A fleet of whaling ships set off Monday from ports in Shimonoseki in western Japan and Kushiro in the north, marking the resumption of commercial whaling in Japan in over 30 years. After Japan announced its withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) last December, Japan would cease its annual scientific whaling in the North Pacific and Antarctica starting this July. The resumption of commercial whaling would be limited to Japan's territorial waters and its exclusive economic zone.