Last week, the government said it will allow the killing of whales for research because fishermen were complaining that whales were eating large amounts of fish. The announcement drew protests from non-whaling nations and environmentalists who suspected the plan was a cover for commercial whaling.
Kang wouldn’t describe how South Korea might conduct research without whaling. Australia uses sonar and satellite devices to track whales. The environmental group Greenpeace recommends analysis of feces to study whale diets. Before an international moratorium in 1986. South Korea had a long tradition of whaling.
Meanwhile, the Australian government said South Korea has abaondoned its plan to restart whaling last week. Foreign Minister Bob Carr said he had held talks on whaling with his Korean counterpart at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia and he indicated that plan would not proceed.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com