JAPAN’S annual scientific catch of whales is disguising an undocumented trade
in meat from accidentally caught and possibly poached whales, claim researchers.
According to a new analysis of whale meat in the country, if the trade continues
it could drive a unique subgroup of minke whales in the Sea of Japan to
extinction.
Sale of whale meat is legal in Japan if it comes from frozen stockpiles, from
the annual catch of around 500 minke whales which the government is allowed to
kill for scientific study, or from ” bycatch”—whales killed accidentally
by fishing gear or ship strikes. Most of…
