Fresh fin whale meat is auctioned for the first time in decades in Japan

Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Meat from fin whales caught for the first time in nearly 50 years off Japan’s northern coast has fetched up to more than $1,300 per kilogram at auction, as officials try to keep the struggling industry alive. Japan’s Fisheries Agency this year added fin whales to its list of three whale species that can be legally hunted as the country expands commercial whaling along its coast. Japan said its recent stock surveys confirmed a sufficient recovery of fin whale populations in the North Pacific. Officials said 30 of the whales, half of the quota of 60, were caught this season. Japan’s whaling has long been a source of controversy and criticism from conservationists.