Common minke whale a coastal component using three to four small-type sampling vessels – mainly "Taisho Maru No. 28" (47.31 gross tons, 2002–2012), "Sumitomo Maru No. 31" (32 gross tons, 2002–2010), "Katsu Maru No. 7" (32 gross tons, 2002–2012), and "Koei Maru No. 75" (46 gross tons, 2003–2010) – with a total of up to 120 individuals being caught off Sanriku in the spring and off Kushiro, on the Pacific side of Hokkaido, in the fall. This research program continues to the present. Whaling for minke whales off Korea began in the early 1930s, when they were opportunistically caught by vessels targeting larger
Minke Smeets Minke Smeets Minke Smeets ("née" Smabers; born March 22, 1979 in The Hague, South Holland) is a field hockey midfielder from the Netherlands. Her current team is Laren. She was part of the team that won the 2007 Champions Trophy. During the Champions Trophy she became the all-time record holder in caps for the national team, wearing the orange jersey for the 235th time in her career in the final, breaking Mijntje Donners' record. She won an Olympic gold medal with the Dutch team by beating China in the final of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. During the closing