Japan catches 177 whales for "research whaling" in northwest Pacific

Japan finished what it calls research whaling for the fiscal year 2018 in the northwest Pacific, catching 134 sei whales and 43 minke whales as planned, the Fisheries Agency said Wednesday.The whaling program, started May 17, is aimed at helping calculate an appropriate number of catches and for research into the ecosystem by studying the stomach contents of whales and taking their skin, according to the agency.Findings will be reported to the International Whaling Commission.In observational research, 413 sei whales and 50 minke whales were spotted in the sea. Skin was taken from a total o…READ FULL ARTICLE