New whale and dolphin watching body launches in Japan

Japan has had whale and dolphin watching operators for years but it has never been mentioned or covered by western media.

Ossan, I've never seen it mentioned by the Japanese media either.

@timtak That's why I love Japan. I went to an aquarium that had a giant crab and the old ladies were saying oishiisoo. Good to read about a positive whale story from Japan.

Whale watching has been popular on Okinawa for years.

A nice way to view the sea's most intelligent mammals. It would be wonderful to see our whale and dolphin friends swim and play in their pristine environment and learn about their habits and habitats all while enjoying a trip and support the eco-tourism industry around the beautiful coastal areas of Japan.

Whasle and dolphin watching industry is not new to Japan and they do make a decent buck, new body or not.

With Iceland sending 2,000 tons of commercially harvested whale food to Japan recently, it looks like there is some kind of competition going on.

But maybe not. Iceland has a whale watching industry too, as well as a whaling industry.

To maximise these natural resources a healthy balance of each is most probably the best path forward. (With apologies to Patrick)

Patricia,

Why is that dark red bloody meat from Iceland selling in my local grocery store? Horrendous.

Because whales are a type of food in Iceland and Japan. When in rome?

Nice to know the Japanese are exchanging harpoons for cameras and talking about exploiting living, not dead, whales. It may give these massive animals (mammals) the chance they need.

New whale and dolphin watching body launches in Japan

I read the title as meaning something like this: A new whale and a new dolphin, as opposed to seasoned veterans, sit there nice and comfy watching a show in which dead bodies are launched (out of something, into the air).

Am I a twisted human being?

Open a branch office in Taiji? Lots of dolphins there...

Great. An opportunity for Taiji to reinvent itself and its abundance of transferrable skills!

Will they be eligible for as much government funding (and kickbacks and bribes) as the whaling industry?

Japan has had whale and dolphin watching operators for years but it has never been mentioned or covered by western media.

Yeah, weird how murdering them in a fake scientific program inside a whale sanctuary garners more media attention.

MrBumJun. 05, 2014 - 09:26AM JST Ossan, I've never seen it mentioned by the Japanese media either.

It's been covered on Japanese TV a number of times.

Is there any reason whaling and whale watching can't both exist?

It may give these massive animals (mammals) the chance they need.

What chance is it that they need? The population of most whale species are increasing or stable.

I went to an aquarium that had a giant crab and the old ladies were saying oishiisoo.

So, would you do the same at a cattle or chicken farm? Not likely! Hearing people state 'oishi so' at aquariums is one of the things I dislike about Japan. In some parts of Japan they eat sparrows. Do they exclaim 'oishi so' when they see a sparrow flying past? How about the ones that eat fried bees? Do they exclaim 'oishi so' when they see bees? Do you think Australians exclaim 'oishi so' when they see a kangaroo or a crocodile?

I went to an aquarium on Sunday and upon arriving at the first main tank full of local fish, one of the ladies in the group following us said "Ooo, Oishii!" (Wow, they look delicious!). So while dolphin watching "could help the country move away from its controversial slaughter of the mammals" it could work the other way, or as Ossan points out, continue as it has done in parallel.

Below is a list of 29 places in Japan where one can go on a dolphin watching tour (in Japanese) http://www.its-mo.com/c/%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB%E3%82%AB%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A9%E3%83%83%E3%83%81%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B0/0200000000%3A0201000000%3A0201000160/ One can see dolphin frolicking from the window of our house, but I have eaten dolphin. My own feeling is that I should always watch what I eat and eat what I watch, lest I forget where my food comes from.