Japan plans to hunt another whale species. This year it will take 50 sei whales from the North Pacific, where only 900 of the animals are thought to remain. The International Whaling Commission imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling 16 years ago, but allows a limited catch for scientific research. The director-general of the Institute of Cetacean Research in Tokyo, Seiji Ohsumi, defended his plan, saying it is “based on an urgent scientific need to collect data on the competition between whales and fisheries”. But Stuart Chapman of wildlife campaign group WWF says the sei has still not recovered from…
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features

Life
Dramatic photo of ibis being guided to their winter homes wins award
Regulars

Space
The one film to watch before seeing Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day
Culture

ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû1000¼¯ºÏ
Ditching cigarettes for vapes may curb the cancer benefits of quitting
News

Comment
Sci-fi horror film Backrooms is a triumph for its 20-year-old director
Culture
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
Fully autonomous drones have killed human soldiers for the first time
2
Millions of fossil whale bones found in deep-ocean ‘necropolis’
3
Mysterious ‘cold blob’ in the Atlantic suggests the AMOC is weakening
4
Understanding anorexia’s grip on the brain could unlock new therapies
5
Why we should all take quantum physics extremely personally
6
What is a ‘normal’ memory slowdown, and when should I worry?
7
Ditching cigarettes for vapes may curb the cancer benefits of quitting
8
Hundreds of new moons are revealing our solar system's violent history
9
Pancreatic cancer halted by virus injection in three patients
10
You don't need to worry about recursive-self-improving AI – yet