By Mari Yamaguchi
Tokyo: Japan has resumed commercial whaling after 31 years, meeting a long-cherished goal of traditionalists that's seen as a largely lost cause.
Whaling boats embarked on Monday on their first commercial hunts since 1988, when Japan switched to so-called research whaling, but they will stay within the country's exclusive economic waters. Japan's six-month notice to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission took effect Sunday.
A minke whale is unloaded at a port in Kushiro in 2017 after a scientific whaling expedition.Credit: AP
The Fisheries Agency said the catch quota through to the end of this year is set at 227 whales, fewer than the 333 that Japan hunted in the Antarctic in recent years. The quota for this season's catch, planned for release in late June, was withheld until Monday, apparently to avoid criticism during the Group of 20 summit that concluded over the weekend in Osaka.
As the boats left port, whalers, their families and local officials in two major whaling towns, celebrated the fresh start, hoping for a good harvest and a safe return.
The two towns are Shimonoseki in south-western Japan, which is Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's electoral constituency, and Kushiro in the north.
"We hope commercial whaling will be on track as soon as possible, contribute to local prosperity and carry on Japan's rich whale culture to the next generation," Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters in Tokyo.
While the resumption of commercial whaling is condemned by many conservation groups, others see it as a face-saving way to let the government's embattled and expensive whaling program gradually succumb to changing times and tastes.
Despite the massive attention and tax money and political support from ruling party lawmakers, whaling in Japan involved only a few hundred people and accounted for less than 0.1 percent of total meat consumption in 2017, according to the latest government data on food sufficiency.
Whale meat was an affordable source of protein during the lean times after World War II, with consumption peaking at 223,000 tonnes in 1962. But whale was quickly replaced by other meats. Whale meat consumption was down to 6000 tonnes in 1986, a year before the commercial whaling moratorium imposed by the International Whaling Commission.
Under the research hunts, which were criticised as a cover for commercial hunts as the meat was sold on the market, Japan at its peak caught as many as 1200 whales. But it has drastically cut back in recent years after international protests escalated and whale meat consumption slumped at home.
The government used to sell portions of whale meat caught in the scientific program for school lunch programs at discounted prices.
Only about 4000 to 5000 tonnes are supplied to Japan annually, or 30 to 40 grams of whale meat consumed per person a year, Fisheries Agency officials say. The research whaling program lost money for years - 1.6 billion yen ($21 million) in the last year alone.
Japan will stick to a very strict catch quota with respect to the IWC findings, and will continue conducting research, said Hideki Moronuki, a Fisheries Agency official and a chief negotiator at the IWC. He said Japan's commercial whaling will not harm its stock.
The commercial whaling will be carried out by two groups. The first, led by mother boat Nisshin-maru and two support boats that used to go to the Antarctica, will catch minke, Bryde's and sei whales. Five other smaller ships will stay closer to the coast but also hunt minkes, in addition to Baird's beaked whales and dolphins that they used to catch under an IWC loophole.
Altogether, they will catch 52 minkes, 150 Bryde's and 25 sei whales between now and the end of the year.
A whaling boat leaves a port in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan, on Monday to resume commercial whaling.Credit: AP
Whales caught in coastal waters are expected to be brought back for fresh local consumption at any of six local whaling hubs that are mainly in northern Japan but include Taiji, which is also known for dolphin hunts because of the documentary film "The Cove."
Whale meat caught further off the coast will be frozen and distributed for wider consumption.
Moronuki says the fate of commercial whaling depends on whether whale meat is widely accepted by consumers since it won't be getting as much in subsidies as it used to get.
Moronuki said he hoped whale meat would be reasonably priced so that it will gain popularity in the long-term instead of becoming an expensive delicacy for a limited clientele. The government used to sell portions of whale meat caught in the scientific program for school lunch programs at discounted prices, he said.
A whaling boat leaves a port in Kushiro, Hokkaido, northern Japan, on Monday.Credit: AP
"The future of commercial whaling depends on how popular whale meat can be," he said. "Whale meat is a traditional food in Japan and I would like many people to try and develop taste for it, especially younger people."
A 2017 survey by the Japan Whaling Association showed about 64 per cent of respondents aged from teenagers to their 50s said they have eaten whale meat, but most said they had not eaten it for more than five years.
Ultimately, the resumption of traditional whaling may end up saving both huge government subsidies and the lives of many whales, experts say.
"What we are seeing is the beginning of the end of Japanese whaling," said Patrick Ramage, director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
"It is a win-win solution that results in a better situation for whales, a better situation for Japan, a better situation for international marine conservation efforts and is therefore to be welcomed."
Whaling is losing support in other whaling nations including Norway and Iceland, where whalers have cut back on catches in recent years amid criticism that commercial hunts are bad for their national image and tourism.
Iceland caught only 17 whales, while Norway hunted 432 for the 2017-2018 season, way below their catch quota of 378 and 1,278 respectively, according to the IWC.
Japanese are also beginning to see ecotourism as a better option for whales than hunting them for food.
"People in coastal communities all do better when whales are seen and not hurt," Ramage said.
AP