RAUSU, Japan - People packed the decks of the Japanese whale-watching boat, screaming in joy as a pod of orcas put on a show: splashing tails at each other, rolling over, and leaping out of the water.
“But we also watch minkes,” he added. “If they take a lot in the Sea of Okhotsk, we could well see a change, and that would be too bad for whale watching.” “Of the tourist boat business, 65 percent is whale watching,” said Ikuyo Wakabayashi, executive director of the Shiretoko Rausu Tourism Association, who says the numbers grow substantially each year.
Barely 300 people are directly involved with whaling around Japan, and though the government maintains whale meat is an important part of food culture, the amount consumed annually has fallen to only 0.1 percent of total meat consumption. Everybody acknowledges that rebuilding demand could be tough after decades of whale being a pricey, hard-to-find food. Consumption was widespread after World War Two, when an impoverished Japan needed cheap protein, but fell off after the early 1960s as other meat grew cheaper.
The goal of selling whale throughout Japan may be impractical, said Joji Morishita, Japan’s former IWC commissioner. Foxes run through the streets of the city’s downtown, which clings to a narrow strip of land below mountains and faces the Nemuro Strait. Summer often brings thick fog, while winter storms can leave waist-high drifts.
WHY ARE THEY KILLING THEM. DUH
Adapt or die.
Japanese Whale Slaughtering is a lucrative business too. savethewhales
I see no benefit to hunting these gentle giants. I always thought the Japanese were a spiritual people.
Whales & dolphins playing together in the ocean...
it is a shame for such an innovative country to hunt on whales
How about whale hunting watching
They are just scoping out their dinner. It is a little like going to the lobster tank in a 1970s restaurant. Let us face it the Japanese politicians are more protective of their historical culture then endangered species.
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