Environment Japan to start commercial hunt of fin whales

Japan is considering expanding its commercial whaling activities to include fin whales. The country resumed commercial whaling in 2019 after a break of over 30 years. The government's Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, announced that the Fisheries Agency has been gathering public feedback on the proposal since Tuesday. Despite opposition from conservationists and countries against whaling, Japan defends its whaling practices as vital for maintaining regional traditions and commits to international collaboration for the sustainable management of marine resources.

So far, Japan has caught three species of whale -- Bryde's, minke, and sei. At a regular press conference, Hayashi said the agency will implement the project in an appropriate manner after receiving public comments until early next month. Japan, a maritime nation, restarted commercial whaling within its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone on July 1, 2019, for commercial purposes, a day after formally withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission. As an IWC member, Japan halted commercial whaling in 1988. But the Asian country continued catching whales under the guise of doing so for research purposes, a practice criticized internationally as a cover for commercial whaling.

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"Whales are important food resources and should be sustainably utilised, based on scientific evidence," said Hayashi, the chief cabinet secretary, referring to widening the allowable catch to include fin whales. "It's also important to inherit traditional food cultures in Japan.

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It seems more likely to be pressure from the whaling industry and a refusal to come to terms with the fact that whale meat is just not in demand anymore even if it is traditional/cultural.

What would an analogous dish in America be?

Something like liver and onions? Once a staple in in certain American families, but I don't know if people do it anymore.
Or steak and kidney pie? Although I think that is still a staple in the UK. Maybe Oz as well.

Actually, Americans too probably ate whale meat in the 19th century. They just gave it up when whaling died out. I think once people stopped using whale oil in the States, the industry pretty much died out. Nobody liked the whale meat enough to create an industry around it.

Majestic said:

What would an analogous dish in America be?

Something like liver and onions? Once a staple in in certain American families, but I don't know if people do it anymore.
Or steak and kidney pie? Although I think that is still a staple in the UK. Maybe Oz as well.

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I asked my clever friend this question and he had a good answer.

An analogous dish in America compared to whale meat for the Japanese would be bison or elk meat. Here's why:

Bison and elk were once plentiful in North America but were overhunted to near-extinction in the 19th century. However, some Native American tribes continued hunting them as part of their cultural traditions and subsistence diet. Similarly, whale hunting has been a longstanding cultural practice in Japan, providing an important food source, especially after World War II.

Just as many Americans today view bison and elk as exotic or unusual meats, whale meat is considered quite strange and taboo by most Americans. Yet for certain Native American communities, bison and elk remain culturally significant foods tied to their heritage, much like whale meat for some Japanese.

Both bison/elk and whale are large mammals that provide substantial amounts of protein. Their meats have a distinct, gamey flavor compared to domesticated livestock. And while not widely consumed nowadays, they still hold cultural value and nostalgia for indigenous groups who traditionally depended on hunting these animals.

So in terms of being a culturally-rooted wild game meat that most modern Americans find bizarre or unpalatable, bison and elk serve as apt comparisons to Japan's relationship with whale meat.

While not super popular I can buy bison or elk at actual stores in town, even Whole Foods has them both (and rabbit, and ostrich meat ate those too). North of here there are ranches for domesticated elk you can shoot if the wild hunting is too bothersome. I first had bison maybe 40 years ago or so in Yellowstone. Despite the easy availability here not a huge number eat it. Bison more than elk for a bit due to it being more lean or viewed as more healthy than beef but still nothing compared to beef or chicken or pork. Bison is not really endangered these days though certainly not as plentiful as they were a couple hundred years ago that is for sure.

One big difference is if we eat bison or elk other countries do not condem us for eating it.

Another interesting one is dog. Dogs are extremely plentiful but Korean government is trying to stop the eating due to international views, Koreans themselves were already eating less and seeing them more as pets.

I suppose what matters from my viewpoint is if the animal is endangered any more and if the animal is being mostly consumed or used. Shark fin soup bothers me as they leave the animal very injured to die rather than eating most of the animal.

In the future what I'd really like to see is "lab grown" meat developed further which may be more efficient (not so much grain and effort to make the meat) but also removes any suffering. Seems florida does not like that. I wonder if they could get the taste changes with diet of the animal right. We have a general problem with overfishing in general so we need lab grown for a lot of things Japanese enjoy eating. .