Japan's whaling fleet recently returned from its most recent Antarctic expedition with a haul of more than 300 minke whales, including some pregnant females. While the country insists it is carrying out scientific research, this trip angered environmentalists and nations opposed to the slaughter.
The 2015-2016 hunt follows a year-long hiatus prompted by a United Nations International Court of Justice ruling in 2014, claiming the annual hunt was a commercial venture disguised as science.
In response to this ruling, Japan's 2014-2015 expedition involved only "non-lethal research" such as skin samples and population counts - although the court had said at the time that it intended to resume whaling in the future.
Sure enough, four survey ships from Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research set sail for the Southern Ocean in December, with plans to capture and kill 333 minke whales.
Ending its 115-day voyage, the fleet arrived at the Shimonoseki port in western Japan on March 24, having achieved its goal. Of the 333 whales, 103 are males and 230 are females. About 200 of the mature females - 90 percent of the total number captured - are believed to be pregnant, though this has not yet been confirmed.
Japan not only considers whaling as part of its unique culture and cuisine but also insists that the whale population is large enough to sustain the hunt.
"The number of pregnant females is consistent with previous hunts, indicating that the breeding situation of minke whales in the Antarctic is healthy," Japan's Fisheries Agency said.
Despite a worldwide moratorium and opposition led by Australia and New Zealand, Japan continues to hunt whales, using a loophole in the International Whaling Commission's 1986 ban on commercial whaling that allows for research.
Japan initiated what it considers "scientific whaling" in 1987. And while Tokyo claims the whales must be killed for the purposes of studying the animals' health and migration patterns, the whale meat often ends up on shop shelves and dinner plates.
Whale meat is often seen as a dietary staple, providing a key source of protein. However, consumption has dramatically declined in recent decades, with much of the country's population claiming they "never" or "rarely" eat it.
Over the next 12 years Japan expects to capture an estimated 4,000 whales as part of its research program. The country has also expressed that its ultimate goal is the resumption of commercial whaling.
The Australian government said Japan's decision to resume whaling is "deeply disappointing" and has even considered taking legal action or sending a customs patrol vessel to the Southern Ocean to intercept the fleet.
