Fin Whale | 02 Aug 2024
Recently, Japan has expanded its commercial whaling to include fin whales, one of the largest animal species on the Earth.
- Japan also withdrew from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and resumed commercial whale hunting in July 2019.
- Fin Whale:
- Scientific Name: Balaenoptera physalus.
- IUCN Red List status: Endangered (2018-2021 assessments).
- Potential Threats: Commercial Whaling, Large Commercial Vessels, Shipping Noise And Disturbance, Seismic Activities, Pollution (Persistent Organic Pollutants), and Changes in Climate and Ocean Acidification.
- Japan, one of only three countries that hunt whales commercially (along with Norway and Iceland).
- Whale Conservation Efforts:
- The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is an area of 50 million sq km surrounding the entire continent of Antarctica where the IWC has banned all types of commercial whaling.
- Despite a ban on all whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, Japan’s Whale Research Program continues to hunt Minke whales in the Sanctuary.