There’s a special meat for sale in Japan. It looks a bit like steak. But it’s a whole lot more expensive. Fin whale meat sold for almost $600 per pound at an auction on Thursday. It comes from fin whales caught off Japan’s northern coast. The catch and sale of the species’ meat was the first in nearly 50 years. 

Today, whale meat is a delicacy in Japan. But it was once an inexpensive source of protein for hungry people after World War II. The country consumed about 233,000 tons in 1962. That yearly number has fallen to about 2,000 tons.

Back in 1951, Japan joined the International Whaling Commission (IWC). That’s a group dedicated to protecting whale populations. In 1982, the IWC banned whale hunting. Japan left the IWC in 2019 and has been selling whale meat ever since.

Japan’s fishermen can’t legally hunt just any whale. This year, Japan’s Fisheries Agency added fin whales to its list of three species that can be hunted. 

Fin whales are the second-longest whales in the world. They can grow up to 85 feet long and weigh between 40 and 80 tons. Fin whales can live to be 90 years old! The aquatic mammal gets its name from a small fin on its lower back. 

This season, Japan caught 30 fin whales. On Thursday, buyers gathered at the Sapporo fish market on Hokkaido. About 1.4 tons of fresh meat were for sale. 

Not everyone agrees with Japan’s whaling practices. But the number of whales the country has caught has gone down. Last year, Japanese fishermen caught 294 whales. That’s less than 80% of what they expected to bring in.

Japanese officials want to increase that to about 5,000 tons to keep the industry afloat. It might be too pricey for that. And for all the buzz, many people say whale tastes like rich, gamey beef.