We saw a dozen or more whales and a few dolphins.
We actually didn't sail, it was a motor-catamaran in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Between denying taxpayer subsidies and Sea Shepherd's disabling of the whalers rudders and screws, we may get these morons to stop slaughtering Cetaceans someday soon.

When I heard the government of Japan had diverted money for rebuilding the areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami, I was extremely pissed because we gave money for that. Now, we gave our money through the Red Cross but still, I felt used because I give money to Sea Shepherds for their work to stop the Japanese whaling fleet each season as well. The international community has not done enough to stop whaling and they need to do more. You would think an island nation would have more respect for the sea and the creatures living in it than the Japanese display. I don't get it. They are also working very hard to wipe out blue fin tuna, so between the whaling and the overfishing and the annual dolphin slaughter, they need to figure out how exactly they would like to be perceived by the world because so far it isn't in the best light.

who wants stinky fishy beef?

what about saving BLUEFINS, Japan? you like those more ANYWAY...

ok, 1 guy says he likes it, that's worth 15 million...(are therre republicans in Japan, too?)

It's similar to reindeer or moose. Whale tastes much more like its hairy cousins on land than its gilled neighbors in the sea. In places where gamey meats are common—like Norway, Iceland, and among the indigenous people of Alaska—whale is served straight up with little or no seasoning. For those who find its unrefined flavor off-putting, whale is cured, marinated, or slathered with a flavorful sauce. Whale bacon, marketed in shrink-wrapped packages of thin marbled slices closely resembling pork bacon, is offered at some Japanese markets. Whale meat curries are sold from a few Tokyo lunch trucks. Japanese schools are currently trying to figure out a way to get children to eat the meat for lunch, possibly turning to whale burgers or fish stick-style preparations. But some Japanese traditionalists still enjoy gamey, unadorned strips of whale meat sashimi. (Slate's Seth Stevenson offers an opposing viewpoint: He thinks whale is a delicious beef-fish hybrid.)
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2010/03/what_does_whale_taste_like.html

They hated Whale meat. My father as a Child in Osaka said he had it in school and refused to eat it. Often he would stash it in bag and bring it home for his dog. He hated it. My mother said she never tried it, because she grew up in the states.

For the Whaling industry to continue is stupid. No one wants that product. IF whalers could be trained to do something else, it would be much better. The industry should die, and Japan should stop whaling all together.

Stop all whaling, and save Japan's Dolphins from slaughter in the cove near Taipei.

Admittedly, in addition to other factors.

whales being dead in the water.

to the point where there is no need to hunt for them. I know somewhat similar to whaling in Japan, in Korea they breed dogs for meat which is just as bad. The "dog meat" restaurants are becoming less common as is the taste for it as the older generation shrinks.

I would also think the government subsidies would be a problem with Japan's struggling economy.

Total sense... No one is buying it, so we want tax payers to pay to keep production going, otherwise... What terrible thing happens? If we don't get someone to pay for the production of x, then we can't provide the x that people aren't buying. Especially since the world would be better off if x wasn't produced.