Latest Japanese
Whaling Expedition Kills 158 Whales
Wednesday, August 08, 2001
By Associated Press
TOKYO Japanese ships have returned from an expedition in the northwest
Pacific with a quarry of 158 whales, 70 more than last year's hunt. They've
also added Bryde's and sperm whales to the usual catch of Minke, the government
said this week. The decision last year to include Bryde's and sperm whales
in the hunt for first time 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
program is merely a front for commercial whaling. The fleet of five government
vessels embarked on the expedition on May 10. They entered port in Tokyo
on Tuesday morning, and a welcome home ceremony was held shortly after
their arrival, the Fisheries Agency said in a
press release. The fleet caught 100 minke whales, 50 Bryde's whales, and
eight sperm whales, the agency said.
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Japan is allowed to catch a limited number of whales under a scientific
research program sanctioned by the International Whaling Commission. Japan
defends
the program 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, which the International
Whaling Commission banned in 1987. Despite the ban, whale meat is sold
in Japanese restaurants, which get their stock from the research program.
Japan's annual research hunt is usually around 400 whales.
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