Japan incurrs anger with Minke whale catch
Japan has caught 59 minke whales in its latest hunt as part of a research programme that critics have denounced as thinly-disguised commercial whaling.
The 49-day expedition off the coast of Kushioro in Hokkaido, about 560 miles north of Tokyo, was authorised by the International Whaling Commission, the researchers’ catch was limited to a maximum of 60 whales.
The hunt was purportedly designed to study the impact of the mammals’ feeding on fish stocks.
Japan’s Fisheries Agency will report its findings to the IWC, which banned commercial whaling in 1986 to protect the endangered mammals, but approved restricted hauls for research a year later.
