Japan Fisheries Agency proposes allowing commercial catching of fin whales

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Fisheries Agency has proposed a plan to allow catching fin whales in addition to three smaller whale species currently permitted under the country’s commercial whaling around its coasts. The proposal comes five years after Japan resumed commercial whaling around its coasts after withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission in July 2019. The agency decided to propose adding fin whales to the allowable catch list after stock survey results confirmed a sufficient recovery of the fin whale population in the North Pacific. It hopes to get the proposal formally approved in mid-June. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said whales are important food resources and his government will support sustainable whaling.