Japan's whaling industry is not sustainable and will be gone in a decade, according to the country's former representative to the International Whaling Commission.
Japan caused international controversy in July when it resumed hunting for profit for the first time in 33 years.
The BBC reports from the Japanese whaling town of Wada that whalers there are delighted they're finally free to hunt again.
Many people in Japan genuinely do not understand the outside world's obsession with them catching whales.
They say they've been doing this for centuries, that they do so to eat the meat, and do so sustainably, and that it's a traditional part of Japanese culture.
But it's also true that the people lining up to buy the whale meat at Wada are a tiny, ageing minority, the BBC reports.
This year, Japanese whalers will catch just 227 animals.
And even the most ardent whaling supporters say the industry can't make money.
"No, definitely not," said Masayuki Komatsu, Japan's former representative to the International Whaling Commission.
"And sooner or later, maybe within five years or 10 years, my best guess would be, you know, no more whaling," he said.
Meanwhile, the controversial annual taiji dolphin hunt made famous by the documentary film The Cove has also just kicked off in Japan.
The government quota allows more than 1700 dolphins to be killed or captured each year.
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