National | FOCUS Jun 29, 2020
One year after resumption, Japan's commercial whaling in viability struggle
Consumption of whale meat, no longer often found on household dining tables, has not recovered smoothly.
National Apr 21, 2020
Japan back in whaling business, but quotas and cost make meat a hard sell
Following its withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), Japan resumed commercial whaling for the first time in 31 years in July 2019. Whale meat supply, however, has fallen by more than 30 percent from levels prior to the withdrawal. The government has curbed the ...
Asia Pacific / Science & Health Jan 4, 2020
Seven whales were successfully herded back to sea after they survived a mass stranding at a New Zealand beach on Saturday, conservation officials said. About 1,000 locals and vacationers had spent several hours comforting the beached whales on the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island. They ...
World Nov 3, 2019
Fragments of oil from spills plaguing Brazil's coast for three month have reached a humpback whale sanctuary, the navy reported Saturday. The area around the small Abrolhos archipelago off the coast of northeast Bahia state has some of Brazil's richest biodiversity. The oil was being recovered ...
Business Aug 1, 2019
First Bryde's whale auction held since Japan's resumption of commercial whaling
A Bryde's whale auction was held on Thursday in Sendai — the first since Japan ended its 31-year commercial whaling hiatus a month ago — with cuts of the single animal on offer sold for up to ¥20,000 ($183) per kilogram. Bryde's whale meat is ...
Reference | FYI Jun 30, 2019
by Sakura Murakami
Following its withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission, Japan will resume commercial whaling within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
World / Science & Health Jun 1, 2019
U.S. government biologists have launched a special investigation into the deaths of at least 70 gray whales washed ashore in recent months along the U.S. West Coast, from California to Alaska, many of them emaciated, officials said on Friday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ...
National Apr 4, 2019
Whaling fleet leaves for north Japan waters in last ostensibly scientific mission before IWC exit
Four whaling vessels left a port in Miyagi Prefecture on Thursday to take part in the last of what the government calls a scientific research program before the country's exit from the International Whaling Commission at the end of June. The ships, which left the ...
National Mar 29, 2019
Whaling vessel leaves Taiji port for last 'scientific' mission before Japan withdraws from IWC
A whaling vessel left the port of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, on Friday for the last mission of what the government calls a scientific research program before the country withdraws from the International Whaling Commission and starts commercial whaling from July. The No. 7 Katsu Maru ...
World / Science & Health Mar 1, 2019
Russia orders firms to free captive orca, Belugas held in Far East 'whale prison'
Russian authorities have ordered the release of nearly 100 whales held captive in cages in Russia's Far East in a case that has drawn the ire of President Vladimir Putin, the public and international film stars, TASS news agency said on Thursday. Images of the ...
National Oct 3, 2018
Japan's sei whale meat sales deemed to be in violation of Washington convention
An international conservation committee ruled on Tuesday that Japan's domestic commercial distribution of meat from sei whales caught for scientific purposes violates the so-called Washington convention and advised the country to take corrective steps. The pact, formally called the Convention on International Trade in Endangered ...
Asia Pacific / Social Issues Sep 21, 2018
Proliferation of marine parks in China fueling shadowy trade in cetaceans
by Farah Master
Eight beluga whales jump in unison out of a bright blue indoor pool, flipping their tail fins and spewing water as a packed audience cheers and snaps photographs. Whale shows like the one at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, located in Zhuhai on China's southern coast, are ...