30年来日本首次举行鲸鱼肉拍卖

Whale meat auctions have been held in different areas of Japan after it officially resumed commercial whaling this week.

日本本周正式恢复商业捕鲸后，鲸肉拍卖在日本各地举行。

Japanese whaling ships set sail on Monday morning (local time), a day after the country left the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the country's Fisheries Agency said.

日本渔业机构表示，日本捕鲸船在离开国际捕鲸委员会一天后，于当地时间周一上午启航。

The withdrawal came after the IWC rejected Japan's proposal in September to resume commercial whaling of species believed to be abundant.

去年9月，国际捕鲸委员会拒绝了日本提出的恢复商业捕鲸的提议。

At auctions on Thursday (local time), some whale meat reportedly sold for nearly NZ$140 per kilogram.

据报道，在当地时间周四的拍卖会上，一些鲸鱼肉以140新西兰元（约640元人民币）/公斤的价格售出。

Commercial whaling stopped in Japan in 1988, but in what it said were for "research purposes", the country continued to hunt whales.

1988年，日本停止了商业捕鲸活动，但该国称其为“科研目的”，继续捕鲸。

On Thursday, the Japan Times spoke to people taking part in an auction in the town of Taiji.

周四，《日本时报》采访了在太极镇参加拍卖的人。

"It's [the meat] higher quality, unlike that from research whaling, as they drained the blood aboard," said Taiji fishing cooperative member Yoshifumi Kai.

“他们在船上把血排干了，所以(肉)质量更高，与科研捕鲸的肉不同。”太极渔业合作社成员吉文凯(Yoshifumi Kai)说。

"I want people to understand that whale meat tastes good," Kai told the Times.

“希望人们明白鲸鱼肉味道很好。”凯接受采访时表示。

Another unnamed man said he "couldn't wait to eat it as sashimi".

另一名不愿透露姓名的男子表示，他“迫不及待地想把它做成生鱼片来吃”。