BOSTON - November 30 - The Environmental Investigation Agency, The Humane Society of the United States and Greenpeace United States today presented a report revealing that U.S. seafood giant, Gorton's of Gloucester, is owned by Nippon Suisan Kaisha Ltd., a company with a 70-year history of whale hunting.

The new investigative report, "The Gorton's Family Whaling Business," produced and released by the Environmental Investigation Agency, details the long and bloody history of commercial whale hunting by Gorton's parent company, Nippon Suisan, also known as Nissui, a global fishing company based in Japan involved in hunting whales, despite the international ban on commercial whaling.

"For nearly two decades, Japanese whaling companies have ignored international laws that protect the world's great whales,"Allan Thornton, president of EIA, said today at a news conference here. "We are appealing to Gorton's of Gloucester to use its connections with Nissui to bring about an end to whale hunting once and for all. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Nissui, Gorton's reputation is at stake."

Nissui owns one-third of the shares of Kyodo Senpaku, the company that conducts the "scientific" whaling program for the Japanese government. Since purchasing Gorton's in 2001, more than 2,700 whales have been killed by Kyodo Senpaku under the guise of "scientific research" and more than 175,000 whales since the 1930s. 

"As a responsible corporate citizen, Gorton's of Gloucester has an obligation to its customers to demand Nissui get out of the ugly business of hunting whales," said Patricia Forkan, president of Humane Society International. "American consumers, as they learn more about the awful truth behind the seafood company they've come to know and trust, will not stand idly by while the slaughter continues."

In addition to the hunt and slaughter of whales protected under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, Nissui sells the "research" catch as canned meat at supermarkets and convenience stores across Japan.

This season's whale hunt began November 8 when Japanese fleets left for the Southern Oceans. The Fisheries Agency of Japan intends to increase its catch by more than double. Additionally, targets will include fin and humpback whales, which are recognized as endangered species.

In a prepared statement, John Hocevar, Greenpeace Oceans Specialist, said, "Whaling fleets have pushed one species after another to the brink of extinction and everyone from corporations to world leaders must do everything in their power to defend the whales. This company has always used the slogan, trust the Gorton's fisherman, but consumers are not going to trust the Gorton's fisherman if he's wielding a whaling harpoon,"

The International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986.  A loophole that allows whaling for "scientific purposes" continues to be exploited by Japan and Iceland.

The Environmental Investigation Agency is a Washington, DC- and London, UK- based independent, international campaigning organization committed to investigating and exposing environmental crime, and campaigning to protect endangered species and the natural world.

Humane Society International is the international division of The Humane Society of the United States, the nation's largest animal protection organization, and has worked for decades to protect whales.

Greenpeace is an independent and international organization that uses non-violent, creative confrontation to expose environmental problems and to force solutions, which are essential to a green and peaceful future. 

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