北海道開始捕鯨

Recently the NHK News reported the following:

北海道の網走港で、２０日からオホーツク海で漁が始まった小型のクジラ「ツチクジラ」がことし初めて水揚げされました。
ツチクジラは、商業捕鯨を禁止しているＩＷＣ＝国際捕鯨委員会が管理していない小型のクジラで、水産庁が、全国で年間６６頭、オホーツク海では４頭まで捕獲を認めています。網走港には２１日の午後、知床岬の沖で捕獲した体長９．５メートルのツチクジラ１頭がことし初めて水揚げされました。港では、解体作業が行われ、集まった市民を前に、水産会社の担当者が大きななたのような包丁で手際よく切り分けていました。子どもといっしょに港を訪れた地元の男性は「クジラの水揚げを見るのは貴重な経験なので、子どもに見せたくて来ました」と話し、クジラを間近で見た小学４年生の男の子は「実物のクジラを初めて見ました。大きいので驚きました」と話していました。オホーツク海のツチクジラ漁は、今月末まで続けられ、加工された肉は全国に出荷されるということです。

Small whale "[Tsuchikujira]" fishing had started on the 20th in Okhotsk and one was landed for the first time in Abashiri port of Hokkaido this year.
[Tsuchikujira] is a small whale that IWC = International Whaling Commission that prohibits the commercial whaling is not interfering with its catching, the Fishery Agency permitted its capture up to four at Okhotsk during year and 66 in the whole country. At Abashiri port in the afternoon on the 21st, one [tsuchikujira] with a length of 9.5 meters was captured in the offing at Shiretoko cape and it was landed for the first time this year. In the port, the dismantlement work was done, the person in charge of a fishery company divided it skillfully with the kitchen knife like a big hatchet in front of the gathering citizen. A local man visited the port together with a child said, "Because it was a precious lesson to see the landing of the whale, I wanted to show it to the child", and a boy in the fourth grade of elementary school who had seen the whale closely said, "It was the first time for me to see the real thing. I was surprised because it was so large". At Okhotsk the fishing of [tsuchikujira] would continue until the end of this month, and the meat would be shipped to the whole country after processing.

It is well known that Japanese love eating sea-food, including whales.