By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter

South Korea plans to ask the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to allow it to resume whaling on a limited basis, a government official said Sunday.

The move comes in response to demands from local communities who have long asked the government to allow limited commercial whaling.

``Before the ban, South Korea had bigger whaling vessels than Japan did. But now, there is not a single whaler left,'' said an official at the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. ``We are in a situation where we cannot completely ignore steady calls from fishermen in Ulsan and other southwestern regions.''

Commercial whaling has been banned here since 1986, after the commission adopted a moratorium to allow whale stocks to recover.

However, out of 84 IWC member nations, about 30 including Japan recently called on the commission to permit ``coastal hunting'' which allows fishermen to capture a certain amount of whales in a bid to let people in coastal areas eat the meat.

Some countries including Greenland and Iceland were allowed to hunt whales because they insisted whales were the only food to eat during winters.

``We share a whale fishing history with Japan. So, if Japan is allowed to resume whaling, there should be no reason to stop our request,'' the official added.

Despite the ban on commercial whaling, the giant mammal has been a delicacy in some coastal regions here, such as Ulsan, Pohang and Busan.

Whaling in South Korea has a long history. Rock carvings at Bangu-Dae archaeological site in the southeastern city of Ulsan proved hunting began as early as 6,000 B.C.

The BBC reported this rock art hints at whaling origins, adding that more than 46 depictions of large whales etched at the site showed evidence that humans used harpoons, floats and lines to catch prey such as sperm whales, right whales and humpbacks.

The government plans to inform the IWC of its stance on whaling during the latter's general meeting in June.

But it is likely to take some time to lift the anti-whaling measure because the commission requires five-year data on population and species of whales. Seoul began research just three years ago.

``It may be difficult to immediately lift the ban but we will continuously request the resumption of whaling in a bid to restore the tradition of whaling and promote the culture of eating whale meat,'' the official said.

ksy@koreatimes.co.kr