Japan begins the second largest whale hunt on Earth

Japan added fin whales, a once endangered marine mammal, to its commercial fishing list, causing concern among conservationists.

Fin whales can be up to 27m long. (Photo: IFAW).

The Japanese government on May 9 announced that fin whales ( Balaenoptera physalus ) were the target of whaling ships in the country's exclusive economic zone, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency (IEA). The addition of fin whales brings the number of commercially caught whales in Japan to four species, along with minke whales, Bryde's whales and sei whales.

The latest addition decision was especially surprising given the species' size and scarcity. At 25 meters long, the fin whale is the second largest animal on Earth by length, second only to the blue whale. They can live up to 90 years and have a wide range of habitat throughout the world's oceans.

Fin whales were on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) endangered species list before 2018, after which their status was changed to "vulnerable species". The number of fin whales has about doubled since the 1970s largely due to a ban on commercial fishing. However, Japan is now starting to reverse that course.

"This is a worrying step backward and the Japanese government's latest attempt to encourage demand for whale meat is almost non-existent ," said Clare Perry, oceans advisor at the EIA. " Fin whales are one of the world's major carbon collectors and need full protection, at least so they can continue to fulfill their essential role in the marine environment."

Japan restored commercial whaling in June 2019 after controversially withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the intergovernmental panel that coordinates the whaling industry. Commercial whaling has been banned by the IWC since 1982, although it still allows countries to kill whales for special purposes such as scientific research.

More than 80 countries signed the agreement, which took effect in 1986. However, some countries, such as Norway, Denmark, Greenland, Russia, Iceland and Japan, continued to ignore the ban and hunt whales in the name of research. scientific research. "Now, Japan is proposing to hunt the second largest animal on the planet, despite the ban on commercial whaling ," Perry said.