Whaling
捕鲸
Salty shepherds
海上守护者
Jan 24th 2008 | SYDNEY
From The Economist print edition
A row between Australia and Japan
日澳龃龉
THE Southern Ocean is usually one of the world’s loneliest shipping lanes.This month it has turned into an unseemly battleground over a bid byAustralia’s government and various environmental groups to stop Japan huntingand slaughtering whales. Japan aims to kill more than 900 minke and 50 finwhales from a region bordering Antarctica by mid-April. It claims the hunt isfor scientific research; its critics say this is a brazen front for acommercial whale-meat harvest. As images of the protesters’ antics inflameanti-Japanese feeling in Australia, the clash is also threatening the stabilityof one of Australia’s strongest regional ties.
南太平洋原本是世界上最孤单的航线之一。在这个月却变成了澳洲政府和几个环保组织试图阻止日本猎杀鲸鱼的不适宜的战场。日本计划到四月中旬前，在邻近南极洲的一块区域内捕杀超过900头小须鲸和50头长须鲸。日本方面声称这些都是为了科学研究；它的批评者称这是商业捕鲸的“遮羞布”。抗议者做出滑稽的动作，这一印象点燃了澳洲的反日情绪，因此，这次冲突也威胁着澳洲的一个最强大的地域联系的稳定。
On January 22nd Greenpeace, an environmental-lobbying group, wedged asmall inflatable craft between the Nisshin Maru, the Japanese fleet’sfactory ship, and its refuelling vessel. It managed to delay, but not stop, theoperation. This was a minor episode compared with a manoeuvre a week earlier bythe Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an anti-whaling body. Two protestersboarded one of the Japanese whaling vessels to deliver a letter demanding thatthe harpooning stop and, say the Japanese, splashed acid about.
在1月22日，绿色和平(一个环境游说团体)在日本捕鲸船队的加工船日新丸与它的加油船之间挤进了一只橡皮艇，成功的延迟了（但非阻止）日新丸加油。与一个星期前反对捕鲸的海洋看护协会的策略相比，这只是一个小插曲。两名抗议者登上了日本捕鲸船队的一条船，向日本人递交了一封信，信中要求停止鱼叉捕鱼，并且据日本人说，他们向甲板上扔含有酸性物体的瓶子。
They were detained on the Japanese ship, grabbing headlines worldwide,until an Australian patrol boat returned them to their own ship three dayslater. More protests seem likely. Paul Watson, captain of the Sea Shepherd shiptracking the whalers, says he is prepared to keep up the chase for weeks. Hepainted Greenpeace as timid for its failure to prevent refuelling: “Of courseit’s dangerous. Stopping the whaling fleet is not a game.”
他们被扣留在日本船上，成为全世界的头条，直到三天后澳大利亚的一艘巡逻艇把他们送回到自己的船上。看上去将有更多的抗议。保罗沃森船长被海洋看护协会派来跟踪捕鲸船队，他说他已经准备好继续工作几个星期。他把绿色和平组织未能成功阻止日本船加油归结为胆小：“当然很危险。阻止捕鲸船队可不是游戏。”
Japanese fleets have been hunting whales in the Southern Ocean for severalyears. None has had to deal with confrontations like those seen this season.Kevin Rudd, Australia’s new prime minister, called for an end to the whaling.An Australian aircraft is keeping an eye on the operation. At least some of thewhaling is happening in waters off a section of Antarctica over which Australiaclaims sovereignty. Eight years ago Australia declared a whale sanctuary in itsAntarctic waters.
日本船在已经在南太平洋捕鲸很多年了。此前从未需要像这次一样处理那么多的对峙。澳洲新总理陆克文呼吁终止捕鲸。一架澳洲飞机在一侧监视着整个行动。至少一些捕鲸行动发生在澳大利亚声称主权的南极洲一部分水域。八年前，澳大利亚把它的南极水域宣布为是鲸的保护区。
Humane Society International, another environmental group, won a rulingfrom the Federal Court in Australia on January 15th that whaling in thesanctuary was illegal and should stop. The court reported Japanese figures showingJapan had killed more than 3,300 minke whales and 13 fin whales in Antarcticwaters (not confined to Australia’s zone) since 2000.
1月15日，另一个环保团体，国际人道组织在澳洲联邦法院赢得一纸裁决——在保护区中捕鲸违法并应当停止。法院援引日本方面的数字表明自2000年，日本人已经在南极海域（不与澳洲接壤）杀死了超过3300只小须鲸和13长须鲸。
Mr Rudd’s government has reacted cautiously to the ruling. Only France,New Zealand, Norway and Britain recognise Australia’ s Antarctic claim. For itspart, Japan regards the Australian sanctuary as international waters.Commercial whaling was banned worldwide 22 years ago. But killing for“scientific” research is still allowed under a 1946 convention. Japan’s criticsquestion whether research requires so many whales to be killed.
根据裁决，陆克文的政府已谨慎的有所动作。仅法国、新西兰、挪威和英国承认澳洲对南极的主权声明。从他本身出发，日本当然认为澳洲的保护区为公海范围。商业捕鲸在22年前已在全球禁止。但按照1946年的协定，为了“科学”研究的捕杀仍然是允许的。日本的批评者质疑研究是否需要捕杀如此多的鲸。
Japanese officials also accuse Australia of hypocrisy: taking the highground over whales while it kills thousands of kangaroos in controlled culls.Minoru Morimoto, Japan’s commissioner to the International Whaling Commission,says: “There are enough whales for those who want to watch them and those whowant to eat them.” Derek Luxford, a Sydney shipping lawyer, reckons Australiashould resolve the impasse by testing its anti-whaling law before theInternational Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The alternative, he says, is toallow “vigilante” groups like Sea Shepherd to enforce its law.
日本官员也指责澳洲的伪善：占领了反对捕鲸的高地的同时，有选择的猎杀了上千只袋鼠。日本驻国际捕鲸委员会的代表森本实表示：“目前鲸的数量已经能满足观看它们的人和食用它们的人的需要。”一位悉尼航运律师，德瑞克拉克福德，认为澳洲要解决目前的僵局应当由国际法庭在海洋法上测试反捕鲸法案。他说，另一个选择是允许像海洋看护协会这样的“义务警察”来执行它的法律。
He may be right. The dispute is souring the air as Australia embarks ontalks with Japan about a free-trade agreement. And it complicates the Ruddgovernment’s bid to balance Japan against China’s growing importance for Australia. Mr Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking China expert, opposed a security pactthat Australia’s former government signed with Japan last year. Japan will belooking for signs that Australia’s concern for the future of the whale is notpart of some wider agenda.
或许他是对的。争执使气氛显得越来越不愉快，此时澳洲正着手与日本关于自由贸易协定的谈判。为了平衡对澳洲日益重要的中国，这次冲突也使的陆对日本的出价错综复杂。陆先生是位能讲普通话的中国专家，他反对上一届澳洲政府去年与日本签订的共同防御条约。澳大利亚对于鲸鱼命运的不满是否会向更广泛的领域，对于形势的变化日本将会密切关注。