted against.

The Japanese delegation proposal was to increase its annual minke hunting quota in the Antarctic protected area to 2,914 during the next five years. In spite of the ban on commercial hunting, Japan captures annually 400 minke whales arguing they are for scientific research.

However most of the whale meat ends in Japanese markets where it's a most valued culinary asset, according to environmentalist group Greenpeace.

Japan argues that it's essential to increase the number of hunted whales since they are responsible for the dwindling world fish resources.

Actually Japan is the world's main consumer of whale meat, and according to IWC rules, the country can't be banned from hunting more cetaceans as long as it's for scientific purposes.

During the IWC meeting a German marine biologist Kristine Karshner presented a paper showing there are no indications that fisheries and whales compete for the same food resources. Actually, according to the paper, whales feed mainly on plankton, deep water squid and tiny crabs.

At the beginning of the IWC Sorrento meeting Japan requested eliminating the ban on whale hunting, but was finally defeated by a slim majority.

Tokyo has threatened with adopting "drastic measures" if the ban is not reviewed by 2005, and for the first time a senior member of the Japanese delegation in the IWC annual meeting suggested his country is willing to leave the organization by 2006.

But IWC observers doubt Japan's determination since abandoning the organization would limit whale hunting to its territorial waters.

Norway another pro-whaling country announced it has plans to increase its annual catch of 600/700 North Atlantic minke whales to 1,800 by 2008. Norway objected to the moratorium when it was agreed by IWC and argues it's not bound by the resolution