/^^ N>/, » 



Preparing sperm whale for butchering on decl< of Japanese whale 

 factory ship. Flensing knives are used to cut meat and blubber 

 into strips for removal from carcass. 



Stripping sperm whale on Japanese whale factory ship. Strips of 

 meat and blubber are pulled off the whale by a cable on a 

 steam-driven winch. 



Final stages of whale butchering on Japanese whale factory ship. 

 After the whale has been completely stripped, the large strips of 

 blubber are cut into smaller pieces and sent below deck for 

 rendering into oil. Meat is frozen for human food or animal feed. 

 The bones are sawed into pieces for reduction to meal, and only 

 the entrails are discarded. It takes less than 15 minutes to 

 completely butcher a whale. 



Table 7.— Japanese North Pacific whale harvest, 1959-66 



Norsk Hvalfangst-Tidende (1965 and 1966). 

 2 

 Taken for research. 





Half-Stripped sperm whale on Japanese whale factory ship. All 

 the blubber and meat are removed from whale; only the bones 

 and entrails are left. 



Whaling usually began in May, and the fleets worked 

 easterly along the Aleutian Islands. By late June or early 

 July, it extended into the Gulf of Alaska. The fleets 

 began withdrawing to the west in August, and they 

 returned to their home ports in September or October. 

 In the early 1960's whaling was often conducted near 

 tlie Alaskan coasts, but in 1964 the pattern changed and 

 since then most of the whaling has taken place well 

 offshore. 



High-speed killer vessels hunt both in close proximity 

 and at a distance from their respective factory ships. 

 Whales are killed by harpoons fired from guns mounted 

 on the bows of the killer vessels. Wliales killed near a 

 factory ship are usually taken directly to the ship, 

 although some are filled with air, marked with flags, and 

 later retrieved by the factory ship. Vessels hunting a 

 great distance from the factory ship inflate the whales 



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