Japan's Shimonoseki commercial whaling fleet plans to catch 17 Brandt whale

China News Service, February 25th. According to Japanese media reports, on the 24th, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan held a commercial whaling fleet sailing ceremony. It is reported that the fleet's voyage will last for one month, and it plans to catch 17 Brandt Whales.

According to reports, with Japan's withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission in 2019, commercial whaling activities have been restarted in various parts of Japan after a lapse of 31 years. As an important base of the whaling fleet, Shimonoseki City held its first maritime activities in 2020 on February 24.

Data Map: On July 1, 2019, a newly captured minke whale was hoisted by a crane to a fish market in Kushiro Port, Hokkaido, Japan.

On that day, about 200 people gathered on the deck of a fishing boat called "Nisshin Maru", including the crew and their families. The general manager of the whaling fleet, Masahiro Hengkawa, said that "it will overcome difficulties and strive to continue commercial whaling." The ship slowly sailed out of the port after the ceremony, and the whole voyage would last for one month.

According to reports, the fleet plans to capture 17 Bryde's whales this time. At the same time, it will also investigate the survival status of whales in some sea areas where actual catches have previously been relatively small.

Data Map: Japanese lawmakers eat whale meals at restaurant whale meat promotions.

"We want to provide everyone with peace of mind and safety and delicious whales by opening up new fishing grounds," said Hideki Mori, the president of the "Common Ship" to which the ship belongs.

In September 2018, Japan renewed its claim to resume commercial whaling, but was again rejected by the IWC committee. On December 26, 2018, the official Japanese government official Yoshihide Yoshihiro announced that, because the initiative to lift the ban on commercial whaling for many years could not be achieved, Japan would withdraw from IWC and will no longer be subject to the ban.

On June 30, 2019, Japan officially withdrew from the International Whaling Commission, stopped whaling activities for "scientific purposes" in Antarctica and the northern Pacific, and began commercial whaling on July 1, 2019.