For the second consecutive year, Japanese whalers have returned to port after an Antarctic expedition with the carcasses of 333 whales. The five-ship fleet
For the second consecutive year , Japanese whalers have returned to port after an Antarctic expedition with the carcasses of 333 whales. The five-ship fleet, put forth by the country’s Fisheries Agency, killed the minke whales during a months-long voyage to southern waters for what it calls ecological research.
The agency released a statement describing the mission as « research for the purpose of studying the ecological system in the Antarctic Sea, » according to Agence France-Presse .
The Associated Press reports that Fisheries Agency official Shigeto Hase lauded a successful expedition in Shimonoseki, the home port for Nisshin Maru, mother ship of the Japanese fleet.
« It was great that we have achieved our plan, » Hase told those gathered for a welcome ceremony, including the city’s mayor and about 200 local people, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. notes. « We will steadily continue our research toward a resumption of commercial whaling. »
It is not by chance that the word « research » served as the centerpiece of both statements.
Under the rules of the International Whaling Commission, of which Japan is a member, there has been an international ban on commercial whaling since 1986 — though there is an exception for whaling conducted with ecological research in mind.
