Antarctic minke whale due to their small size, while no air was pumped into the carcasses when they were tied alongside for towing to ensure the greatest quality of meat. While an expedition or two was fitted out each year specifically for minke whales – the "Jinyo Maru" in 1971-72, the "Chiyo Maru" from 1972-73 to 1974-75, and the "Kyokusei Maru" in 1973-74 – most expeditions, which targeted other species, ignored minkes during the peak of the whaling season (November–December and late February to early March) and only caught them on whaling grounds relatively close to those of larger ones – the minke
Antarctic minke whale dark gray dorsally and clean white (occasionally light gray to gray) ventrally with a thin, dusky margin. Some small, dark gray "speckling" may be present on the body. Antarctic minkes lack the bright white, transverse "flipper band" of the common minke and the white "shoulder blaze" and bright white "flipper patch" (occupying the proximal two-thirds of the flipper) of the dwarf minke. Instead, their narrow, pointed flippers, about one-sixth to one-eighth of the total body length, are normally either a plain light gray with an almost white leading edge and a darker gray trailing edge or two-toned, with a thin