One of three species Japan has targeted in resuming commercial whaling Monday is threatened with extinction, and sub-populations of the other two are severely depleted as well, according to experts.

After pulling out of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) at the end of last year, Japan announced it would allow 227 of the giant sea mammals to be harpooned within its territorial waters -- extending 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from its coast -- before the end of December.

The commission's 1986 moratorium on whaling forbids all whaling, though a trio of countries, including Japan, flouted the ban through loopholes while remaining within the IWC.

Japan's new self-arrogated quota -- which could be renewed or changed next year -- includes 150 Bryde's, 52 minke and 25 sei whales.

One of these species, the sei, is listed at "endangered" on the International Union of the Conservation of Nature's Red List, which has assessed the conservation status of some 100,000 animals and plants.

The sei -- at 20 metres (645 feet), the biggest of whales after the blue and the fin -- was the main target of Japan's ostensibly "scientific" whaling from the early 2000s until 2017.

- 'Severely depleted' -

The Red List classifies Bryde's and minke whales "of least concern," meaning they are not currently threatened with extinction.

But these assessments obscure a more nuanced reality that could spell trouble for sub-groups of the species as well, according to Justin Cooke, a long-standing member of the IWC's scientific committee and a member of the IUCN's Cetacean Group.

"There are two types of minke whale exploited off the coast of Japan," he told AFP.

"The one found in coastal waters -- in the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea -- is quite severely depleted due to a long history of catches by Japan and South Korea."

Besides those targeted by whalers, others die after getting caught up in netting set for fish, he explained.

Known as the "J stock", the coast-hugging minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) are highly unusual among baleen, or filter-feeding, whales because they breed during the summer rather than the winter.

Surveys by Japanese and South Korean fisheries agencies have estimated their numbers at about 1,500, Cooke said in an interview.

The more plentiful "O stock" minke -- which breed in summer and number about 25,000 -- are found further north in the Sea of Okhotsk, in Russian waters.

- Whale watching -

As with other types of whales, including orca, sub-populations of the same species can develop highly distinct behaviour patterns, which has led some biologists to describe these differences as "cultural".

There are two known sub-species of the larger Bryde's whales -- also filter feeders -- that grow up to 17 metres (55 feet) in length.

Japan stopped hunting Bryde's in 1987, but re-authorised yearly catches in international waters of 50 individuals starting in 2000, again for supposedly "scientific" research.

The North Pacific population -- found mostly in the middle range of Japan's exclusive economic zone -- was recently estimated at just over 26,000 by the IWC's scientific committee.

The other sub-species is found in Japan's southern waters and supports a local whale-watching industry. Also known as Eden's whale, they number just under 170, according to a 20-year old stocktake, Cooke said.

For the endangered Sei whale, experts disagree on how to characterise its population.

"Japanese scientists insist that there is only one (population) in the whole North Pacific," said Cooke. "But they have only collected data from the offshore area."

A competing hypothesis is that the region is home to five distinct populations, including one along the western coast that will now be hunted for its meat.

The latest estimate for this sub-group is about 400, Cook said.

Japan fisherman catch first whales as commercial hunts resume
Kushiro, Japan (AFP) July 1, 2019 - Japanese whalers brought ashore their first catches Monday as they resumed commercial hunting after a three-decade hiatus, brushing aside criticism from activists who say the practice is cruel and outdated.

Five vessels set sail under grey morning skies from northern Japan's Kushiro with their horns blaring and grey tarps thrown over their harpoons. By Monday afternoon they were back with their catch: two grey minke whales.

The hunts come after Japan decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission, a move slammed by activists and anti-whaling countries but welcomed by Japanese whaling communities.

"Today is the best day," said Yoshifumi Kai, head of the Japan Small-Type Whaling Association, as the ocean giants were hauled ashore.

"It was worth waiting for 31 years," he said with a smile.

One of the whales, more than eight metres (27 feet) long, was hoisted from a ship onto a truck and driven to a warehouse.

Inside, whalers hosed it down with water and then lined up to pour ceremonial cups of the Japanese liquor sake over the animal -- a ritual to purify and celebrate the catch.

Vessels left from other ports elsewhere in Japan on Monday, including in Shimonoseki in the west of the country, and whalers and government officials hailed the resumption of the hunts.

"I'm a bit nervous but happy that we can start whaling," 23-year-old Hideki Abe, a whaler from the Miyagi region in northern Japan, told AFP before leaving from Kushiro.

"I don't think young people know how to cook and eat whale meat any more. I want more people to try to taste it at least once."

- 'Pirate whaling' -

"This is a small industry, but I am proud of hunting whales," added Kai in a ceremony before the boats left from Kushiro.

"People have hunted whales for more than 400 years in my home town."

Whaling has long proved a rare diplomatic flashpoint for Tokyo, which says the practice is a Japanese tradition that should not be subject to international interference.

As an IWC member, Japan was banned from commercial hunts of large whales, though it could catch small varieties in waters near its coastline.

But it also exploited a loophole in the body's rules to carry out highly controversial hunts of whales in protected Antarctic waters under the banner of "scientific research".

Activists said the hunts had no scientific value, and Japan made no secret of the fact that meat from whales caught on those hunts ended up sold for consumption.

With its withdrawal from the IWC, Tokyo will carry out whale hunting off Japan, but will end the most contentious hunts in the Antarctic.

The country's Fisheries Agency said Monday it had set a cap for a total catch of 227 whales through the season until late December -- 52 minke, 150 Bryde's and 25 sei whales.

Humane Society International slammed the resumption of commercial hunts.

"This is a sad day for whale protection globally," said the group's head of campaigns Nicola Beynon, accusing Japan of beginning a "new and shocking era of pirate whaling".

- 'Way of life' -

Japanese officials say the hunts will protect an ancient tradition.

"The resumption of commercial whaling has been an ardent wish for whalers across the country," Shigeto Hase, the head of Japan's fisheries agency, said at the departure ceremony in Kushiro.

"The culture and way of life will be passed on to the next generation".

Whale meat was a key source of protein in the immediate post-World War II years in Japan, when the country was desperately poor.

Most reports suggest consumption has declined significantly in recent decades -- with much of the population saying they rarely or never eat whale meat.

But a Japanese government official said "demand has been stable".

"It is totally false that commercial whaling will not be viable as demand is declining," he said.

Some believe that Japan's return to commercial whale hunting will effectively sound the death knell for the industry, with a shrinking market and dwindling subsidies.

"What we are seeing is the beginning of the end of Japanese whaling," said Patrick Ramage, director of marine conservation at the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

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Whaling ships set sail as Japan resumes commercial hunts
Kushiro, Japan (AFP) July 1, 2019
Japan began its first commercial whale hunts in more than three decades on Monday, brushing aside outrage over its resumption of a practice that conservationists say is cruel and outdated. Five vessels from whaling communities left port in northern Japan's Kushiro with their horns blaring and grey tarps thrown over their harpoons. By Monday afternoon, a first whale had been caught and was being transported back to shore. The hunts come after Japan decided to withdraw from the International Whali ... read more