Japan's so-called research whaling season began Saturday off Kushiro, Hokkaido, to study the impact of minke whales on local fisheries.

Eight minke whales were caught on the first day of whaling, which lasts through late October. Up to 51 minkes will be caught during the period.

Four whaling boats from Miyagi, Chiba and Wakayama prefectures left Kushiro port in the morning. The first whale, a 6.45-meter-long, 3.02-ton male, was caught around noon.

The Fisheries Agency claims the whaling is aimed at contributing to resource management by researching whale ecology through analysis of stomach contents and organs, among other studies. The meat will be sold as food.

Japan halted its research whaling in the Antarctic after the International Court of Justice ruled in March last year that the activities violated the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.

However, it has continued its research whaling in Japan coastal areas and the northwestern Pacific.