New Japanese whaling ship begins first whaling campaign

On the grill, the cook flips a thick whale steak, a traditional dish in Japan that some would like to see return to favor in the archipelago, while a new large whaler entered into activity on Tuesday.

This meat, the consumption of which is prohibited by many countries, is also available as sashimi at Nisshin Maru, a restaurant in the port city of Shimonoseki (western Japan) named after the former main Japanese whaling ship.

This vessel’s fishing campaigns in the Southern Ocean have been regularly disrupted by environmental defenders, such as the NGO Sea Shepherd. He was retired last year, after more than thirty years of activity.

Its successor, the Kangei Maru, is an imposing factory ship 100m long and nearly 9,300 tonnes which can condition and store whale meat on board.

It left its home port of Shimonoseki on Tuesday for a several-month campaign off the coast of northeastern Japan, ushering in a new era for an industry defended tooth and nail by the Japanese government.

The new Japanese whaling ship Kangei Maru, May 21, 2024 in Shimonoseki, Japan (AFP/Yuichi YAMAZAKI)

“We hope that eating whale meat will become more common in Japan,” Ryosuke Oba, manager of the Nisshin Maru restaurant, told AFP.

On the wall hangs a photo of the eponymous ship, bearing the word “research” on its side in large white letters.

– A meat that is no longer popular –

Commercial whale fishing was banned worldwide in 1986 with the entry into force of an international moratorium by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to protect their species, some of which had become highly endangered.

But Japan continued whaling in a highly controversial manner, exploiting a clause in the moratorium allowing scientific missions. It left the IWC in 2019 to free itself from the moratorium, while now limiting its hunting zone to its own maritime space.

The country is one of the last three countries to hunt whales, along with Norway and Iceland.

The new Japanese whaling ship Kangei Maru before its first campaign at sea, on May 21, 2024 in Shimonoseki, Japan (AFP/Yuichi YAMAZAKI)

“Catch big whales and return safely!” said a letter read Tuesday by children from Shimonoseki, who also danced during a ceremony for the departure of the Kangei Maru.

The new factory ship, whose construction cost 7.5 billion yen (44 million euros), plans to contribute with a flotilla to the capture of around 200 of these mammals by the end of the year .

These cetaceans have been hunted for centuries in Japan, and their meat was a valuable source of protein for its population in the years of misery following World War II.

But its consumption in the country has fallen to around 1% of its peak in the 1960s, or around 2,000 tonnes per year: other meats (beef, pork, chicken) have gradually become more accessible, while whale catches, under the effect of international regulatory constraints, were becoming weaker.

“Eating whale is part of the identity of the Japanese people,” argues Shintaro Maeda, the mayor of Shimonoseki. School canteens in his town serve whale meat, but “there are still a lot of people, even in Shimonoseki, who don’t know how to eat it,” he laments.

– Avoid confrontation –

To try to remedy this, the whaling company Kyodo Senpaku has notably installed whale meat vending machines in several cities, including Tokyo.

The new Japanese whaling ship Kangei Maru, May 21, 2024 in Shimonoseki, Japan (AFP/Yuichi YAMAZAKI)

Kazuhiro Fujino, 48, owner of a whale meat store, says he is “hopeful” to see his sales boosted by the increase in catches thanks to the Kangei Maru.

“Japan today depends on imports for everything”, and “capturing whales is a good idea” to increase its capacity for self-sufficiency in the event of a food shortage, he thinks.

But this old argument from Japan is hardly convincing for environmental NGOs, stressing that this risks further weakening certain species which are already suffering from plastic pollution and climate change.

The international outrage, however, cannot be compared to that aroused around ten years ago, when Japan, which could not hunt whales in its own waters due to the IWC moratorium, turned to Antarctic.

“If we can continue to catch the same amount of whales as before, or even more, in the waters around our coasts, I don’t think it’s necessary to go all the way to the Antarctic Ocean,” where Japan can “face criticism”, recognizes Mr. Fujino.

© 2024 AFP

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