Japanese whale fleet returns with increased catch

Japan’s whaling fleet has returned from an expedition in the northwest Pacific with a quarry of 158 whales, 70 more than last year’s hunt and with Bryde’s and sperm whales added to the usual catch of minke.

The decision last year to include Bryde’s and sperm whales in the hunt for the first time since an international ban on commercial whaling took effect in 1987 triggered criticism worldwide and brought threats of economic sanctions from Washington.

Tokyo claims that with 22,000 Bryde’s whales and 102,000 sperm whales in the northwest Pacific, the hunt poses no threat to whale populations.

But critics say the purported research programme is merely a front for commercial whaling.

The fleet of five Government vessels embarked on the expedition on May 10. They were due in Tokyo on Tuesday morning, and a welcome home ceremony was scheduled shortly after their arrival, said the Fisheries Agency.

The fleet caught 100 minke whales, 50 Bryde’s whales, and eight sperm whales, the agency said.

Japan is allowed to catch a limited number of whales under a scientific research programme sanctioned by the International Whaling Commission. Japan defends the programme as a necessary means of monitoring whale migration, population and feeding habits.

But the United States, Britain and other nations say the hunts are a disguise for commercial whaling.

Despite the ban, whale meat is sold in Japanese restaurants, which get their stock from the research programme.

Japan’s annual research hunt is usually around 400 whales.