THE INSTITUTE OF CETACEAN RESEARCH
4-5 TOYOMI-CHO, CHUO-KU, TOKYO 104-0055 JAPAN
PHONE: +81-3-3536-6521

FAX: +81-3536-6522

MEDIA RELEASE
July 8, 2011

2011 IWC/Japan Joint Cetacean Sighting Survey Cruisein the North Pacific - IWC-POWER

1. BACKGROUND
The IWC*/Japan Joint Cetacean Sighting Survey Cruise in the North Pacific is a joint
IWC/Japan collaborative program started in 2010 as a successor of theIWC/IDCR**-SOWER*** cruises carried out since the 1978/79 season in the AntarcticOcean.
The IWC-SOWER (1996/97-2009/10) and its forerunner, the IWC/IDCR(1978/79-1995/96) programs, were conducted for 32 years long and made a huge
contribution to estimating abundance of whale stocks distributing in the Antarctic, suchas Antarctic minke whales, and elucidating the trends of whale stock abundance. Bothare recognized as the most successful international collaborative research effort
conducted under the auspice of the IWC. Japan has made a substantive contribution toconducting and operating these international whale research programs by providing
research vessels and crew members from the beginning to the end.
The second research cruise in the North Pacific will start on July 11, 2011, following
the first research cruise carried out last year. The research plan of this program reflects
the major research agenda of the IWC Scientific Committee. During the 2010 cruise anumber of fin whales and sei whales were sighted in the research area where a large*

International Whaling Commission
International Decade of Cetacean Research**1scale sighting survey had not been conducted for more than a half century. Sighting andbiopsy are expected to contribute to enhancing the scientific effort of the IWC ScientificCommittee will be collected during the program.
The IWC Scientific Committee annual meeting recently held in Tromsø, Norway,
decided to name this research program as the IWC-POWER (Pacific Ocean Whale andEcosystem Research).
2. OUTLINE OF THE 2011 RESEARCH CRUISE
The IWC-POWER program is conducted collaboratively by the IWC and theGovernment of Japan. The IWC Scientific Committee has developed the research
program and established the IWC-POWER Steering Group, the role of which is todesign the plan and analyze the results of research cruise.
The Institute of Cetacean Research, under the commission of the Fisheries Agency ofJapan, conducts the research program.
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Objectives(1) estimation of sei whale abundance (and other species where possible,especially fin whales);(2) collection of information on stock structure, particularly biopsy samples, withpriority given to sei, fin and sperm whales; and(3) collection of photo-identification data and biopsy samples for rare species
encountered, especially North Pacific right whales and blue whales.
Research Cruise Period
From July 11, 2011 to September 8, 2011 (sixty days).
Research Area (Fig. 1)
The research area is north of 40°N, south of the Aleutian Islands, and between
170°W and 150°W (eastwards), including the high seas and the EEZ of the UnitedStates of America.
International Researchers
Koji Matsuoka (Cruise leader, Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), Japan)
Sally Mizroch (Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA/NMFS, USA)
Research Vessel
Yushin-maru No.3 (742 ton)
Operating body
The Institute of Cetacean Research (Tokyo, Japan)
Southern Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research2

Fig.1 The research area for 2010 and 2011 (yellow).

Photos from the 2010 cruise

Photo 1. Blue whale blowing

Photo 2. Sei whale, a biopsy dart
just hit it.

Photo 3. Biopsy sampling fromkiller whales.

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