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.
