南極海のクジラ調査へ出港　ＩＷＣ脱退後初、目視で―宮城

　南極海での鯨類調査を国から請け負った捕鯨船「第二勇新丸」が２日、宮城県の塩釜港（塩釜市）を出港した。日本が今年６月末、クジラの資源管理を議論する国際捕鯨委員会（ＩＷＣ）を脱退して以来、初めての南極海調査。捕鯨はせず、目視によりクジラの資源状況を調べる。
　ＩＷＣ脱退により、日本は南極海で捕鯨ができなくなった。捕鯨船である第二勇新丸はクジラを捕獲するための「捕鯨砲」を取り外し、水産庁職員など関係者が見送る中、２日午前に南極海へと出航した。来年３月１９日に帰港する予定だ。（2019/12/02-11:46）

A Japanese ship left for the Antarctic Ocean on Monday morning to conduct research on whales.
   This will be the first study on whales by Japan in the Southern Ocean since the country withdrew from the International Whaling Commission at the end of June.
   Crew members of the No. 2 Yushin Maru, which departed from a port in the city of Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, will examine whale resources by visual observations, without catching whales, on a mission entrusted by the Japanese government.
   Following the withdrawal from the IWC, Japanese whaling ships, including the No. 2 Yushin Maru, can no longer catch whales in the Antarctic Ocean. The No. 2 Yushin Maru, from which a harpoon cannon has been removed, is slated to return to the port on March 19, 2020.
   Also as part of the research, the crew members will sample part of the skin of whales for DNA analysis.