Whalers back treaty pull-out as cultural heritage

Controversial meat: Fishermen portioning meat from a Baird’s beaked whale at Wada port in Minamiboso. — AFP

Minamiboso (Japan): Neatly lining up sliced whale meat to make “jerky” in the wintry sea breeze, Tetsuya Masaki says wha­ling is just part of daily life in his tiny Japanese community of Mi­­na­­miboso.

Japan sparked outrage last month when it decided to withdraw from the International Wha­­ling Commission, saying it would return to commercial whaling as part of its cultural heritage.