1500 Dolphins Spotted in Sea during Whale Watching Test Cruise

The City of Ulsan, on Korea’s southeast coast, used to be the commercial whaling center of Korea. Its economy suffered when Korea acceded to the moratorium on commercial whaling imposed by the International Whaling Commission in 1986. Since the moratorium, the area has seen increased number of whales and dolphins, and Ulsan City is taking a new approach to benefit from their presence. According to local news reports of April 14, when Ulsan city authorities test-operated its whale/dolphin watching cruise ship on the Sea of Japan off the coast of Ulsan City to assess the potential for whale and dolphin watching tourism, ship operators spotted a spectacular 1500 dolphins about three miles off the coast of Jangsangpo Port after just 30 minutes of sailing. City officials said in their news release that they will start operating the ship every weekend beginning at the end of May.