Japan is considering upgrading its aging lead whaling ship, a fisheries official confirmed Wednesday, in a sign that the country’s controversial Antarctic hunts will continue despite international protests. The Fisheries Agency has requested 100 million yen in the national budget for a study into the future of commercial whaling,
Japan is considering upgrading its aging lead whaling ship, a fisheries official confirmed Wednesday, in a sign that the country’s controversial Antarctic hunts will continue despite international protests.
The Fisheries Agency has requested 100 million yen in the national budget for a study into the future of commercial whaling, an agency official told AFP, including the fate of the 30-year-old Nisshin Maru, the lead vessel of Japan’s whaling flotilla.
“That study will include discussions on what to do with the Nisshin Maru — if its life should be extended (by repairs), or should be replaced with a used ship or a new ship, among other ideas,” according to the agency’s Takato Maki.
The 8,145-ton vessel has been the “mothership” of Japan’s whaling flotilla since 1987 but is now old, said Maki.
He said Japan has no plans to change its policy of staging an annual “research” hunt to prepare for a eventual return to commercial whaling.
