A whaler fires away at a minke whale.

Minkes are the smallest of the "great whales," and did not come under fire till commercial whaling hunted their larger cousins to near extinction.

The harpoons have an explosive charge that detonates on impact. Even so, some whales take several minutes to die. This one died instantly.

Japan and Norway are the only countries in the world with commercial whaling programs.

Next, the whale is draged to the port [left] side of the whale hunting ship (called "catchers"), and tied on by the tail.

The International Whaling Commission has repeatedly requested that the Japanese government stop this so-called "research" whaling. You can read the latest resolution condeming the Southern Ocean hunt here.

Then, the catcher brings the whale to the Nisshin Maru - the whaler's factory ship. The crew of the catcher must hurry because the whale begins to decompose right away, and the taste of the meat will be affected if it isn't processed quickly.

It takes the factory ship's deck crew under 15 minutes to process each whale.

Whale meat retails for around 3,270 Yen per kilogram in Tokyo (about $27 USD per kilo, $60 USD per pound).