Posts Tagged ‘Japanese whaling’
Whale meat fetches record high at Japan auction
Sei whale meat is being sold at a record high in Japan according media reports there. Ironically, whilst delegates from around the world at COP27 discuss ways to tackle climate change, tail meat from one of our biggest ocean allies in the fight against climate breakdown (whales) is fetching 500,000 yen (about $3,600) per kilo…
Read MoreCuts in government funds to hit Japanese whale hunt industry
Reports in Japan suggest the whaling industry there is facing increasing challenges just a few years after the country withdrew from the International Whaling Commission (IWC – the global body that regulates whaling) and resumed hunting whales for commercial profit. Previously, Japan had slaughtered whales under the guise of ‘research’, even though next to nothing…
Read MoreJapanese whale research ship returns with no whales on board
The first Japanese vessel to carry out whale research in the Antarctic Ocean since the country officially withdrew last year from the International Whaling Commission (IWC – the body that regulates whaling) has returned to port without catching a whale. On 26 December 2018, the Japanese government announced its withdrawal from the IWC in order to officially…
Read MoreOver 300 more whales killed by Japanese hunting fleet
Japanese whaling vessels have returned to port from the Antarctic Ocean after killing 333 minke whales as planned. The fleet, consisting of the Yushin Maru (724 tons), The 3rd Yushin Maru (742 tons)., and three other vessels, including the factory ship, Nisshin Maru (8145 tons) and the 2nd Yushin Maru (747 tons), left Japan for the…
Read MoreJapanese plans to build new whale hunting ship attracts widespread criticism
The Japanese Fisheries Agency has reiterated plans to begin the process of building a new whale hunting vessel in 2018 to lead its whaling fleet in the future, a controversial move that is likely to attract widespread international criticism. The new ship will replace the Nisshin Maru, the 8,145-ton mother ship of the whaling fleet…
Read MoreEU letter critical of Japanese whaling
Japan’s new ‘scientific’ whale hunting programme (known as NEWREP-NP) in the North Pacific has been formally criticized, once again, by the European Union (EU) in a letter to the governments that form the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the international body that regulates whale hunting. The letter from the 25 EU Member States is critical of…
Read MoreJapanese government faces criticism from its own people over new whale hunt plans
In an unusual press event today, Japanese government officials faced criticism from within the country over plans to resume commercial whaling, which is currently banned by the International Whaling Commission (the body that regulates the hunts). The panel discussion took place between Kiyoshi Ejima representing Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, Shigeki Takaya, director of Whaling Affairs Office at…
Read MoreJapanese government announces increase in 'scientific' whale slaughter
The Japanese government has revealed its plans to increase the number of whales it wants to catch and kill in the Northwestern Pacific for so-called research. Despite the scientific value of ‘research’ hunts being criticised by International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the International Whaling Commission’s own Scientific Committee of experts, the Japanese…
Read MoreJapanese hunt kills 16 whales for research
The latest Japanese government ‘research’ whale hunt in the waters off Miyagi Prefecture has resulted in 16 minke whales being killed. The whaling was conducted from April 9 to May 25 under research commissioned by the Japanese Fisheries Agency to look into the diet of the minke whales. However, much of the meat from Japanese…
Read MoreJapanese whaling fleet kills 333 minke whales – most of the adult females were pregnant
The Japanese whaling fleet returned today to its home port in Shimonoseki. The Japanese Institute for Cetacean Research confirmed the killing of 333 minke whales: 103 males and 230 females – over 90% of the adult females were pregnant. The whaling ships had set sail for the Antarctic on December 1st, despite failing to…
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