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

FAX: +81-3536-6522

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July 12, 20132013 IWC/Japan Joint Cetacean Sighting Survey
Cruise in the North Pacific – IWC-POWER
1. Background
The IWC/Japan Joint Cetacean Sighting Survey Cruise in the North Pacific (POWER)
is a collaborative program started in 2010 after the conclusion of the International
Whaling Commission Southern Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research (IWC-SOWER)
program carried out from 1996/1997 to 2009/2010 in the Antarctic.
Two years ago (2011) the IWC Scientific Committee annual meeting decided to namethe new research program as the IWC-POWER (Pacific Ocean Whale and Ecosystem
Research). The POWER research program is appraised as an important component of
the International Whaling Commission work. It is tasked by the IWC ScientificCommittee and coordinated and directed by the IWC (http://iwc.int/power).
The IWC-SOWER program and its predecessor, the IDCR (International Decade for
Cetacean Research, 1978/1979-1995/1996) were conducted in total for 32 consecutive
years and made a huge contribution to estimating abundance of whale stocks
distributing in the Antarctic, such as Antarctic minke whales, and elucidating the trendsof whale stock abundance. Both IDCR and SOWER are recognized as the mostsuccessful international collaborative research effort conducted under the auspices ofthe IWC. Over the years, Japan has made a substantive contribution for the continuous
implementation of these international whale research programs by providing research
vessels and crew from the beginning to the end (http://iwc.int/sower).
Entering its fourth year and carried out in accordance with a research plan based on
specific tasks set forth by the IWC Scientific Committee, since their beginning in 2010the POWER research cruises are covering a wide area of the North Pacific that had notbeen surveyed for several decades, sighting a large number of fin and sei whales and1

collecting many valuable data including biopsy samples.
2. Outline of the 2013 Research Cruise
The IWC-POWER program is conducted collaboratively by the International Whaling
Commission and the Government of Japan. The IWC Scientific Committee hasdeveloped the research program and established the IWC-POWER Steering Group,
which has the role to design the research plan and analyze the results of the cruises.
The Institute of Cetacean Research, under the commission of the Fisheries Agency ofJapan, carries out the IWC-POWER cruises.
2.1 Objectives(1) Estimation of sei, fin and Bryde’s whales abundance (and other whale species
where possible);(2) Collection of information of stock structure, particularly biopsy samples andphoto-identification data, with priority given to sei, fin, humpback 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.
2.2 Research Cruise Period
From July 12, 2013 to September 9, 2013 (60 days).
2.3 Research Area
The research area is north of 30ºN, south of 40ºN and between 160ºW and 135ºW(high seas area, Fig. 1).

Fig. 1The 2013 IWC-POWER research area.
22.4 International Researchers
Koji Matsuoka (Cruise leader, Institute of Cetacean Research, Japan)
Kim Hyun Woo (Cetacean Research Institute, NFRDI, Republic of Korea)
Sergio Martinez Aguilar (IWC nominated international researcher, Mexico)
Saeko Kumagai (IWC nominated international researcher, Japan).
2.5 Research Vessel
Yushin-maru No. 3 (742 ton, Kyodo Senpaku Ltd. vessel, Captain Yasuaki Sasaki,17 crewmen).
2.6 Operating Body
The Institute of Cetacean Research (Tokyo, Japan).

Photographs from the 2012 IWC-POWER cruisea)b)c)d)a) Humpback whale fluke-upb) Sei whale podc) Fin whale cow and calfd) At the northernmost point of the Gulf of Alaska

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