Whale meat
Whale meat, broadly speaking, may include all cetaceans and all parts of the animal: muscle, organs, skin, and fat. There is relatively little demand for whale meat, compared to farmed livestock. Commercial whaling, which has faced opposition for decades, continues today in very few countries, despite whale meat being previously eaten across Western Europe and colonial America. However, in areas where dolphin drive hunting and aboriginal whaling exist, marine mammals are eaten locally as part of a subsistence economy: the Faroe Islands, the circumpolar Arctic peoples, other indigenous peoples of the United States, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, some of villages in Indonesia and in certain South Pacific islands.
Like horse meat, for some cultures whale meat is taboo, or a food of last resort, e.g. in times of war, whereas in others it is a delicacy and a culinary centrepiece. Indigenous groups contend that whale meat represents their cultural survival. Its consumption has been denounced by detractors on wildlife conservation, toxicity, and animal rights grounds.
Whale meat can be prepared in various ways, including salt-curing, which means that consumption is not necessarily restricted to coastal communities.
History
Whales were hunted in European waters throughout the Middle Ages for their meat and oil. According to Catholic practice at the time, aquatic creatures were generally considered "fish", therefore whale was deemed suitable for eating during Lent and other "lean periods". An alternative explanation is that the Church considered "hot meat" to raise the libido, making it unfit for holy days. Parts submerged in water, such as whale or beaver tails, were considered "cold meat". These practices were due to the laws of fasting and abstinence in the Catholic Church.Eating whale meat did not end with the Middle Ages in Europe, but rather, whale stock in nearby oceans collapsed due to overexploitation, especially the right whales around the Bay of Biscay. Thus European whalers had to seek out the New World to catch whales. The Dutch and Flemish were also active in the whaling commerce during the Middle Ages, and a number of records regarding the trafficking of whale meat and taxation on it occur from historical Flanders.
French surgeon Ambroise Paré wrote that "the flesh has no value, but the tongue is soft and delicious and therefore salted; likewise, the blubber, which is distributed across many provinces, and eaten with peas during Lent". This blubber, known as craspois or lard de carême, was food for the poorer strata on the continent. The whaling industry in Canada and the United States may have supplied rendered fat, partly for consumption in Europe.
In early America, sailors onboard whalers may have eaten blubber after rendering, which they termed "cracklings" or "fritters", said to be crunchy like toast; these were certainly reused as fuel chips to boil down the fat. Colonial America also more commonly consumed the meat and other portions of the "blackfish". However, by the beginning of large-scale commercial whaling, whale meat was not consumed by the general American public, as it was not seen as fit for consumption by so-called civilized peoples.
Species hunted
is one of the most common species still hunted in substantial numbers. Baleen whales other than the minke are endangered, though they are taken in numbers by indigenous peoples who traditionally hunt them, and more lately, the whaling nations have resumed hunting larger baleen whales openly.In 1998–1999, Harvard researchers published their DNA identifications of samples of whale meat they obtained in the Japanese market, and found that mingled among the presumably legal was a sizeable proportion of dolphin and porpoise meats, and instances of endangered species such as fin whale and humpback whale.
In recent years Japan has resumed taking North Pacific fin whale and sei whales in their research whaling. The fin whales are highly desired because they yield arguably the best quality of tail meat. Japanese research vessels refer to the harvested whale meat as incidental byproducts which have resulted from study.
In Japan, the research whale meat was sold at officially published prices, but since 2011 an auction bid system has been adopted and actual realized prices have not been posted.
| Cut of whale meat for sale | 1998 official prices | 2011 reference price for bidding |
| n/a | 7000 | |
| 4640 | 4500 | |
| 3270 | 1700 | |
| 140 | n/a | |
| 5860 | 3000 | |
| 4380 | 2600 |
The channels through which premium cuts such as fin whale tail meat are sold remain opaque. A report by one of the Tokyo Two, anti-whaling activists from Greenpeace, who intercepted whale meat package deliveries got no further than the sentiment by one restaurateur that it would take Nagatachō connections to get it.
Regions
In places such as Norway, Iceland, and Alaska, whale meat may be served without seasoning. However, it can also be cured or marinated, or made into jerky.Norway
In Norway, whale meat was a cheap and common food until the 1980s. It could be used in many ways but was often cooked in a pot with lid in a little water so that broth was created and then served with potatoes and vegetables, often with flatbrød at the side.Greenland
The consumption of whale meat by Greenlandic Inuit is part of their culture. However, in 2010, tourists also have begun to consume the meat. A Whale and Dolphin Conservation investigation has documented the practice of commercial wholesalers commissioning subsistence whalers to supply the demand by supermarkets. Whale products in Greenland are sold in 4-star hotels.Iceland
In a controversial and widely criticized move, Iceland has announced the renewal of a one-year permit allowing the resumption of commercial whaling activities. This decision has been met with significant disappointment and concern by environmental advocates and conservation groups worldwide.Japan
Whales have been hunted for meat in Japan since before 800 AD. After World War II, due to damage to Japan's infrastructure, whale meat became an important source of proteins.In modern-day Japan, two cuts of whale meat are usually created: the belly meat and the tail meat. In the early 19th century, 70 different cuts were known. People still call the belly and tail cuts by their special whale meat names; also, different parts of the body such as the tongue retain their jargon names. The tail meat is not the same as the fluke, and they go by different names.
As previously mentioned, different cuts of whale meat have specialised names. The belly meat, in the striped bellows-like underbelly of baleen whales "from the lower jaw to the navel", is called and is known for being made into whale bacon.
The prized tail meat, called or, are two strips of muscle that run from the dorsal to the base of the fluke. The tail meat is regarded as marbled, and is eaten as sashimi or tataki. Masanori Hata, a zoologist author and animal shelter operator, has extolled the delicacy of the tail meat. It can only be derived from larger baleen whales, and the fin whale's meat has been considered superior. When the ban on this species was in place and Japan ostensibly complied, what was claimed to be genuine fin whale was still available, and legitimized as "grandfathered" goods, i.e., frozen stock from animals caught when still legal. In the past when blue whale hunting was still conducted by all nations, its tail fin was served in Japan.
The other portions are labelled lean, or "red meat", and command much lower prices than the tail.
The fluke or tail flipper is referred to as either or. After being cured in salt it is thinly sliced, scalded with hot water and rinsed, and served as sarashi kujira.
The tongue, called, is often processed and used in high-end oden. The fried skin after the blubber is called koro, and analogous to "fritter/crackling".
- Harihari-nabe is a hot pot dish, consisting of whale meat boiled with mizuna.
- Sashimi of Abura-sunoko is striped layers of meat made from the root of the flippers.
- Udemono, consists of innards that have been boiled and sliced.
As of 2006, in Japan, 5,560 tons of whale meat worth ¥5.5 billion is sold in every year. The Japanese market has declined in recent years, with prices falling to $26 per kilogram in 2004, down $6 per kilogram from 1999. Fluke meat can sell for over $200 per kilogram, over three times the price of belly meat.
Greenpeace has alleged that some of the meat on sale is illegally sourced. They have claimed that it has been illegally smuggled from crew members of research ships and that more meat is caught than can be consumed by humans, with up to 20% of 2004's catch going unsold.
In modern times, whale meat is rarely eaten in Japan. A 2005 poll commissioned by Greenpeace and conducted by the Nippon Research Centre found that 95% of Japanese people very rarely or never eat whale meat.
Native Alaskan communities
For thousands of years, Alaska Natives in the Arctic have depended on whale meat. The meat is harvested from legal, non-commercial hunts that occur twice a year in the spring and autumn. The meat is stored and eaten throughout the winter.Tikiġaġmiut, Iñupiat living on the coast of Alaska, divided their catch into 10 sections. The fatty tail, considered to be the best part, went to the captain of the conquering vessel, while the less-desired sections were given to his crew and others that assisted with the kill.
The skin and blubber, known as muktuk, taken from the bowhead, beluga, or narwhal is also valued, and is eaten raw or cooked. Mikigaq is the fermented whale meat.