提到捕鯨，不免首先要想到日本。然而最近日本宣布，為了重啟商業(yè)捕鯨，或?qū)⑼顺鰢?guó)際捕鯨委員會(huì)，允許捕鯨船在附近海域和專(zhuān)屬經(jīng)濟(jì)區(qū)捕鯨。這真堪稱(chēng)是鯨魚(yú)們的大災(zāi)難。

日本要“退群“？

Japan will withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in a bid to resume commercial whaling, Kyodo News reported on Thursday, citing government sources.

據(jù)日本共同社本周四報(bào)道，日本政府相關(guān)消息人士透露，日本將退出國(guó)際捕鯨委員會(huì)，以重啟商業(yè)捕鯨。

commercial whaling: 商業(yè)捕鯨

Japan’s withdrawal from the IWC is planned for 2019 and will be announced by the end of this year, according to the report.

報(bào)道稱(chēng)，日本將在明年退出國(guó)際捕鯨委員會(huì)，這一決定將在年底公布。

Kyodo quoted unnamed government sources as saying Japan would abandon its controversial, and expensive, expeditions to the Southern Ocean and instead permit whaling fleets to operate in its coastal waters and exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

日本共同社援引政府消息人士的話說(shuō)，日本將放棄在南極海域開(kāi)展的頗具爭(zhēng)議且費(fèi)用高昂的捕鯨，而是允許捕鯨船在日本附近海域和專(zhuān)屬經(jīng)濟(jì)區(qū)進(jìn)行商業(yè)捕鯨。

A fisheries agency official denied the report, however, insisting no decision had been taken on whether to withdraw from the IWC, which banned commercial whaling in 1986.

但日本漁業(yè)部門(mén)的一位官員否認(rèn)了這一報(bào)道，堅(jiān)稱(chēng)還沒(méi)有最終決定是否退出國(guó)際捕鯨委員會(huì)。國(guó)際捕鯨委員會(huì)從1986年開(kāi)始禁止商業(yè)捕鯨。

“Japan’s official position, that we want to resume commercial whaling as soon as possible, has not changed,” the official told the Guardian. “But reports that we will leave the IWC are incorrect.”

這位官員告訴《衛(wèi)報(bào)》說(shuō)：“日本想要盡快恢復(fù)商業(yè)捕鯨這一官方立場(chǎng)沒(méi)有改變。但有報(bào)道說(shuō)我們將退出國(guó)際捕鯨委員會(huì)是不正確的。”

Australia’s environment minister, Melissa Price, said it remained opposed to “all forms of commercial and so-called ‘scientific whaling’”, adding: “While we would strongly prefer Japan to remain a party to the convention and a member of the commission, the decision to withdraw is a matter for Japan.”

澳大利亞環(huán)境部長(zhǎng)梅麗莎-普萊斯說(shuō)，澳大利亞仍然反對(duì)“所有形式的商業(yè)捕鯨，或所謂的‘科研捕鯨’”。她補(bǔ)充說(shuō)：“盡管我們強(qiáng)烈支持日本留在國(guó)際捕鯨委員會(huì)，但是否退出是日本自己的決定。”

Agence France-Presse quoted an official as saying the agency was “considering all options”, including the possible withdrawal from the 89-member commission. A foreign ministry official confirmed “all options are on the table but nothing formal has been decided yet”.

法新社援引日本一位官員的話說(shuō)，漁業(yè)部門(mén)正在“考慮各種選擇”，包括可能退出有89名成員的國(guó)際捕鯨委員會(huì)。日本外務(wù)省一位官員確認(rèn)說(shuō)：“我們正討論所有的選擇，但還沒(méi)有正式?jīng)Q定?！?/p>

招致國(guó)際社會(huì)譴責(zé)

二戰(zhàn)后日本幾乎沒(méi)有退出國(guó)際組織的先例，上述舉措實(shí)屬罕見(jiàn)。遭到國(guó)際社會(huì)輕視規(guī)則的指責(zé)將在所難免。

Darren Kindleysides, chief executive of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, said: “Leaving the IWC would set a very dangerous precedent for other international treaties and conventions. ”

澳大利亞海洋保護(hù)協(xié)會(huì)首席執(zhí)行官達(dá)倫-金德利塞茲說(shuō)：“日本退出國(guó)際鯨魚(yú)委員會(huì)會(huì)給其他國(guó)際條約或公約開(kāi)一個(gè)非常危險(xiǎn)的先例。”

precedent['pres?d(?)nt]:  n.先例；前例

"The IWC has become the driving force for global whale conservation efforts in the 21st century. If Japan is serious about the future of the world’s whales, they would not leave the IWC.”

他說(shuō)：“國(guó)際鯨魚(yú)委員會(huì)已經(jīng)成為21世紀(jì)全球鯨魚(yú)保護(hù)的一股重要力量。如果日本認(rèn)真考慮全球鯨魚(yú)的未來(lái)的話，就不會(huì)退出委員會(huì)?！?/p>

新西蘭鯨類(lèi)和海豚信托基金代表利茨·斯洛滕說(shuō)，如果日本退出，可能在國(guó)際捕鯨委員會(huì)引發(fā)嚴(yán)重后果：一些國(guó)家或許會(huì)效仿，這一國(guó)際組織可能分裂。

日本為何要退出？

據(jù)日本共同社報(bào)道稱(chēng)，若今后留在國(guó)際捕鯨委員會(huì)，重啟商業(yè)捕鯨的希望極其渺茫，因此日本政府提及退出的可能性，而實(shí)現(xiàn)明年退出的通知期限為明年1月1日，現(xiàn)已臨近。

Japan has previously threatened to quit the IWC, arguing that the moratorium was supposed to be a temporary measure and accusing the IWC of abandoning its original purpose – managing the sustainable use of global whale stocks.

日本之前就曾威脅退出國(guó)際捕鯨委員會(huì)，辯稱(chēng)暫停捕鯨只是一種臨時(shí)措施，并指責(zé)國(guó)際捕鯨委員會(huì)已經(jīng)背離了初衷，即管理全球鯨魚(yú)資源的可持續(xù)利用。

moratorium[,m?r?'t??r??m] : n.暫停，中止

Japanese officials claim that populations of certain types of whale – such as the minke – have recovered sufficiently to allow the resumption of “sustainable” hunting.

日本官員聲稱(chēng)，某些種類(lèi)的鯨魚(yú)（如小須鯨）的數(shù)量已經(jīng)恢復(fù)到足夠多，可以允許“可持續(xù)性的”捕鯨活動(dòng)。

Japan has long maintained that most whale species are not endangered and that eating whale is a cherished part of its food culture.

日本一直認(rèn)為，大多數(shù)的鯨魚(yú)種群并不瀕危，而且吃鯨魚(yú)肉是其飲食文化中寶貴的一部分。

At September’s IWC meeting in Florianópolis, Brazil, anti-whaling nations led by Australia, the European Union and the US voted down a Japanese proposal to change the decision-making process – a move that would have made it easier for Japan to secure enough votes to end the commercial whaling ban.

今年9月，在巴西佛羅利亞諾波利斯市舉行的國(guó)際捕鯨委員會(huì)會(huì)議上，以澳大利亞、歐盟和美國(guó)為首的反對(duì)捕鯨的成員否決了日本提交的改變決策程序的提議。按照這一提議，日本能更容易地得到足夠多的投票支持，以取消商業(yè)捕鯨禁令。

The defeat prompted Japan’s IWC commissioner, Joji Morishita, to warn that the country’s differences with anti-whaling nations were “very clear” and that it would plan its “next step”.

這次失敗促使日本的國(guó)際捕鯨委員會(huì)代表森下丈二警告說(shuō)，日本與反捕鯨國(guó)家的分歧“非常明顯”，將計(jì)劃采取“下一步行動(dòng)”。

Japan has been able to use a clause in the IWC moratorium allowing it to conduct “research” hunts every year and to sell whale meat on the open market, although consumption has plummeted in recent decades.

日本利用國(guó)際捕鯨委員會(huì)的一項(xiàng)條款，每年進(jìn)行“科研”捕鯨活動(dòng)，并在公開(kāi)市場(chǎng)出售鯨魚(yú)肉，不過(guò)近幾十年來(lái)此類(lèi)消費(fèi)下滑很多。

Japan faced criticism earlier this year after reporting that its whaling fleet had killed 122 pregnant whales during its annual research hunt in the Southern Ocean last winter. Of the 333 minke whales caught during the four-month expedition, 181 were female – including 53 juveniles.

去年冬天，日本的捕鯨船在南極海域開(kāi)展每年的科研捕鯨活動(dòng)時(shí)，獵殺了122頭懷孕鯨魚(yú)，這在今年早些時(shí)候招致批評(píng)。這次科研捕鯨活動(dòng)為期四個(gè)月，在捕獲的333頭小須鯨中，181頭是雌性鯨魚(yú)，其中還包括53頭幼鯨。

In 2014, the international court of justice ordered Japan to halt its annual hunts in the Southern Ocean after concluding that they were not, as Japanese officials had claimed, conducted for scientific research.

2014年，海牙國(guó)際法庭要求日本停止每年在南極海域進(jìn)行的捕鯨，此前日本政府宣稱(chēng)在南極捕鯨的目的是用于科研，但法庭否認(rèn)了這一點(diǎn)。

But Japan resumed whaling in the region two years later under a revamped program that included reducing its catch quota by about two-thirds.

但兩年后，日本新出臺(tái)了計(jì)劃，將每年在南極海域的捕鯨數(shù)量減少三分之二，并恢復(fù)了捕鯨活動(dòng)。

Japan would join Iceland and Norway in openly defying the ban on commercial whale hunting.

另外兩個(gè)公開(kāi)違抗商業(yè)捕鯨禁令的國(guó)家是冰島和挪威。

來(lái)源：衛(wèi)報(bào)、路透社、新華社

翻譯&編輯：yaning