Workers butcher a Baird’s Beaked whale at a port southeast of Tokyo in 2008. Toru Hanai / Reuters
A Japanese fleet on Thursday returned to port with 333 minke
whales killed in the nation’s first Antarctic hunt in two years after
defying an international court.
The Japanese Fisheries Agency
announced that the four-ship fleet had fulfilled its catch quota during
the months-long expedition, which it maintains will aid in scientific
research of whales.
A 1986 international ban on commercial whaling
includes an exemption for scientific research, a loophole other nations
— most notably Australia — accuse Japan of exploiting.
Reuters
In 2014, the International Court of Justice sided with
opponents who argued the hunts are a cover for commercial whaling since
much of the leftover carcass goes to market. However, Japan decided to flout the ruling
in December, outlining plans to the International Whaling Commission to
harvest up to 333 minke whales annually over the next 12 years,
infuriating Australia and environmental activists.
Japan’s annual
catch has actually fallen over the years, with domestic demand for whale
meat softening. According to the Associated Press, the new catch quota
is about one-third of what it used to be.
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