SC/66b/SP

Overview of the first field survey of the New Scientific
Whale Research Program in the Antarctic Ocean(NEWREP-A) in 2015/16
KOJI MATSUOKA1, TOSHIHIRO MOGOE1 AND LUIS A. PASTENE1
1Institute of Cetacean Research, 4-5 Toyomi-cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0055, Japan
Contact e-mail: matsuoka@cetacean.jp
ABSTRACTThis paper presents an overview of the first field survey of the New Scientific Whale Research Program in the Antarctic
Ocean (NEWREP-A) conducted in the eastern part of Area IV and whole Area V (south of 60°S, 115°E to 170°W) during
the 2015/16 austral summer season. The two main objectives of NEWREP-A, viz. i) Improvements in the precision of
biological and ecological information for the application of the RMP to the Antarctic minke whales, and ii) Investigation of
the structure and dynamics of the Antarctic marine ecosystem through building ecosystem models, require data and samples
from multidisciplinary surveys, as was the case for those conducted in 2015/16: a) biological sampling survey for Antarctic
minke whales, b) a dedicated whale sighting survey based on the IWC guidelines, and c) krill and oceanographic surveys. For
the biological sampling survey, a total of 333 Antarctic minke whales (103 males and 230 females) was sampled and several
biological samples and data, included earplugs for age determination, were obtained from each individual whale. During thededicated sighting survey, 141 primary sighting of 425 Antarctic minke whales were made. Following recommendations
from the NEWREP-A review workshop, feasibility-related biopsy and telemetry studies on Antarctic minke whales werestarted during this survey. The whale dedicated sighting vessel-based krill and oceanographic surveys also commenced aspart of this survey, and the results will be presented to the IWC SC as well to CCAMLR specialist’s workshops. Whale andenvironmental data collected from this survey are available for the national (Japan) and international scientific community
following established protocols - see a summary of the data and samples collected and guidelines for research collaboration
and access to the data in the following link: http://www.icrwhale.org/NEWREP-AProtocol.html. Details of the survey
methods and results for the biological survey of Antarctic minke whale, dedicated sighting survey, and krill andoceanographic survey, are presented by Mogoe et al. (2016), Isoda et al. (2016) and Wada et al. (2016), respectively.

KEYWORDS: SCIENTIFIC PERMITS; ANTARCTIC; SURVEY-VESSEL; FEEDING GROUNDSINTRODUCTION
The Government of Japan decided to stop the Japanese Whale Research Programs in the Antarctic-Phase II(JARPAII) after the 2013/14 austral summer survey in response to the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Judgment in the case concerning Whaling in the Antarctic. It is important to note the following relevant aspectsof the Judgment. First the Court confirmed that the objects and purpose of the International Convention for the
Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) include sustainable exploitation of whale stocks and that special permit whaling
under Article VIII, paragraph 1, of the ICRW is legally permissible under certain conditions. Second, the Court
maintained that, for the use of lethal methods, the programme’s design and implementation of special permit
whaling need to be reasonable in relation to achieving its stated objectives. Third, the Court provided sevenguidelines on the issuance of future special permit whaling by Japan. Finally, in its reasoning part, the Court
stated that ‘it is to be expected that Japan will take account of the reasoning and conclusion contained in thisJudgment as it evaluates the possibility of granting any future permits under Article VIII, paragraph 1, of the
ICRW’ (paragraph 246 of the Judgment).
The Government of Japan decided to develop the New Scientific Whale Research Program in the Antarctic
Ocean (NEWREP-A) following guidelines offered in the ICJ Judgment for granting special permit whaling
under Article VIII, paragraph 1. The research plan for NEWREP-A was submitted to the IWC in November
2014, and reviewed by a panel of international experts in February 2015 (NEWREP-A review workshop), and by
the whole IWC SC in May 2015.
The first multidisciplinary NEWREP-A survey was carried out during the 2015/16 austral summer season in
Areas IV (70°E-130°E) and V (130°E-170°W). Detailed results of the different components of thismultidisciplinary survey were presented in Mogoe et al. (2016) for the biological survey of Antarctic minke
whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis); Isoda et al. (2016) for the dedicated sighting survey involving somefeasibility-related non-lethal studies on Antarctic minke whale; and Wada et al. (2016) for the results of the krill
and oceanographic surveys. Results of the krill and oceanographic surveys will be also presented in a CCAMLR
specialist workshop in June/July 2016.

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The objective of this paper is to present an overview of the first field survey of NEWREP-A in 2015/16,
emphasizing the overall achievements in the context of the program’s main objectives.
BACKGROUND
Need for whale and ecosystem research in the Antarctic
As explained in the research plan of NEWREP-A (GOJ, 2015), the Antarctic Ocean has a unique marine
ecosystem and offers great potential for sustainable utilisation of its abundant living resources for food and otherpurposes. In recent years, the surrounding Antarctic region has been substantially affected by climate change andthe resultant fluctuations in the oceanographic environment are known to have influenced the global
environment. In order to achieve conservation of its resources while pursuing their sustainable utilization, and tounderstand and predict the effects of factors such as climate change, it is scientifically imperative to obtain an
accurate understanding of many aspects of the Antarctic marine ecosystem including its animals and theirdynamics through collection, accumulation, and analysis of scientific data.
Long term research surveys in the Antarctic are scarce. Systematic sighting surveys were conducted during theInternational Decade for Cetacean Research/Southern Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research (IDCR/SOWER)
under the auspices of the IWC SC over four decades (Matsuoka et al., 2003; IWC, 2008). These surveys
produced important sighting data to inform the study of the the abundance and abundance trends of large whales
in different IWC Management Areas. The JARPA/JARPAII were the only comprehensive long-term systematicsurveys that collected biological information from whales and data from their environment using both lethal andnon-lethal approaches. The comprehensive biological and environmental data collected by these programs foraround 27 years (including abundance trends for several whale species) have been very important to understandthe dynamics and interaction of whale species in the ecosystem, as has been recognized by the IWC SC reviewsof those programs (IWC, 2014).
Under this context the Government of Japan developed the NEWREP-A, with two main research objectives. The
first main objective is ‘improvement in the precision of biological and ecological information for the applicationof the Revised Management Procedure (RMP) to the Antarctic minke whales’. This is aimed at contributing to
the consideration and work of the IWC SC in improving the IWC’s RMP that is the single-species management
procedure adopted by consensus of its members in 1994 to calculate catch limits for baleen whales forcommercial whaling. The IWC SC continues to work on several issues related to improvement andimplementation of the RMP. The program under this proposed research plan will collect and estimate theparameters required for Implementation and Implementation Reviews of the RMP to the Antarctic minke whale.
It will also contribute to the improvement of the RMP itself (GOJ, 2015).
The second main objective is “investigation of the structure and dynamics of the Antarctic marine ecosystemthrough building ecosystem models”. Previous research programs have found that distributions and abundancesof Antarctic minke, humpback, and fin whales, which are important components of the Antarctic marine
ecosystem, have been changing appreciably and that there could be competitive interactions among those whale
species in terms of food (Matsuoka et al., 2011; Matsuoka and Hakamada, 2014; Hakamada et al., 2013; Murase
et al., 2014). It can be hypothesized that this phenomenon has been caused by increased pressure on Antarctic
minke whales from the recovering populations of humpback and fin whales that had been overexploited up to the
1960’s. This resulted in a stabilisation and then decrease of the Antarctic minke whale populations that had
previously experienced a strong increase given improved food availability as a result of the overexploitation oflarger whales. Changes in the abundance of whale species may also be caused by fluctuations in the abundanceof krill populations that are the common food resource for these three species of whales or possibly as a result ofchanges in the ocean environment associated with climate change. Investigation of the causes and current
dynamics is essential for improved future conservation and management of the whale resources as well as forunderstanding of the Antarctic marine ecosystem (GOJ, 2015).
Under these two main objectives, NEWREP-A attempts to achieve a sustainable balance between themaintenance of the unique marine ecosystem and the utilization of its abundant resources and this is, as iscommon for all seas and oceans, an important challenge for the Antarctic Ocean. This is also consistent with theobjectives of the ICRW stipulated in its preamble: “to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks andthus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry”.
JARPAII and NEWREP-A
It should be noted here that the research objectives of the previous JARPAII (see Pastene et al., 2014) were notjudged as unreasonable by scientists at the JARPAII review workshop (IWC, 2015a, 2015b) and by the ICJ

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Judgment (see paragraph 127 of the Judgment). Therefore the JARPAII objectives remain relevant and weretaken into account in the development of the NEWREP-A.
IWC SC recommendations on NEWREP-A
As noted above, the NEWREP-A research plan was reviewed in a specialist workshop in February 2015, and by
the whole IWC SC during the 2015 annual meeting. The review workshop made a total of 29 recommendations,nearly all of which were considered useful by the NEWREP-A proponents. Recommendations were related tofield, laboratory and analytical work (IWC, 2015b). Some of the recommendations were considered of higher
priority, and the proponents have made efforts to substantially advance work related to those recommendations
before launching the first NEWREP-A survey. The other recommendations will be addressed during the
NEWREP-A survey period, under a specific timeline (GOJ, 2016a; 2016b).
The work of some of the field recommendations was started during the 2015/16 NEWREP-A survey (see below).
OVERVIEW OF THE 2015/2016 NEWREP-A SURVEY
Research area and vessels
It should be noted again that for addressing the main objectives of the NEWREP-A, multidisciplinary surveys
are required. The first multidiscipline survey of NEWREP-A was carried out in part of Area IV (115°E-130°E)
and in Area V (130°E-170°W) as shown in Figure 1. The dedicated sighting survey, which included krill andoceanographic surveys, was conducted in the eastern part of Area IV. The biological sampling survey for
Antarctic minke whales (target sample size: 333) was conducted in Area V.
The 2015/16 survey involved three research components: i) a sampling survey for Antarctic minke whales using
two Sampling and Survey Vessels (SSVs: Yushin-Maru, YS1: 724GT and Yushin-Maru No.2, YS2: 747GT), andone research base vessel (Nisshin-Maru, NM: 8,145GT); ii) a dedicated whale sighting survey using one
Sighting Vessel (SV: Yushin-Maru No.3, YS3: 742GT); and iii) akrill survey and oceanographic observations
along with the dedicated sighting survey. A summary of the research period, research area and related research
topics for the three components is shown in Table 1, while their itineraries are shown in Figure 2.
Details of the survey methods and results for the biological survey of Antarctic minke whales, the dedicatedsighting survey, and the krill and oceanographic survey, are presented by Mogoe et al. (2016), Isoda et al. (2016)
and Wada et al. (2016), respectively.
Narrative of the survey
The 2015/16 NEWREP-A survey was carried out in the period between 1 December 2015 and 24 March 2016
(115 days). Transit sighting surveys in low and middle latitudes were carried out from 14 to 26 December 2015,
and from 26 February to 8 March 2016 by the sampling vessels. The dedicated sighting survey was carried out
from 27 December to 14 February 2016 (50 days in the research area). A krill survey for abundance estimationand oceanographic observations were carried out in the same period as the dedicated sighting survey, andincluded testing of equipment. The sampling survey for Antarctic minke whales was carried out from 23
December 2015 to 25 February 2016 (65 days in the research area) (Figure 2).
Overview of the dedicated sighting survey
This survey was carried out in the eastern part of Area IV (115°-130°E), a sector not covered by the sighting
survey in the same Area in the 2014/15 season. The sighting survey was designed and implemented following
the recommendations from the NEWREP-A review workshop (IWC, 2015b) and IWC SC guidelines (IWC,
2015a). One dedicated Sighting Vessel (SV) participated in the survey. Blue (Balaenoptera musculus), fin (B.
physalus), humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) southern right (Eubalaena australis), and Antarctic minke
whales were sighted while completing a total searching distance of 1,542.7 n.miles. The trackline covered oneffort corresponded to 88.4% of the planned trackline. Abundance of large whale species for the entire Area IV
will be estimated in the near future based on the sighting data collected during the 2014/15 and 2015/16 surveys(which together covered the entire Area IV).
In response to recommendations from the NEWREP-A review workshop, feasibility-related experiments on
biopsy sampling and satellite tracking of Antarctic minke whales were started. Such experiments will be
conducted during the three first NEWREP-A surveys, and progress will be reported to the IWC SC in 2016 and2017 with final conclusions to the IWC SC in 2018. Routine photo-ID and biopsy sampling was conducted onother large whale species (see details in Isoda et al., 2016).

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Sampling survey of Antarctic minke whale
The planned target of 333 Antarctic minke whales (103 males and 230 females) was randomly sampled during
the survey in Area V. The total searching distance by the Sighting and Sampling Vessels (SSVs) was 2,394
n.miles. The trackline covered on-effort corresponded to 11.2% of the planned trackline.
A large number of data and samples were obtained from each whale sampled, as originally envisioned in the
NEWREP-A research plan. In particular earplugs for age determination were collected from all whales sampled.
Some preliminary biological analyses were conducted based on the 333 whales sampled. Apart from the lethal
sampling of Antarctic minke whales, the SSVs collected sighting data for all cetacean occurring along the
trackline. Furthermore routine photo-ID and biopsy experiments were also conducted for large baleen whales(see details in Mogoe et al., 2016).
Krill survey and oceanographic observation
A krill survey based on echosounder and net sampling was started this season along the tracklines of thededicated sighting survey. Furthermore oceanographic observations were made using a CTD. Following
recommendations from the NEWREP-A review workshop, calibrations of the echosounder were carried out inJapan as well in the Antarctic research area. Analyses of the data and samples collected are underway. Design ofthe krill survey and oceanographic observations together with the preliminary results of the first survey will also
be presented to a CCAMLR specialists’ workshop in June/July 2016. Feedback from the specialists will be
useful for planning the survey next year (see details in Wada et al., 2016).
GENERAL REMARKS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE SURVEYS
The first multidisciplinary survey of NEWREP-A was successfully conducted in a part of Area IV and whole
Area V in 2015/16. The biological survey of Antarctic minke whales, the dedicated cetacean sighting survey, andthe krill survey and oceanographic observations were conducted in terms of the NEWREP-A research plan andthe field recommendations from the NEWREP-A review workshop. The list of data and biological samples
collected are shown in Tables 2, 3, 4 and 5.
The dedicated sighting survey data (weather, effort, sighting, distance and angle experiment) have already been
submitted to the IWC secretariat. Catch data will also be submitted to the IWC secretariat. Whale andenvironmental data collected on this survey are available for the national (Japan) and international scientificcommunity following established protocols - see a summary of the data and samples collected and guidelines forresearch collaboration and access to the data in the following link: http://www.icrwhale.org/NEWREPAProtocol.html.
It should be noted that the actual coverage of the sampling survey of Antarctic minke whale was low. The actual
coverage was less than half compared with predetermined track-line due to bad weather, especially in thenorthern part of the research area. The survey in the western part of the Ross Sea was cancelled to avoid a highvessel traffic zone and to avoid meeting a vessel from an anti-whaling NGO.
For the 2016/17 survey, larger coverage is expected because 15 research days will be added (80 days for the
research area in contrast to 65 days for the present survey).
An update of the scientific work conducted by the proponents on the recommendations on NEWREP-A from the
IWC SC was submitted to the IWC SC in 2016 (GOJ, 2016).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank H. Moronuki (FAJ) for valuable suggestions.
REFERENCES
Government of Japan.2015. Research Plan for New Scientific Whale Research Program in the Antarctic Ocean(NEWREP-A). IWC.ALL.238, November 2015 (unpublished). 110pp.
Government of Japan.2016a. Progress report of the work conducted by the proponents in response to IWC
Scientific Committee’s recommendations on NEWREP-A. Paper SC/66b/SP.
Government of Japan.2016b. Results of the analytical work on NEWREP-A recommendations on sample size
and relevance of age information for the RMP. Paper SC/66b/SP.
International Whaling Commission. 2004. Report of the Data Availability Working Group. Report of the
Scientific Committee, Annex T. J. Cetacean. Res. Manage. 6 (Supp.):406-410.
International Whaling Commission. 2008. IWC SOWER Cruise 2008/09, Information for Researchers.

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http://iwcoffice.org/_documents/sci_com/SOWER/Guide%20%20for%20Researchers%202008-09.pdf[Paper available at the IWC Office].
International Whaling Commission. 2014. Report of the Expert Workshop to Review the Japanese JARPA II
Special Permit Research Programme. Paper SC/65b/Rep2 submitted to IWC Scientific Committee, May 2014
(unpublished). 62pp.
International Whaling Commission. 2015a. Report of the Scientific Committee, San Diego, CA, USA, 22 May -3
June 2015. 115pp.
International Whaling Commission. 2015b. Report of the Expert Panel to review the proposal by Japan for
NEWREP-A. Paper SC/66a/Rep6 presented to the IWC Scientific Committee, May 2015 (unpublished). 62pp.
Isoda, T., Kawabe, S., Ohkoshi, C., Mogoe, T. and Matsuoka, K., 2016. Results of the NEWREP-A dedicatedsighting survey in Area IV during the 2015/16 austral summer season. Paper SC/66b/IA presented to the IWC
Scientific Committee. 25pp.
Hakamada, T., Matsuoka, K., Nishiwaki, S. and Kitakado, T. 2013. Abundance estimates and trends for
Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) in Antarctic Areas IV and V for the period 1989/902004/05. J. Cetacean Res. Manage. 13 (2): 123-151.
Matsuoka, K., P. Ensor, T. Hakamada, H. Shimada, S. Nishiwaki, F. Kasamatsu, and Kato, H. 2003. Overview
of minke whale sightings surveys conducted on IWC/IDCR and SOWER Antarctic cruises from 1978/79 to
2000/01. J. Cetacean. Res. Manage. 5(2):173-201.
Matsuoka, K., Hakamada, T., Kiwada, H., Murase, H. and Nishiwaki, S. 2011. Abundance estimates and trends
for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Antarctic Areas IV and V based on JARPA sightings data.
J. Cetacean Res. Manage. (Special issue 3): 75-94.
Matsuoka, K. and Hakamada, T. 2014. Estimates of abundance and abundance trend of the blue, fin and southern
right whales in Areas IIIE-VIW, south of 60°S, based on JARPA and JARPAII sighting data (1989/902008/09). Paper SC/F14/J5 presented to the IWC/SC Review Workshop of the Japanese Whale Research
Program under Special Permit in the Antarctic-Phase II (JARPAII), February 2014 (unpublished). 27pp.
Mogoe, T., Matsuoka, K., Nakai, K., Sato, H., Sato, T., Tsunekawa, M., Yoshimura, I., Yamazaki, M., Fujii, K.,
Yoshida, T., Eguchi, H. and Tamura, T. 2016. Results of biological sampling of Antarctic minke whale during
the first field survey of NEWREP-A in Area V during the 2015/16 austral summer season. Paper SC/66b/SP
presented to the IWC Scientific Committee. 20pp.
Murase, H., Matsuoka, K., Hakamada, T. and Kitakado, T. 2014. Preliminary analysis of changes in spatial
distribution of Antarctic minke and humpback whales in Area IV during the period of JARPA and JARPAII
from 1989 to 2006. Paper SC/F14/J18 presented to the JARPA II Special Permit Expert Panel Review
Workshop, February 24-28 2014, Tokyo, Japan (unpublished). 17pp. [Paper available from the Office of this
Journal].
Pastene, L.A., Fujise, Y. and Hatanaka, H. 2014. The Japanese Whale Research Program under Special Permit in
the Antarctic (JARPA II): origin, objectives, research progress made in the period 2005/06-2010/2011, andrelevance for management and conservation of whales and the ecosystem. Paper SC/F14/J1 presented to the
IWC/SC Review Workshop of the Japanese Whale Research Program under Special Permit in the AntarcticPhase II (JARPAII), February 2014 (unpublished). 76pp.
Wada, A., Isoda, T., Ohkoshi, C. and Tamura, T., 2016. Results of the 2015/16 NEWREP-A Sighting Survey
Vessel-Based Krill Survey in the Antarctic Area IV. Paper SC/66b/EM presented to the IWC ScientificCommittee. 6pp.

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Table 1. The major survey components and their related research topics for NEWREP-A in 2015/16.
Component
1 Sampling survey for
Antarctic minke whale

Period23 December 2015
– 25 February 2016

Research area
Area V

Vessels
YS1, YS2,
NM

Research topics
Biological sampling survey ofAntarctic minke whales

2 Dedicated sighting survey

27 December 2015
– 14 February 2016a part of Area IV(115°E - 130°E)

YS3

Dedicated sighting survey for whale
abundance estimates, feasibility oftelemetry and biopsy sampling in Antarctic
minke whale

3 Krill abundance survey and 27 December 2015
oceanographic survey– 14 February 2016a part of Area IV(115°E - 130°E)

YS3

Krill surveys for biomass estimate,oceanographic survey,

Table 2. List of data collected during NEWREP-A 2015/16.
Items
Abundance estimate*

Data
Weather data***
Effort data***
Sighting record of whales***
Angle and distance experiments***
Ice edge line ***115 days
115 days
1,472 schools (all species)
320 times
115°E–170°W

Hydraulic pressure, temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, oxygen (CTD)**
Seawater sampling
Echosounder data (krill distribution/abundance)**
Net sampling
Marine debris (sea surface)

37 stations
4 stations
31 days
37 stations
0 observations

Environmental data

Antarctic minke whale*
Catching date and location***333 individuals
Photographic record of external characteristics
333 individuals
Record of internal and external parasites
333 individuals
Sex and body length***
333 individuals
Body proportion for stock structure*
333 individuals
Skull measurements (length and breadth) for stock structure*
310 individuals
Satellite tracking for stock structure and feeding ecology*
3 individuals
Body weight for feeding ecology**
333 individuals
Organ weight including fat weight for feeding ecology**
5 individuals
Diatom film record for feeding ecology**
333 individuals
Blubber thickness for feeding ecology**
333 individuals
Stomach content: freshness and weight for feeding ecology**
333 individuals
Diving behaviour for feeding ecology**‒
Testis weight for reproductive study***
103 individuals
Mammary gland: lactation status and measurement for reproductive study 230 individuals
Foetal number, sex, length and weight for reproductive study
158 individuals
Marine debris (stomach)
0 individuals
Gross pathological observations and sampling
333 individuals
Other large whales
Photo-ID
82 individuals* Data or samples to be used for Main Objective I;** data or samples to be used for Main Objective II (Other items will be used for other research purposes);*** data or samples to be used for Main Objective I and II.

Table 3. List of samples collected during NEWREP-A 2015/16.
Items
Antarctic minke whale*

SamplePrey species in stomach for feeding ecology**
47 individuals
Faeces and contents from the large intestine for feeding ecology**
0 individuals
Testis for reproductive study***
103 individuals
Ovary for corpora counting and reproductive study***
230 individuals
Mammary grand and endometrium for reproductive study
230 individuals
Earplug for age determination***333 individuals
Ocular lens for age determination***333 individuals
Baleen plates for age determination and stable isotope study ***26 individuals
Tissue samples for genetic study***
333 individuals
Tissue and organ samples for chemical study***
333 individuals
Tissue and plasma samples for physiological study***
333 individuals
Vertebral epiphyses for physical maturity
307 individuals
Skin sample (biopsy)
10 individuals
Other large whales
Skin sample (biopsy)
40 individuals* Data or samples to be used for Main Objective I;** data or samples to be used for Main Objective II (other items will be used for other research purposes);*** data or samples to be used for Main Objective I and II.

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Table 4. Number of whales sighted during NEWREP-A 2015/16 (schools and individuals).
Species

Transit to RA
Primary
SecondarySch. Ind. Sch. Ind.
Blue whale
00
00
Fin whale2200
Sei whale1200Antarctic minke whale1100Like Antarctic minke whale 0000
Humpback whale0000Southern right whale0000Baleen whale
0022Sperm whale4400Southern bottlenose whale 0000
Arnoux's beaked whale0000Unid. beaked whale
12
1
3
Killer whale0000Research area
Primary
SecondarySch. Ind. Sch. Ind.
14 25
6
9
14 37
10
25
0
0
0
0
476 1,339 80
219
7
7
0
0
525 1,128 136 302
1
1
0
0
18 24
2
2
19 19
2
2
2
4
0
0
2
20
1
7
15 17
2
2
26 241 3
18

Transit from RA
Primary
SecondarySch. Ind. Sch. Ind.
0
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
4
4
0
0
0
0
3
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
7
22
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
5
0
0
0
0
0
0

Sub total
Primary
SecondarySch. Ind. Sch. Ind.
14 25
8
11
16 39
10
25
5
6
0
0
477 1,340 83
223
7
7
0
0
525 1,128 143 324
1
1
1
1
18 24
4
4
23 23
4
4
2
4
0
0
2
20
1
7
20 24
3
5
26 241 3
18

Total
Sch.
22
26
5
560
7
668
2
22
27
2
3
23
29

Ind.
36
64
6
1,563
7
1,452
2
28
27
4
27
29
259

Table 5. Number of photo-identified whales and number of biopsies taken during NEWREP-A 2015/16.
SpeciesBlue whale
Fin whale
Humpback whale
Southern right whale
Killer whale
Total

No. of individuals photographed
24
0
36
1
21
82

No. of individuals biossied
8
7
15
1
9
40

*: Results of the feasibility biopsy sampling and telemetry for the Antarctic minke whales are presented by Isoda
et al., (2016).

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Figure 1. Research area for NEWREP-A in 2015/16. The orange colour shows the research area for the dedicatedsighting survey and krill/oceanographic surveys. The yellow colour shows the research area for the sampling
survey for Antarctic minke whales. The grey colour shows the total research area for NEWREP-A.

TransitsurveyDedicated sighting survey
(YS3)
14

Dedicated sighting survey
26 27

14 15

27

14

Transitsurvey14

Sampling survey

Transitsurvey

22 23

25 26

DecemberFigure 2.

7

Krill abundance estimation withoceanographic survey

Krill abundance estimation withoceanographic survey(YS3)
Sampling survey(YS1, YS2, NM)

TransitsurveyJanuary

February

Survey period for each major survey component of NEWREP-A in 2015/16.

8

8

March