Animal rights activists horrified

Japan hunts fin whales again: first animal dead

The fin whale is the closest relative of the blue whale.

(Bild: Susann - stock.adobe.com)

Although fin whales are classified as "vulnerable" on the Red List, Japan's whalers are allowed to hunt the animals again for the first time in years. Now the first dead specimen has been reported.

The whaling company Kyodo Senpaku has killed the first fin whale, confirmed a spokesperson for the responsible fisheries authority in Tokyo. The authority had recently approved a catch quota of 59 fin whales in Japanese waters for this year. However, international animal and environmental protectionists strongly condemn Japan's whaling.

This is because their classification on the Red List means that there is a high risk that they will become extinct in the wild in the immediate future. There are currently around 100,000 animals. Iceland is also hunting fin whales, where a total of 128 representatives of the species may be caught this season.

Fin whales feed mainly on crustaceans and small schooling fish.

(Bild: © Wildestanimal stock.adobe)

Cruel, unnecessary and out of date
"Commercial whaling is cruel, unnecessary and completely out of date. Japan must stop this senseless practice immediately and should instead work together with the global community on urgently needed solutions to protect the oceans," warned Andreas Dinkelmeyer, Campaign Director of the animal and environmental protection organization IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) in Germany. The spokesman for the Japanese Fisheries Agency, however, admitted that Japan was acting on the basis of scientific findings. According to him, Japan's own investigations had shown that there are many fin whales in the North Pacific.

In 2019, Japan resumed commercial whale hunting for the first time after a forced break of three decades, following the Asian country's withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The reason for the withdrawal was Japan's frustration with the whaling moratorium in place since 1986. Tokyo fought in vain for the re-authorization of commercial hunting. Since then, the country has restricted hunting to its territorial waters and economic zone.

Whale meat only has a few buyers left
Previously, Japan hunted three species: minke whales, Bryde's whales and sei whales. Now the fin whale, the second largest living mammal, is also a target for whalers. Japan's government claims that the stocks of marine mammals are not endangered by commercial hunting. In fact, whaling has long been a matter of national sovereignty for Japan's government.

It was once the American occupying power that urged the East Asian country to slaughter whales to supply the then starving population with protein after the loss of the Second World War. But that was a long time ago - today the dark whale meat finds few buyers in the wealthy island nation.