They are researching whether limited commercial whaling is sustainable. Of course the whale meat is going to end up on the market. Duh! That’s what it’s for!
Not quite. Another loophole in agreement allows the whatever is left from the this “research” to consumed as food. I don’t believe it necessarily needs to be sold to meet the IWC criteria, it could be given away. Truth is the Japanese fishing lobby has had to resort to a long ad campaign to promote whale meat. The Japanese people just aren’t buying the stuff the way they used to.