It said consumption of
whale meat in Japan had declined by almost 99 per cent between 1962 and 2017, with less than 4000 tonnes of it eaten in 2017.
Today, about 4,000-5,000 tons are supplied to Japan annually, or 30-40 grams of
whale meat consumed per person a year, Fisheries Agency officials say.
The assessment was based on different pictures of the
whale apparently taken by security personnel.
The other two are blue
whale and Arabian humpback
whale.There are a few records of the presence of Bryde's
whale in Pakistan which are mainly based on the beached carcasses.
"This
whale had the most plastic we have ever seen in a
whale.
"You can buy
whale meat at all supermarkets and seafood shops here," the 70-year-old said at a roadside station, where a huge model of a blue
whale skeleton stands alongside harpoon guns.
The country makes little secret of the fact that much of the meat from the 'research' ends up on the dinner plate, and local Minamiboso resident Kazuo Tachikawa is proud that
whale meat is a 'regional speciality'.
"Knowing their numbers are so low, it's always exciting when we are able to document a North Atlantic right
whale," says Kate Lomac-MacNair, project manager and co-lead observer at Smultea Environmental Sciences, a subcontractor for DEC's large
whale aerial survey.
The IWC meeting adopted a declaration aimed at preserving
whales, which called for continuing a halt in commercial
whale hunting.
A globally endangered species, the behavior of
whale sharks, locally called butanding, largely remains a mystery.