Japan Fisheries Agency proposes allowing commercial catching of fin whales WSOC TV [Video]

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 coast, officials said Thursday.

The proposal comes five years after Japan resumed commercial whaling within its exclusive economic zone after withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission in July 2019. It ended 30 years of what Japan called “research whaling” that had been criticized by conservationists as a cover for commercial hunts banned by the commission in 1988.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, whose electoral district is traditionally known for whaling, said the government supports sustainable use of whales as part of Japan’s traditional food culture and plans to promote the industry.

“Whales are an important food resource and we believe they should be sustainably utilized just like any other marine resources, based on scientific evidence,” Hayashi told reporters. “It is also important to carry on Japan’s traditional food …