Japan proposes expanding commercial whaling to fin whales, a larger species than the 3 allowed now

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Fisheries Agency has proposed expanding commercial whaling to fin whales, a larger species than the three allowed now. The proposal comes five years after Japan resumed commercial whaling along the country’s coast after withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission. The agency decided to propose adding fin whales to the allowable catch list after stock surveys confirmed sufficient recovery of the fin whale population in the North Pacific. It hopes to get the proposal formally approved in mid-June. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said whales are an important food resource and that his government will support sustainable whaling.