SC/F16/JR1

The Japanese Whale Research Program under Special
Permit in the western North Pacific Phase-II (JARPNII):
results and conclusions in the context of the three main
objectives, and scientific considerations for future research
Tsutomu Tamura1, Toshiya Kishiro2, Takeharu Bando1, Genta Yasunaga1, Hiroto Murase2, Toshihide Kitakado3
and Luis A. Pastene11Institute of Cetacean Research, Toyomi-cho 4-5, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0055, Japan
National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries, Fukuura 2-12-4, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 2368648, Japan
3
Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 5-7, Konan 4, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8477, Japan
2

ABSTRACTThe International Whaling Commission Scientific Committee (IWC SC) will carry out a workshop to review
final data and results of the Japanese Whale Research Program in the western North Pacific (JARPNII). The
review workshop will follow the guidelines specified in Annex P. A number of scientific documents are now
available, which present results from JARPNII in the period 2000-2014. Several analyses were based on
combined samples and data from both JARPNII and the previous research program JARPN (1994-1999). The
present paper was prepared to facilitate the understanding of this large research program in a comprehensive
manner. First a background explaining the origin, objectives, research area and analytical methodology of
JARPNII, is presented. Next the results are presented by objectives and sub-objectives of the research program.
Results of research not directly related to the main objectives are also summarized. Finally some considerationsof future research are presented.
CONTENTS
1.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

2.

OVERVIEW
2.1 The JARPN
2.2 From JARPN to JARPNII
2.3 Objectives and sub objectives of JARPNII
2.4 Brief outline of the research area and analytical methodology

3.

DATA OBTAINED BY JARPNII AND DATA AVAILABILITY

4.

RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH UNDER JARPNII AND FUTURE RESEARCHCONSIDERATIONS
4.1 Executive summary
4.2 Detailed results
4.3 Integration of results and consideration of future research

5.

SUMMARY RESPONSE TO RELEVANT TOR OF THE JARPNII REVIEWWORKSHOP SPECIFIED IN ANNEX P

6.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

7.

LITERATURE CITED

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ANNEXES
Annex 1: List of documents for the JARPNII Review Workshop.
Annex 2: Brief outline of the research area, target species and sample size of JARPNII.
Annex 3: A summary of samples/data collected by JARPNII (2000-2014).
Annex 4: Protocol for access to samples/data from the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), Tokyo, Japan, underProcedure B.
Annex 5: Summary of the work carried out by Japanese scientists in response to several recommendations andsuggestions on JARPNII research offered by the IWC SC in 2009.

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1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION
There are two pillars in the Japanese Whale research Program under Special Permit in the western North Pacific
Phase II (JARPNII). The first is contribution to the conservation and management of whale resources in thewestern North Pacific Ocean through provision of scientific data especially to the RMP implementation process.
The second is contribution to the fisheries management in the western North Pacific Ocean through applicationof the ecosystem approaches (e.g. building ecosystem models).
The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) gives particular importance to science as
the basis for the conservation and management of whale resources. While the IWC adopted the commercial
whaling moratorium, paragraph 10 (e) of the Schedule provides as follows: “…This provision will be kept underreview, based upon the best scientific advice, and by 1990 at the latest the Commission will undertake acomprehensive assessment of the effects of this decision on whale stocks and consider modification of thisprovision and the establishment of other catch limits”. In other words, this paragraph sets forth the necessity ofscientific data and thus scientific research for the “review” and “comprehensive assessment”. The term“Comprehensive Assessment (CA)” is similar to the term “In-Depth Assessment”, and it was defined by the IWC
SC as `an in-depth evaluation of the status of all whale stocks in the light of management objectives andprocedures` and that `this would include the examination of current stock size, recent population trends, carrying
capacity and productivity`(IWC, 1989). In 1992, the IWC SC developed the Revised Management Procedures(RMP), a scientific system to calculate catch limits for baleen whales, in accordance with paragraph 10(e). In thewestern North Pacific, the RMP implementation process has been applied to common minke whale(Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and Bryde’s whale (B. edeni). In recent years, scientific information about sei
whale (B. borealis) has also been accumulated. JARPNII is designed to contribute to these processes.
The western North Pacific supports the existence of a vast amount of marine living resources including
zooplankton, schooling fishes, oceanic squids, seabirds and cetaceans. The western North Pacific is also a very
important fishing ground for Japan and other coastal countries. In order to achieve sustainable utilization ofmarine living resources of the western North Pacific, it is imperative to apply the ecosystem approaches to thefisheries, including through building ecosystem models which take account of the interaction between marine
mammals and fisheries. This represents the second pillar of JARPNII.
Because conservation and management of marine living resources, including whale species, entails uncertainties
in terms of biological parameters and environmental fluctuations, to name a few, and pertains ongoing activities,
e.g. fisheries and marine ecosystem processes, it requires careful considerations in designing and implementing
research and analysis projects.
In reviewing the achievements of JARPN and JARPNII, it is important to have an “adaptive” perspective. There
are uncertainties in the subjects of the research activities. They will be reduced when the research make expected
achievements while the character of the uncertainties may change as a results of the environmental and marine
ecosystem fluctuations/changes.
Objective and contents of this document
The present document explains the origin, objectives and progress in research made in the JARPNII in acomprehensive and easy-to-understand manner. The aim of this document is to assist members of the Review
Panel that may not be familiar with the origin, scientific purposes, and technical details of JARPN and JARPNII.
Before explaining JARPN II, it is necessary to understand its predecessor, the JARPN. The JARPN was
conducted between the 1994 and 1999 and produced a considerable amount of data for an improved
understanding of the common minke whale and its environment (IWC, 2001). Section 2.1 of this documentshows the origin and objectives of JARPN. Section 2.2 summarizes the key results of JARPN and how theseresults were taken into consideration in developing the research objectives of JARPNII.
Objectives and sub objectives of JARPNII are presented in Section 2.3, and Section 2.4 presents a brief outlineof the research area and analytical methodology. Section 3 shows the data obtained by JARPN II, and theprotocol available for accessing the data. An executive summary of results by research objective is presented in
Section 4.1 while detailed results and conclusions of the research under the three main objectives are presented
in Section 4.2. Integration of results and consideration of future research is presented in Section 4.3. Finally
Section 5 presents a summary response to the relevant Terms of Reference (TOR) of the specialist workshop for
the final review of JARPNII as detailed in Annex P (see Annex P, IWC, 2009a; 2013a; 2015a).
Details of the analyses and results summarized in Section 4 can be found in the individual papers (Annex 1).
This annex also includes a list of relevant ‘For Information’ documents. Annex 2 presents a brief outline of theresearch area, target species, sample size and general methodology of JARPNII. The analyses are based on
samples and data collected by JARPN II in 2000-2014 (Annex 3), although some of the analyses were conducted3

using both JARPN and JARPNII samples. The data were available to IWC SC members through its data accessprotocol (Procedure B). Annex 4 shows the protocol for sample/data access from the Institute of Cetacean
Research under this Procedure. The different analyses conducted took into consideration previous suggestions
and recommendations from the IWC SC. The list of previous recommendations and the responses from Japanesescientists are summarized in Annex 5.
2. OVERVIEW
2.1 The JARPNThe JARPN started in 1994. Surveys were conducted in each year between 1994 and 1999, and a total of 498
common minke whales were sampled as part of the lethal component of the program (Fujise, 2000). The main
objective was to elucidate the stock structure of common minke whales in the Pacific side of Japan. In amanagement context, stock structure is a key piece of information for the application of the RMP, a procedure
adopted by the IWC in 1994 to calculate a catch limit of baleen whales for future commercial whaling.
One of the major components of the RMP is the ‘Implementation Simulation Trials’ (ISTs), which are conducted
to guarantee the performance of RMP prior to the actual application of RMP to calculate a commercial catch
limit of whales. The main purpose of the ISTs, which are specific to species/areas, is to assure a sustainable
exploitation of whale resources by avoiding depletion of individual stocks. Therefore the hypotheses on stock
structure and their plausibility are important, and are the basis for the establishment of Small Areas, for whichcatch limits are calculated.
Regarding stock structure of western North Pacific common minke whales the IWC SC recognized in 1993 twostocks of common minke whales, the Okhotsk Sea/Western Pacific (‘O’ stock) and the Yellow Sea/East China
Sea/Sea of Japan (‘J’ stock). It also proposed a complicated sub-stock scenario with several sub-stocks
composing the ‘J’ and ‘O’ stocks and hypothesized a western stock (‘W’ stock) in offshore areas in the Pacificside of Japan (IWC, 1994) (see Figure 1 for the definition of sub-areas for management by the IWC SC in 1994).

Figure 1. Sub-areas defined by the IWC SC in 1994 for management purpose of the common minke whale.
The issue of stock structure was discussed again by the IWC SC in 1996. During that meeting the IWC SC
discussed the new scientific information derived from JARPN and concluded that the sub-stock scenario
proposed in 1993 was not plausible (IWC, 1997).
The IWC SC reviewed the final results of JARPN during a Workshop conducted in 2000. Based on theinformation presented, the Workshop did not discard the hypothesis of occurrence of ‘W’ stock in offshore areasin the Pacific side of Japan, at least in some years of the period of JARPN. The Workshop recommended thatfurther research was necessary to examine the hypothesis of the ‘W’ stock (IWC, 2001).

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A second objective of JARPN, ‘the feasibility study on the feeding ecology of minke whales in the researchground’, was added in 1996. Previous studies based on commercial samples were basically qualitativedescriptions of the prey species eaten by whales (e.g. Nemoto, 1959; Kasamatsu and Tanaka, 1992). For
ecosystem modeling purposes, however, both qualitative and quantitative data on prey consumption are required.
Research under the feeding ecology objective of JARPN allowed scientists to collect information on both
qualitative and quantitative aspects of stomach contents of common minke whales. JARPN research also showedthat the distribution of minke whales overlapped with the area of operation of some important commercial
fisheries in Japan.
Furthermore the analysis of stomach contents demonstrated that this whale species feeds on several prey species,
all of which are also the target of commercial fisheries in Japan. Therefore the first priority of JARPN II (second
phase of JARPN) was placed on feeding ecology and ecosystem studies in this ‘hot spot’ area forcetacean/fisheries interaction.
The JARPN Review Meeting in 2000 pointed out the necessity to obtain an improved understanding of the
distribution and abundance of relevant prey species to better understand the dynamics of common minke whale
food choice and consumption. It recommended that acoustic and trawl surveys, designed to address somequestions, should be conducted concurrently with future whale surveys, if possible (IWC, 2001).
2.2 From JARPN to JARPNIIThe JARPN workshop in 2000 agreed that there were unresolved scientific issues related to common minke
whale stock structure and also made a series of recommendations to strengthen the feeding ecology part of the
program (IWC, 2001).
At the time the JARPN was completed it was noted that while the fisheries have provided 40% of annual proteinwith variety of fish products in Japan, the level of fisheries resources and catches had decreased. The catch by
Japanese fisheries were drastically shrank from 12.8 million tons 1988 to 6.7 million tons in 1998. In 1999, thefisheries Agency announced the principle for the fundamental policy on fisheries. In principle, the first priority
was given to science-based management and sustainable utilization of fisheries resources within Japan’s EEZ. To
aid the recovery of the resources, investigations should be carried out taking into account the management andsustainable utilization of whole ecosystem including marine mammals. The principle of multi-species
management had been discussed by many international organizations including the FAO. The Indian Ocean Tuna
Commission (IOTC) recognizing the importance of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management. The North
Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) also set up a working group on food consumption by marine
mammals and seabirds in 1995.
It was then proposed that JARPN should be continued as a second phase program (JARPNII) to follow up theissues indicated above, including the recommendations from the JARPN review meeting. The highest priority of
JARPN II would be on feeding ecology and ecosystem studies in the western North Pacific. In this regard,
qualitative and quantitative data for feeding ecology would be the most important information to collect. The
second priority was to monitor environmental pollutants, and the third priority was on stock structure of large
whale species. To cover the temporal and spatial gaps, which cannot be sampled by the research base ship
Nisshin Maru, a coastal component of JARPN II was designed, focused on common minke whale. Annex 2presents details of the species selected for the lethal component of JARPN II and the rational used for the
calculation of sample sizes.
In 2009 the IWC SC carried out a review workshop of JARPNII for the first six years of the full program (20022007). Results obtained by JARPNII for that period were summarized by Pastene et al. (2009a), and the report of
the review workshop is available in IWC (2010). In the view of the Japanese scientists, the workshop report
represented a fair and balanced evaluation of the work conducted by the JARPNII in its first six years, andvaluable recommendations were made to improve the research (Pastene et al., 2009b).
The JARPNII work conducted after the 2009 review workshop took into consideration most of therecommendations offered by the review workshop in 2009. One of the important recommendations from the2009 review workshop was the development of refined, more quantified sub-objectives for each component of
the program (IWC, 2010). In response, Japanese scientists developed sub-objectives within each objective of
JARPNII (see next section).
As noted above, most of the technical recommendations from the 2009 review workshop were taken into accountby the analysts (see Annex 5 for a summary of recommendations and responses).

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2.3 Objectives and sub objectives of JARPNII
The rational for the objectives of JARPNII was explained previously (Government of Japan; 2002; Pastene et al.,2009a). This section provides information on sub-objectives within each objective.
The objectives of JARPNII are the following:
Objective 1: Feeding ecology and ecosystem studies
Objective 2: Monitoring environmental pollutants in cetaceans and the marine ecosystem
Objective 3: Stock structure of large whales
A general explanation for each objective and the identification of sub-objectives under each objective is
explained in this section.
Objective 1: Feeding ecology and ecosystem studies
This is the top priority research objective in the program, which include i) prey consumption by cetacean, ii) prey
preference of cetaceans, and iii) ecosystem modeling.
The original research plan of JARPNII stated several questions relevant to this main objective. For example, docetaceans consume a large quantity of fisheries resources compared to the catches of commercial fisheries? Does
the consumption by cetacean have a significant impact on natural mortality and recruitment of the prey?
Inversely, does the abundance and distribution of the prey species affect the migration pattern, recruitment andgeographical segregation by sex of cetaceans? Is there direct and/or indirect competition among cetaceans andbetween cetacean and other top predators such as fur seals, tunas and sharks? Do sperm whales have an impact
on the surface ecosystem? (Government of Japan, 2002).
JARPNII attempted to respond these questions through a comprehensive research on the western North Pacificecosystem including cetacean, prey species and the environment (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Schematic representation of the research components under Objective 1 of JARPNII.

It should be noted here that responses to the questions listed above can derive from both research conductedunder individual components in the figure above as well from the outputs from the ecosystem models, which
integrate information from several components.
To facilitate the review of the results under Objective 1, several sub-objectives were identified for the different
components as follow:

6Oceanographic conditions
Oceanographic conditions in the Pacific side of Japan are very complex with several oceanographic systems
interacting in this ocean basin. Furthermore yearly changes in oceanographic conditions have been reported.
Changes in oceanographic conditions have important implications for primary production and thus distribution of
prey species of cetacean in the research area. JARPN and JARPNII have collected oceanographic data in asystematic manner for several years with the following aim:
Objective 1, Sub-objective 1:
Investigate the oceanographic conditions that are relevant for the understanding of prey species’s
distribution and abundance in the research area.
Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR5-6.
Distribution and abundance of whales
On one hand there is the need to investigate the pattern of distribution of whales and the possible factors
affecting distribution, which is important to interpret abundance estimates. On the other hand there is the need toknow the abundance of animals in the research area. The latter information is particularly important for the aims
of prey consumption estimation and ecosystem modeling. Here, the abundance estimation refers to the number ofwhales present in a particular area and at a particular season for the aim of Objective 1, and it does not mean the
total abundance of the whale stock. The target C.V. of abundance estimation is < 0.3. On this topic the following
sub-objectives were identified:Objective 1, Sub-objective 2:
To investigate the distribution pattern of baleen whales in the research area and the possible factors
affecting such pattern.
Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR7-10
Objective 1, Sub-objective 3:
To estimate abundance of baleen and sperm whales using JARPNII sighting data and standard IWC SC
methodology.
Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR11-14
Prey consumption by whales
At the 2009 JARPNII review, one of the major concerns was the lack of full treatment of uncertainty in theestimate of prey consumption. Therefore a new sub-objective was identified as follow:
Objective 1, Sub-objective 4:
To estimate the prey consumption by baleen whales using JARPNII data and samples, and taking into
account the uncertainties identified at the 2009 JARPNII review.
Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR15-17.
Impact of prey consumption by whales on fishery resources
One of the important questions to be addressed by the research is on the impact of whale consumption on
fisheries resources. In order to address this question, the following sub-objective was identified:Objective 1, Sub-objective 5:
To evaluate the feeding impact by whales on fisheries resources using JARPNII data and samples, andinformation from commercial fisheries and other research sources in coastal areas.
Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR17.

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Biomass estimation of whale’s prey species
For the aims of prey consumption estimation and ecosystem modeling development, the information of preyspecies abundance is important. On this regard the following sub-objective was identified:Objective 1, Sub-objective 6:
To estimate prey abundance using JARPNII data, complemented with information available from othersources.
Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR18, JR19.
Prey preference of whales
In the original JARPNII research plan, prey preference of cetaceans is not for individual animals within a species
but for the different species within the particular ecosystem. Prey preference data is inputted to some of theecosystem models as one of the key parameters. On this topic, the following sub-objective was identified:Objective 1, Sub-objective 7:
To investigate the prey preference of whales in offshore areas, using JARPNII data and samples.
Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR20-22.
Feeding habit of whales
Feeding habit is different among species of whales and it depends on environmental conditions. It is important tostudy these habits, its spatial and temporal changes and the reasons for such changes. On this topic, the following
sub-objective was identified:Objective 1, Sub-objective 8:
To investigate feeding habit of baleen and toothed whale species in the research area, and theenvironmental factors involved in determining such habits.
Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR23-26.
Body condition of whales
Temporal trend in body condition of whales can be used as a ‘reality check’ for the outputs of the ecosystemmodels. Consequently the following sub-objective was identified:Objective 1, Sub-objective 9:
To investigate the yearly trend in body condition of baleen whales using JARPNII data and samples.
Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR27.
Ecosystem modelling
One of the final goals of JARPNII is to contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of all marine living
resources including cetaceans in the western North Pacific, especially within Japan’s EEZ. The output of theecosystem models are expected to provide insights to the relations between different species in the marine
ecosystem and the dynamics of the ecosystem. In line with the conclusion from FAO (2008) and IWC (2008a)that there is no one single correct model, and that the greatest benefit are to be obtained by considering a numberof models that may be of quite different forms, JARPNII aimed to develop different kinds of models. On thisregard, the following sub-objective was identified:Objective 1, Sub-objective 10:
To develop several ecosystem models, in both coastal and offshore areas, using JARPNII data and samples
as input. Output of the models are likely to provide information on i) the ecosystem structure, ii) effects ofprey availability and consumption on the population dynamics of common minke and sei whales withconsideration of levels of energy intakes, iii) predation impacts of common minke whales consumption on
sandlance stock off Sanriku.

8Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR28, JR29.
Objective 2: Monitoring environmental pollutants in cetaceans and the marine ecosystem
In 1992 the Commission endorsed the plan of the IWC SC to pursue studies on environmental changes and theirimpacts on cetaceans. In particular, there was concern that pollutants may have a negative effect on the health ofcetaceans resulting ultimately in a decrease in the abundance of the stocks. The second objective of JARPNII is“monitoring environmental pollutants in cetaceans and the marine ecosystem”, which is composed of: i) patternof accumulation of pollutants in cetaceans, ii) bioaccumulation process of pollutants through the food chain, iii)
relationship between chemical pollutants and cetacean health. The latter component is directly related with the
IWC SC plan mentioned above.
Figure 3 shows a schematic representation of the components of Objective 2.

Figure 3. Schematic representation of the research components under Objective 2 of JARPNII.
The original research plan of JARPNII stated that ‘a comprehensive monitoring and assessment of chemical
pollutants’ should be carried out and that the ‘bioaccumulation process through the marine food chain’ should beunderstood. Works on these objectives were carried out based on samples obtained in the first period of JARPNII,
and results were presented to the 2009 JARPNII review workshop. Three main documents and two ‘for
information’ papers related to objective 2 of JARPNII were presented to the 2009 JARPNII review workshop(IWC, 2010). The review workshop concluded that the results so far represented a valuable contribution to ourknowledge in this area and acknowledged the considerable amount of work done, while some technicalrecommendations were offered to improve the work (IWC, 2010).
To facilitate a further review of JARPNII of the work done under objective 2, the following sub-objectives wereidentified for the different components of this objective.
i) Pattern of accumulation of pollutants in cetaceans, ii) Bioaccumulation process of pollutants through the foodchain.
Hg, PCB and legacy pesticides such as DDTs, HCHs, HCB and CHLs are comparatively higher risk chemicals
for cetaceans in marine environment. Therefore, these pollutants were monitored in large whales from thewestern North Pacific. The fate of the pollutants in the marine environment and differences of accumulation
pattern of pollutants among species or stocks were examined using JARPN and JARPNII samples under thefollowing research sub-objective:
Objective 2, Sub-objective 1:
To investigate pattern of accumulation of pollutants in cetaceans and their food items.

9Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR30-34.
Persistent pollutants such as Hg and PCBs in cetaceans are affected by food chain length. These effects were
examined by multi regression analyses with covariates such as observation in stomach content, age andnutritional index using with the JARPN and JARPNII samples under the following research sub-objective:
Objective 2, Sub-objective 2:
To investigate the bioaccumulation process of pollutants through the food chain.
Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR30-31.
iii) Relationship between chemical pollutants and cetacean healthOn 11 March 2011, radio isotopes (RIs), such as I131, Cs134 and Cs137, were released to the marine
environment from the Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima following an earthquake and tsunami. This accident
could represent a new health risk for cetaceans in surrounding waters. Consequently the RIs levels have beenmonitored in cetaceans from the western North Pacific since the 2011 JARPNII survey.
The accumulation features of total and methyl Hg and selenium in baleen and sperm whales from the western
North Pacific were compared to examine sensitivity of mercury toxicity among whale species (SC/J09/JR24).
Furthermore Niimi et al. (2005; 2007) reported the molecular characterization of various cytochrome P450
detoxification liver enzymes in minke whales, and how their mRNA expression levels relate to levels ofcontaminants in the liver. All these studies were reported to the 2009 JARPNII review workshop. The review
workshop welcomed the results, whilst noting that these biomarkers were not necessarily indicative of healthstatus, and it encourages the continuation of the study.
The following research sub-objective on whale health was identified:Objective 2, Sub-objective 3:
To investigate the relationship between chemical pollutants and cetacean health.
Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR35-37.
Objective 3: Stock structure of large whales
Stock structure information is important for the development of RMP ISTs in the case of the common minke andBryde’s whales, and for the in-depth assessments (IA) of other large whale species such as the sei, sperm andright whales. Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of the components of Objective 3. Several subobjectives were identified for the different components of this objective.

Figure 4. Schematic representation of research components under Objective 3 of JARPNII.

10Common minke whale
The IWC SC completed the Implementation Review (IR) of the western North Pacific common minke whale atits 2012 and 2013 Annual meetings (IWC, 2013b; 2014). Most of the information on stock structure presented
and discussed during the IR was based on data and information from JARPN and JARPNII.
A total of 22 sub-areas were set for the aim of the IR (Figure 5), and three stock structure hypotheses were used
(Figure 6).

Figure 5. The 22 sub-areas used for the Implementation Simulation Trials for North Pacific common minke
whale (IWC, 2014 pp11).
The plausibility of the three stock structure hypotheses was discussed at the 2012 IWC SC Annual meeting. A
group of five geneticists summarized their interpretation of the relative support for and against the fivehypothesized stocks (JE, JW, OE, OW and Y) involved in the different hypotheses (IWC, 2013b pp135). It
should be noted that their evaluation was made based on the available genetic information only despite plenty of
non-genetic information was available for the IR. The result of their evaluation is reproduced in Table 1.

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Figure 6. Representation of stock structure hypotheses I, II and III used during the IR of North Pacific common
minke whale (IWC, 2013b pp103).

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Table 1. Evaluation of the main components of stock structure hypotheses of common minke whale in thewestern North Pacific based on genetic data (IWC, 2013b pp135).

Despite this effort by geneticists, it was not possible for the IWC SC to agree on plausibility of the three stock
structure hypothesis. As a consequence, all three main stock structure hypotheses were ‘no agreement’ and were
therefore treated as if they had been assigned ‘Medium’ plausibility in the trials (IWC, 2013b pp126).
There are, however, some interesting points in the evaluation of different stocks by the five geneticists. From
Table 1 it is clear that the plausibility of additional structure in the J stock is low, and consequently further
analyses under the JARPNII were not focused to investigate subdivision within this stock. The J stock distributes
mainly in the Sea of Japan but it mix with the O stock in the coast of northern Hokkaido and in the Pacific sideof Japan. What it is important is the study of the dynamics of the J stock around the Japanese coast, and theinteraction with the O stock, mainly in the Pacific side of Japan. This is the basis for the first sub-objective under
Objective 3 of JARPN II:
Objective 3, Sub-objective 1:
Monitoring of the spatial and temporal distribution of J stock on both west and east coasts of Japan using
genetics and non-genetics approaches, and all sources of samples available e.g. JARPN, JARPN II and bycatches.
Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR38, JR39.
With regard to the O stock, the genetic evidence summarized in Table 1 cannot discard definitively thepossibility of additional structure within the O stock. Therefore the second sub-objective within Objective 1 isthe following:
Objective 3, Sub-objective 2:
Using genetic and non-genetic data from JARPN and JARPNII, investigate whether or not the subdivision of the O stock into Ow and Oe is plausible. The genetic analysis should include those approaches
mentioned in Table 1 as providing support for the existence of the Ow (e.g. PCA analyses).
Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR40-43.
Bryde’s whale
The RMP Implementation for western North Pacific Bryde’s whale was completed by the IWC SC in 2007 (IWC,
2008b pp 9). During the Implementation two sub-areas (Figure 7) (IWC, 2009b pp7), and four stock structure
hypotheses (Figure 8) (IWC, 2007 pp8), were considered.

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Figure 7. Sub-areas used for the RMP Implementation of western North Pacific Bryde’s whale (IWC, 2009b
pp7).

Figure 8. Stock structure hypotheses selected for the RMP Implementation of western North Pacific Bryde’s
whale (IWC 2007 pp8).
The IWC SC examined the plausibility of the four hypotheses based on the genetics and non-genetics
information available in 2006. That information is summarized in Table 2 (IWC, 2007 pp95). Based on theinformation in Table 2, the IWC SC assigned the following plausibility to the four hypotheses: Hypothesis 1=
High; Hypothesis 2= High; Hypothesis 3= High; Hypothesis 4= Medium.

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Table 2. (From IWC, 2007 pp95)

It should be noted that a substantial number of genetic samples have been accumulated since the Implementationof Bryde’s whale in 2007. For example larger sample sizes are now available for Sub-areas 1W and 1E, fromJARPNII, dedicated sighting and IWC POWER surveys. This allows new analyses to be conducted to evaluate
the plausibility of Hypothesis 4, which propose two stocks within sub-area 1. In addition, genetic samples are
now available for Sub-area 2 from the IWC POWER surveys. Genetic analyses of such samples would allow theevaluation of plausibility of Hypotheses 2 and 3, which propose two stocks in those sub-areas.
Therefore the following sub-objective related to Bryde’s whale, which is relevant in the context of the RMP
Implementation, was defined.
Objective 3, Sub-objective 3:
To investigate the plausibility of i) stock sub-division within Sub-area 1 as proposed under Hypothesis 4,
and ii) sub-division between Sub-areas 1 and 2 as proposed under Hypotheses 2 and 3, using all genetic
samples available from different source till 2014, and different genetic markers included satellite tracking.
Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR44, JR45.
Sei whale
The in-depth assessment of North Pacific sei whale started at the 2015 IWC SC meeting. The IWC SC agreed toproceed with two initial alternative stock structure hypotheses: i) a single stock in the entire North Pacific as

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proposed by Kanda et al. (SC/F16/JR47-48), based on several pieces of evidences included the genetics; and ii) a
five-stock hypothesis proposed in Mizroch (2015), based mainly on the interpretation of mark-recapture data:
Japan coastal; North Pacific pelagic; Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska; eastern North Pacific migratory; andSouthern North American coastal stock (coastal California) (IWC, 2015b). The IWC SC agreed that
discriminating between these two hypotheses is difficult in the absence of genetic data from the potentiallyextirpated stocks, and thus both hypotheses are plausible (IWC, 2015b).
The sub-objective related to sei whale is the following:
Objective 3, Sub-objective 4:
To investigate the plausibility of a single stock of sei whale in the pelagic regions of the North Pacific(‘North Pacific pelagic’), using all genetic samples available from different sources till 2014, and different
genetic markers.
Relevant documents: SC/F16/JR46-48.
Other species
There are a number of genetic samples collected under JARPNII from sperm whale and North Pacific rightwhales. The number of samples is small and then, detailed analyses on stock structure were not possible.
However, genetic studies based on microsatellite and mtDNA were conducted on these two species to investigate
levels of genetic diversity and the utility of such genetic markers for future studies on stock structure (seeDocuments SC/F16/JR49-51).
2.4 Brief outline of the research area and analytical methodology
Research area
The research area is on the Pacific side of Japan and covers the IWC SC management sub-areas 7, 8 and 9(Figure 1). The research area on the Pacific side of Japan (e.g. coast of Tohoku and southern Hokkaido) can beconsidered as Japan’s richest fishing grounds and provided an ideal area to study the interaction between
cetaceans and fisheries, and can be considered as a ‘hot-spot’ area for cetacean/fisheries interaction (see Annex 2for more details of the research area).
For the main objective of JARPNII (feeding ecology and ecosystem studies), two components are considered:coastal and offshore. The coastal component involves two localities: the coast of Tohoku (off Sanriku) coveredin spring and the coast of southern Hokkaido (off Kushiro) covered in fall (see SC/F16/JR3). This corresponds toa part of sub-area 7 (Figure 1). The offshore component is covered in spring-summer.
As mentioned above, the coastal waters off northern Japan can be considered as Japan’s richest fishing grounds
and provide an ideal area to study the interaction between cetaceans and fisheries. The offshore component
involves sub-areas 7 (offshore), 8 and 9 (see SC/F16/JR4) (Figure 1). Although the interaction between fisheries
and cetacean is less marked in offshore waters, an important amount of information for modeling purposes canbe obtained from those waters, especially from large whales that feed on prey species widely distributed in bothcoastal and offshore waters.
Analytical methodology
Objective 1. Feeding ecology and ecosystem studies
This is the main objective of the JARPN II. Several kinds of input data for the ecosystem modeling exercise havebeen obtained through JARPNII research e.g. abundance and distribution of large whales, prey composition andconsumption of common minke, Bryde’s, sei and sperm whales, prey habitat (Japanese anchovy, Pacific saury,
copepod and krill) and prey preference of whales. In addition, other data for input to such models related to otherpredator and prey species were obtained from the literature.
Oceanography
Study of changes in oceanographic conditions in the period of JARPN II (2000-2013) is underway using outputs
from ocean models such as the Fisheries Research Agency-Regional Ocean Modeling System (FRA-ROMS). In
addition, oceanographic data obtained from artificial satellites such as sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface
height (SSH) and chlorophyll-a concentrations are being used as input parameters of species distribution models(SDMs) and ecosystem models.

16

Whale’s distribution
Sighting and effort data obtained through systematic surveys in sub-areas 7, 8 and 9, north of 35ºN in springsummer have been examined to study the distribution pattern of large whales. The spatial and temporal pattern of
distribution of large whales such as blue, fin, humpback and North Pacific right whales in the JARPN II researcharea is being studied by investigating the monthly changes in density index (number of whale sighted by 100 nm)
by one degree square in each sub-area.
Spatial distribution of common minke, sei and Bryde’s whales in the period of JARPNII (2002-2013) is being
studied using sighting data and environmental data (e.g. sea surface temperature, SST). A generalized additivemodel (GAM) is being used as a SDM.
Whale abundanceThis is being studied using sighting data collected by dedicated sighting surveys in each research sub-area andapplication of the Line Transect Method, in a manner similar to the IWC POWER surveys. It should beunderstood that abundance estimation was conducted with the aims of prey consumption estimation and of
ecosystem modeling, and refers to the number of whales present in a particular area and at a particular season.
Prey consumption by whales
Estimates of prey consumption of whales are being made using a methodology similar to that used in Norwegiansurveys (Haug et al., 1995a, b) through estimation of daily consumption from the standard metabolic rate (SMR).
To account for the uncertainty in the estimates, a Monte Carlo simulation approach is used. Uncertainties inwhale abundance estimates, body weight of whales, daily prey consumption, energetic content of prey species,
assimilation efficiency and the ratio of low/high feeding intake of whales are taken into account.
Nutritional condition of whales
This is being studied by the measurements of blubber thickness, girth and fat weight. A regression model withsome covariates will be used for analyses. Nutritional condition as feeding success, prey species from stomach
contents and oceanographic conditions are being considered in a monitoring program involving decadal timeseries.
Prey preferences of cetaceans
Prey preference of whales in small-scale areas was reported previously by Murase et al. (SC/F16/JR21) and
Watanabe et al. (SC/F16/JR20). The concurrent prey species survey was designed mainly with common minke,
sei and Bryde’s whales in mind as predators, and prey species including Japanese anchovy, Pacific saury,
copepod and Euphausiid.
Ecosystem ModelingIn developing the modeling work, information and suggestions from FAO workshops on modeling (FAO, 2008;
Plaganyi, 2007), as well the application of models to specific cases, e.g. to evaluate the interactions between
common minke whale and important fish resources in the eastern North Atlantic (Schweder et al., 2000), havebeen taken into account.
In line with the conclusion from FAO (2008) and IWC (2008) that there is no one single correct model, and thatthe greatest benefits are to be obtained by considering a number of models that may be of quite different forms,
JARPN II is developing different kinds of models:
Ecopath (a static, mass-balanced snapshot of the system) with Ecosim (a time dynamic simulation module forpolicy exploration) (Christensen et al., 2005) represents a large range of species and interactions and addresses
broad-scale questions related to the structure of the ecosystem. EwE is a software composed of two main
components namely Ecopath and Ecosim. Ecopath is for trophic mass balance (biomass and flow) modelingwhile Ecosim is for dynamic modeling based on Ecopath. Ecopath in the western North Pacific in the early
1980’s is being constructed. The constructed Ecopath in the early 1980’s is then being fitted to available timeseries data (e.g. catch history of small pelagic fish) to see whether a credible fit will be able to be obtained.
Ecopath in 2010’s is also being constructed and it will be compared with the Ecosim results in 2010’s.
For the coastal component of JARPN II (Sanriku), a Bayesian delay-difference model will be employed toinvestigate the effect of consumption by the common minke whales on the population of sandlance.
Development of a Minimum Realistic Model (MRM)-type model will be attempted for the offshore componentof JARPNII to see if the main prey species of large whales of our interests change according to their preyavailabilities and to incorporate the information of energy takes into the population dynamic models.

17

Objective 2. Monitoring environmental pollutants in cetaceans and the marine ecosystem (pattern ofaccumulation of pollutants in cetaceans, bioaccumulation process of pollutants through the food chain andrelationships between chemical pollutants and cetacean health).
Studies related to this objective have been conducted to understand the biogeochemical cycle of pollutants.
Analysis of Hg in biological tissues of predators and prey species is being conducted using the CV-AAS (Cold
Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry) method. Analyses of PCB in biological tissues and atmosphericsamples were made using the GC-MS (Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry) method.
In order to understand the biogeochemical cycle of pollutants, the bioaccumulation factors (increase inconcentration of a pollutant from one link in a food chain to another) is being calculated (see Kelly et al., 2008 as
an example of this kind of analysis).
Objective 3. Stock structure of large whales-common minke whale
Occurrence of J stock like animals in sub-area 7
Analysis of genetic variation at 16 microsatellite loci coupled with a Bayesian method implemented in thecomputer program STRUCTURE has allowed the separation of samples of minke whales obtained through
JARPN and JARPN II in sub-area 7 into two genetically distinct stocks, i.e. the J stock and O stock. Spatial andtemporal distribution of J stock animals is being investigated. For comparative purposes, this analysis is being
conducted for minke whales sampled in sub-areas 8 and 9 as well. Occurrence of the J stock animals in sub-area
7 is being also investigated based on flipper color pattern and morphometrics.
Stock identity of ‘O’ stock common minke whales in sub-areas 7, 8 and 9
In the case of genetic techniques, the extent of genetic differentiation of minke whales in those sub-areas is being
examined by standard hypothesis testing, phylogenetic, and Discriminant Analysis of Principal Component(DAPC). Both bi-parental (16 microsatellite loci) as well maternal (mtDNA control region sequences) genetic
markers are being used. In the case of non-genetic techniques, morphometric differentiation of O stock animalminke whales in sub-areas 7, 8 and 9 is being investigated by Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of ten externalmeasurements.
Stock identity in Bryde’s and sei whales is being studied using genetic methods similar to those used in the caseof the common minke whale.
OthersBasic information from earplugs on the age characteristics of common minke whales in the western North
Pacific is investigated. Some biological parameters such as the natural mortality rate and growth curve are
estimated by using the age data.
3. DATA OBTAINED BY JARPNII AND DATA AVAILABILITY
Data obtained in JARPNII (Annex 3) have been available to the international scientific community underestablished data access protocols. Annex 4 shows the data access protocol of the Institute of Cetacean Research(ICR).
The data is available for research collaboration with ICR under data access protocols of ICR(http://www.icrwhale.org/pdf/appendix2.pdf) and IWC (Procedure B), outside the context of the IWC SC review
Workshop. Data are commonly stored in Excel files.
4. RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH UNDER JARPNII AND FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS
4.1 Executive summary
General

JARPNII was conducted in the western North Pacific between 2000 and 2014. It followed the previous
JARPN (1994-1999). The JARPNII had three main objectives (Feeding ecology and ecosystem studies,monitoring environmental pollutants in cetaceans and the marine ecosystem, and stock structure of large
whales) and several sub-objectives under each main objective.

18



The JARPN and JARPNII collected, in a systematic manner, data and samples from whales, whale’s
prey species and the environment during a period of 20 years.

A combination of lethal (biological data from sampled common minke, Bryde’s, sei and sperm whales)
and non-lethal (sighting, oceanographic, preys, biopsy, satellite tags) in the comprehensive large-scale
program, allowed the acquisition of an unbiased, widely collected, large data base from all parts of theecosystem that was not available from previous commercial catches. This is one of the mostcomprehensive data set on whales and its environment in the world.

The long-term program provided a great opportunity to systematically monitor long-term naturalvariability of biotic and abiotic factors in the marine ecosystem of the western North Pacific.

The program provided results useful for conservation and management of whales and the ecosystem aswell as other results not directly related to conservation and management.

Feeding ecology and ecosystem studies
Feeding ecology and ecosystem studies under JARPNII were based on a large and comprehensive
data/sample set, and it provided both qualitative and quantitative information of feeding ecology thatwill allow the application of ecosystem-based, multi-species approaches for management of fisheries
resources in the western North Pacific.

Oceanography

Oceanographic conditions in the JARPNII research area were examined using FRA-ROMS data. This isan ocean forecast system developed by Fisheries Research Agency (FRA) based on Regional Ocean
Modeling System (ROMS). The results indicated that overall oceanographic conditions were relatively
stable during the JARPNII period, although year to year variation and spatial heterogeneity of
distribution of water types were observed.

Whale distribution and abundance

Analyses of seasonal spatial distributions of common minke, sei and Bryde’s whales in the JARPNII
research area using Generalized Additive Models (GAM) indicated that all species shifted theirdistribution toward the north as season progress (from spring to summer), but the extent of the shift wasdifferent among whale species. Spatial segregation occurred among the three baleen whale species
although some overlaps occurred. Given this, the extent of direct interaction among whale species could
be minimal although indirect interaction could occur as they share the same prey species.

The number of whales distributed in the research area was estimated using the Line Transect method
and IWC SC standard methodology. This was done for common minke, Bryde’s, sei, blue, fin,
humpback, North Pacific right and sperm whales. Numbers obtained are not representative of theabundance of each stock but they represent the number of animals distributed in the research area at
specific research periods. The numbers obtained were used for the estimation of prey consumption incommon minke, Bryde’s and sei whales, and as input for the ecosystem modelling (all species).

Prey consumption by whales and biomass estimation of prey species

The prey consumption by whales in both offshore and coastal waters were estimated based on energetic
equations, and accounted for some uncertainties such as the number of whales distributed in the
research area, body weight of whales, consumption models, energy content of prey species, assimilation
efficiency and the ratio of low/high feeding intake of whales. As a consequence, estimates of prey
consumption of whales in coastal and offshore waters were made with an improved level of precision.
These estimates on prey consumption are useful as input data in ecosystem models.



The total seasonal prey consumptions during May-September in two periods (2000-2007 and 20082013) by common minke, Bryde’s and sei whales in offshore waters were 1.1 and 1.2 million tons,
respectively. Consumption of Japanese anchovy, mackerels and Pacific saury by the three whale species
was 674-724 thousand tons, 43-70 thousand tons and 48-56 thousand tons, respectively.

19The consumption of Japanese anchovy, mackerels and Pacific saury by these three whale species inoffshore waters in the two periods was equivalent to 22-48%, 5-66%, and 2-7% of the biomass of thesefish resources.



Spatial estimation of prey consumption by sei whales in the JARPNII survey area was estimated. The
results indicated that spatial distribution of sei whales at meso scale were largely determined byoceanographic conditions such as SST.

In Sanriku waters, the consumption of sandlance by common minke whale in two years before thetsunami corresponded to 30-40% of the fisheries catch on this fish resource. Consumption of fish
resources by common minke whale in Kushiro waters corresponded to approximately 2-3% of thefisheries catch on these resources.



In offshore waters, basin-scale distribution pattern and biomass estimation of Japanese anchovy were
examined using a quantitative echo sounder. To take account of the spatial coverage of the survey eachyear, the most reliable biomass estimate of Japanese anchovy for this region was 3.4 million tons.



In coastal waters off Sanriku, the biomass of sand lance based on echo sounder surveys in four years
ranged from 2,827 and 28,340 tons. This result suggested that movement of common minke whales into
Sendai Bay could be related to availability of sand lance during spring season.

Prey preference including feeding habit

In offshore waters, the prey preferences of baleen whales was estimated based on data from concurrent
surveys of cetacean and prey species. Common minke whale showed preference toward pelagic fishes
such as Japanese anchovy and Pacific saury. Bryde’s whales showed preference for Japanese anchovy
while sei whales showed preference for copepods.



In offshore waters the yearly trend of prey compositions in Bryde’s and sei whales was different. The
Bryde’s whale showed no trend, feeding every year on krill and Japanese anchovy. On the other handdrastic yearly changes were observed in the preys of sei whales, shifting from Japanese anchovy in the
period 2002-2010 to mackerels and Japanese sardine after 2010.



In coastal waters off Kushiro yearly changes in the prey species of common minke whale, wereobserved. It shifted from Japanese anchovy and Pacific saury in the period 2002-2011 to Japanesesardine and mackerels after 2011.

In Kushiro waters immature animals of common minke whale tend to feed on walleye Pollock on thecontinental shelf and slope regions. Mature animals feed on Japanese common squids and Pacific sauryin the outside of the continental shelf. These results suggested that migration and prey preference ofcommon minke whales in the coastal waters off Kushiro in autumn possibly differ with their maturity
stage. It is suggested that the feeding strategy of common minke whales might change to adapt the local
environments.



The results of diving behavior of sei whales by acoustic devices indicated that sei whales did not feedon prey in deep scattering layers at night. It revealed that sei whales changed their diving behavior in
response to availability of their prey in daytime. This information is useful to address someuncertainties in the estimation of prey consumption of sei whales.

A small but widely distributed sample of sperm whales was examined for stomach contents. A total of
28 species of cephalopods and six species of fish were found in the stomach contents. The results
suggested that sperm whale likely to move along different oceanographic waters, feeding on variety ofprey species. The commercially important Neon flying squid O. bartrami was not important prey ofsperm whales in spring and summer.

20

Body condition of whalesThe annual trend in energy storage in sei, Bryde’s and common minke whales during the JARPNII
period were examined statistically considering several explanatory variables. These were oceanography
data, sampling location, biological parameter, stock identification and body condition indicators. Body
condition of sei whales increased while that of common minke whales decreased in the research period.
No temporal trend was observed in the body condition of Bryde’s whales. This information can be used
as a ‘reality check’ of the stock trend outputs from ecosystem models.

Ecosystem modelingMarine ecosystem of the western North Pacific from 1994 to 2013 (20 years) was modelled using awhole ecosystem model, Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE). The model presented to the previous review
meeting was improved based on the recommendations and suggestions by the Panel. Although theresults are still preliminary, the constructed model will serve as a basis for further investigation on
ecosystem level changes (e.g. regime shift) observed in the region.

A statistical analysis was conducted to assess predation impacts of the common minke whales on thesand lance population off Sanriku region. Results showed that the predation by the common minke
whales accounts for a certain proportion of the current adult biomass for the sand lance population
although the level of proportion is sensitive to the model assumption.



Based on JARPNII results, future study on feeding ecology of baleen whales and ecosystem modellingshould pursuit such an integrated approach among oceanography, whale and prey species abundanceand distribution, and feeding habit of whales (see Section 4.3).

Monitoring environmental pollutants in cetaceans and the marine ecosystemStudies on pollutants of large whales under JARPNII were based on a comprehensive data/sample set,
and involved the analysis of different pollutants (Hg, PCB and pesticides) on different components ofthe ecosystem (whales, whale’s prey species and air/water). In the case of whales several ancillary
biological data were available (biological parameter, age, sex, sexual maturity, stock).

Pattern of accumulation of pollutants in cetaceans

To investigate pattern of accumulation of pollutants in the food web, whales are suited as biologicalindicators of environmental conditions because they are long-lived animals with ability of long-distancemigration.

Yearly changes of Hg (1994-2014) and PCB (2002-2014) levels in tissues of common minke, sei and
Bryde’s whales from the western North Pacific were examined considering several explanatory
variables, such as sampling location, biological data and main prey item. Results suggested that thebackground levels of Hg and PCB stabilized during the JARPN/JARPNII research period.



Results of organochlorines isomer analyses in whale tissues showed that almost no recent inputs of
DDT, HCH and CHLs have been released into the JARPNII research area.

No significant differences were found in the total levels of Hg between J and O stocks common minke
whales off Sanriku.

Bioaccumulation process of pollutants through the food chainTo investigate the bioaccumulation process of pollutants through the food chain, the relationshipbetween PCB and Hg levels in baleen whales and their main prey species were examined.



The analysis of the relationship between total Hg levels in whale tissue and main prey species inwhale’s stomach revealed an effect of prey species on whales. Such effect was not observed for PCB.
Based on these results, it is suggested that the influence of prey species on pollutant accumulations inwhales, is different depending of the kind of pollutant.

21

Relationships between chemical pollutants and cetacean health

JARPNII conducted toxicological studies to assess the effects of pollutant levels on cetaceans’ health.



Monitoring of I131, Cs134 and Cs137 levels in large whales from the western North Pacific after the
Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, was carried out. Based on a comparison with radiation safety
threshold in humans, it was suggested that the levels detected do not represent a health risk for whales.



Information on the utility of new biomarkers for future studies on adverse effects of organochlorines inbaleen whales, and for future studies on potential vulnerability to viral infection in whales, wasprovided.

Stock structure of large whales
Studies on stock structure of large whales under JARPNII were based on a large and comprehensive
data/sample set, and involved the use of both genetics (mtDNA control region sequences andmicrosatellite DNA) and non-genetic (morphometric, satellite tracking).

Regarding to genetics, the combination of large sample sizes and powerful genetic markers was an
appropriate tool to examine stock structure in weakly differentiated populations.

Common minke whaleThe program was able to monitor the O and J stock common minke whales around Japanese waters.
Almost all animals from the Sea of Japan belonged to the J stock while all animals in the Pacific side
east of SA7WR belonged to the O stock. Intermediate sub-areas (7CN, 7CS, and 11) contained animals
from both stocks.

In SA2 the J stock animals were predominant through the year. In SA7CS and SA7CN the proportion of
J stock animals increased in autumn/winter and decreased in spring/summer. The O stock had a reverse
trend.

Results of genetics and morphometric analyses showed no evidence of O stock sub-structuring into OW
and OE. Based on these results, the plausibility of stock structure hypotheses used in the RMP ISTs
should be re-evaluated.

Preliminary catch-at-age data for common minke whales provided by JARPN/JARPNII were useful torefine existing RMP ISTs. Catch-at-age analyses showed that it was difficult to reconcile the two O
stock hypothesis (OW and OE) with age data.

Bryde’s whale

Results of genetic analyses showed no significant heterogeneity between whales in sub-areas 1W and
1E. Results suggested genetic differentiation between whales in sub-area 1 and sub-area 2. This
information is useful for the IWC SC RMP ISTs of Bryde’s whales in the western North Pacific. Basedon these results, the plausibility of stock structure hypotheses used in the RMP ISTs should be reevaluated.

Sei whaleResults of the genetic analysis confirmed the view of a single stock of sei whale in pelagic regions of
the North Pacific. This information is useful for the IWC SC’s in depth assessment of this species in the
North Pacific.

Others

Information on the genetic diversity and utility of genetic markers for future studies on stock structurein the sperm whale, was obtained.

22

Information on genetic diversity in the endangered North Pacific right whales, as well the genetic
relationship between North Pacific and southern (Antarctic Area IV) right whales, was obtained.

Others

Advances in ageing of western North Pacific common minke whales based on earplugs, were made.
Age readability was 45.2% (males) and 41.2% (female) common minke whales sampled by JARPN and
JARPNII. Different studies based on age data are being planned.

Advance in ageing of western North Pacific sei whales based on earplugs, were made. Readability of all
samples was 63%. Different studies based on age data are being planned.



JARPN/JARPNII genetic samples were used in several published genetic studies to investigate
phylogenetic relationship among large whales using different genetic markers.



JARPN/JARPNII biological samples were used in several published studies on physiology andreproductive biology of common minke, Bryde’s and sei whales.

4.2 Detailed results
Objective 1: Feeding ecology and Ecosystem studies
Oceanographic conditions
Objective 1, Sub-objective 1:
Investigate the oceanographic conditions that are relevant for the understanding of prey species’s
distribution and abundance in the research area.
SC/F16/JR5 examined oceanographic conditions in the offshore component of JARPNII survey area using FRAROMs data. FRA-ROMS is an ocean forecast system developed by Fisheries Research Agency (FRA) based on
Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). Changes in area (km2) of four water types (Oyashio, cold, warm andKuroshio) by each month (April-September) in JARPNII survey area from 2000 to 2013 was investigated. There
was no statistical significant trend for the area except the cold water in September. Negative values of annual
mean the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) index were dominant in the period from 2000 to 2013. Generally,sea surface temperature in the western North Pacific is high in the negative phase of the PDO. The results of thisstudy indicated that overall oceanographic conditions in the JARPNII survey area from 2000 to 2013 wererelatively stable although year to year variations and spatial heterogeneity of distribution of water types wereobserved.
SC/F16/JR6 examined oceanographic conditions in the survey area of JARPNII coastal component off Kushiro
were study by using FRA-ROMs data. FRA-ROMs is an ocean forecast system developed by Fisheries Research
Agency (FRA) based on Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). Spatial distributions of four water types(Oyashio, cold, warm and Kuroshio) around Kushiro in September from 2000 to 2013 was qualitatively
investigated using the data. Oyashio was dominant water type in subsurface in the survey area. Mean watertemperate at 10 water depth in the survey in September was generally decreased from 2000 to 2004 thenincreased to 2006. It decreased again to 2009. It was relatively stable from 2009 to 2013. Spatial distribution ofwater temperate at 10 m depth was highly variable form year to year.
Distribution and abundance of whales
Objective 1, Sub-objective 2:
To investigate the distribution pattern of baleen whales in the research area and the possible factors
affecting such pattern.
SC/F16/JR7 examined seasonal spatial distributions of common minke, sei and Bryde’s whales in the JARPNII
survey area from 2002 to 2013 by using generalized additive models (GAM). All species shifted theirdistribution area toward the north of the survey area as season progress but the extents were different among
species. Relative abundance of common minke whales was high in coastal area of Japan. Relative abundance ofsei whales was high in the offshore area of the survey area where SST was moderate within the area. Relative
abundance of Bryde’s whales was high in the southern part of the survey area where SST was high. The results

23suggested that spatial distributions of three baleen whale species were segregated in the JARPNII survey area
although some overlaps were occurred. Extent of direct competition (e.g. competitive exclusion of feeding area)
could be minimal among the species but indirect competition for prey might be occurs as they share same preyspecies.
SC/F16/JR8 examined the distribution of sei whales in the subarctic-subtropical transition area of the western
North Pacific is important summer feeding grounds of sei whales. The oceanographic structure and circulation ofthis area are largely determined by strong oceanic fronts and associated geostrophic currents, namely the Polar
Front (PF), Subarctic Front (SAF) and Kuroshio Extension Front (KEF). The relationship between the
distribution of sei whales and oceanographic fronts was investigated using a generalized additive model (GAM),
and the cetacean sighting survey data and oceanographic observations in July from 2000 to 2007 were used in
the analysis. The number of individual sei whales was used as the response variable while the distances from thePF, SAF, and KEF to the whales were used as explanatory variables along with the longitude values. Sei whales
were concentrated north and south of the SAF and the areas from 250 to 300 km north and from 100 to 200 km
south of the SAF were estimated as high-density areas of sei whales. The entire inter-frontal zone between the PF
and SAF featured ane levated concentration of sei whales, and the area south of the PF and along the SAF was
identified as an important feeding ground of sei whales in July from 2000 to 2007.
SC/F16/JR9 examined the monthly distribution pattern of blue, fin, humpback and North Pacific right whales
from May to September in the western North Pacific based on JARPN and JARPN II (1994-2014) sighting data.
A total of 269,728.1 n.miles were surveyed. Among four species, fin whales were most frequently sighted, andnext were blue, humpback and right whales in order. Northward migration pattern of whales were observed forthese species. Blue whales were mainly distributed north of 35 O N and east of 157 O E (374 schools and 508
individuals; Mean schools size (Mss) was 1.36 individuals including 23 mother and calf pairs). The DI of thisspecies was 0.19. A high density area was observed north of 45 O N between 157 O E-170 O E. Surface
temperature (ST) ranged from 3.0 to 25.8 O C. Fin whales were mainly sighted between 150E and 170E (799schools and 1,125 individuals; Mss: 1.41, including 37 mother and calf pairs). Distribution patterns were similar
to blue whales. DI of this species was 0.42. A high density area was observed north of 45 O N. The ST ranged
from 2.9 to 26.9 O C. Humpback whales were mainly distributed north of 37 O N (492 schools and 685
individuals; Mss: 1.39, including 42 mother and calf pairs). DI was 0.25. The ST ranged from 2.8 to 24.1 O C.
Right whale was the rarest baleen whale species sighted in the research area. They were mainly distributed northof 40 O N (48 sch. and 68 ind.; Mss: 1.42, including 9 mother and calf pairs. The DI was 0.03. Surface
temperature ranged from 2.7 to 17.0 O C. Based on the additional data during 2008 to 2014, distribution pattern ofthese species during May to August are more obvious and these new information will contribute to marine
ecosystem studies in the western North Pacific where information has been lacking since the cessation ofcommercial whaling. Further continuation of the systematic sighting surveys including in foreign EEZ areas are
required to improve information on seasonal distribution of baleen whales.
SC/F16/JR10 examined the habitat differentiation between sei and Bryde’s whales in the western North Pacific.
Data were obtained from May to August 2004 and 2005. This study examined the relationship between
oceanographic features derived from satellite data and the distribution of sei and Bryde’s whales using basic
statistics. We investigated oceanographic features including sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface
chlorophyll a (Chl-a), sea surface height anomalies (SSHAs), and depth of the habitat. These two whale species
used habitats with different SST, Chl-a, and SSHA ranges. The 0.25 mg m-3 Chl-a contour (similar to thedefinition of the Transition Zone Chlorophyll Front) was a good indicator that separated the habitats of sei and
Bryde’s whales. Then generalized linear models were used to model the probabilities that the whale species
would be present in a habitat and to estimate their habitat distribution throughout the study area as a function ofenvironmental variables. The potential habitats of the two species were clearly divided, and the boundary moved
north with seasonal progression.
Objective 1, Sub-objective 3:
To estimate abundance of baleen and sperm whales using JARPNII sighting data and standard IWC SC
methodology.
SC/F16/JR11 examined the number of western North Pacific common minke whales distributed in JARPN II
coastal survey areas. In order to examine an impact of common minke whales on Japanese fisheries in Kushiro
and Sanriku regions through estimating the amount of prey consumed by minke whales or using an ecosystemmodel, it was required to estimate the number of the common minke whales distributed in each of the survey
areas during the JARPN II survey periods. Because it was considered that the impact of the minke was importantin the operation area of the coastal fishery, the number of the common minke was estimated .The estimated24

number off Kushiro were 461 and 433 in early (May-June) and late season (July-September) in 2012,
respectively. The estimated number off Sanriku in the early season was 124 in 2012. Note that these numbers are
not abundance estimates of the minke whale stock in the areas because the sighting data we used for theestimation covered only a part of the stock distribution.
SC/F16/JR12 examined the number of western North Pacific common minke, Bryde’s and sei whales in the
JARPN II offshore survey area. In order to examine an impact of large whales, such as common minke, Bryde’s
and sei whales on Japanese fisheries through estimating the amount of prey consumed by these whales or using
ecosystem models, it was required to estimate the number of these whales in the JARPN II survey area (subareas 7, 8 and 9 excluding foreign EEZ). Considering the migration pattern of these whales in the area suggested
by previous analysis, the number of the whales needed to be estimated separately for the early and late seasonsfor each of the whale species. The estimates were 3,629 (in 2009) and 2,122 (in 2011 and 2012) in the early and3,080 (in 2008) in the late season for the common minke assuming g(0) = 0.789, 2,957 (in 2009) and 1,857 (in2011 and 2012) in the early and 13,306 (in 2008) in the late season for the Bryde’s whales, 4,734 (in 2009) and
2,988 (in 2011 and 2012) in the early and 5,086 (in 2008) in the late season for the sei whales, assuming g(0)=1.
It is important to note that these estimates should not be used for assessment because the estimated figures
represent only a part of the population considered.
SC/F16/JR13 examined the number of blue, fin, humpback and North Pacific right whales in the JARPN II
offshore survey area based on 2008-2014 JARPNII surveys. The numbers are to be used for prey consumption
estimation and ecosystem modellings in the western North Pacific. Given that the area is migration corridor of
the whales, the numbers were estimated for early season (May-June) and late season (July-Sep.). The estimates
were 38 (in 2009) and 161 (in 2011 and 2012) in the early and 958 (in 2008) in the late season for blue whales,
413 (in 2009) and 1,369 (in 2011 and 2012) in the early and 3,958 (in 2008) in the late season for the fin whales,
1,136 (in 2009) and 1,921 (in 2011 and 2012) in the early and 392 (in 2008) in the late season for the humpback
whales, 1,150 (in 2011 and 2012) in early season and 417 (in 2008) in late season for the North Pacific rightwhales. It is important to note that these estimates should not be used for assessment because the estimatedfigures represent only a part of the population considered.
SC/F16/JR14 examined the number of sperm whales in the JARPN II offshore survey area based on 2008-2014
JARPNII surveys. The numbers are to be used for prey consumption estimation and ecosystem modellings in thewestern North Pacific. Given that the area is migration corridor of the whales, the numbers were estimated forearly season (May-June) and late season (July-Sep.). The estimates were 11,459 (in 2009) and 11,652 (in 2011
and 2012) in the early and 10,843 (in 2008) in the late season for the sperm whales. It is important to note thatthese estimates should not be used for assessment because the estimated figures represent only a part of the
population considered.
Prey consumption by whales
Objective 1, Sub-objective 4:
To estimate the prey consumption by baleen whales using JARPNII data and samples, and taking into
account the uncertainties identified at the 2009 JARPNII review.
SC/F16/JR15 estimated the prey consumption by common minke, Bryde’s and sei whales in the western North
Pacific. Prey species of whales were identified by examining their stomach contents, and the amount of prey
consumed in the research area was estimated by using information on prey consumption per capita and thenumbers of whales distributed. There were seasonal and geographical changes in the preys consumed in eachwhale species. The extent of differences of estimates of consumptions among several models was 2.4-3.6 times.
Based on the results obtained by three equations combined and Monte Carlo simulations, the daily prey
consumptions per capita of common minke whales were 86-94kg and 83-94kg for immature male and female;and 129-141kg and 158-166kg for mature male and female, respectively. The daily prey consumptions per capita
of Bryde’s whales were 419-434kg and 417-428kg for immature male and female; and 577-637kg and 642707kg for mature male and female, respectively. The daily prey consumptions per capita of sei whales were 397421kg and 436-468kg for immature male and female; and 524-539kg and 610-647kg for mature male and female,respectively. The CVs of the daily prey consumption consumed by whales per capita were in the range 0.2-0.3.
The seasonal prey consumption during May-September in two periods (2000-2007, 2008-2013) by three baleen
whale species were 1.1 and 1.2 million tons, respectively. The prey consumption of Japanese anchovy, mackerels
and Pacific saury by three baleen whale species in the two periods were estimated as 674-724 thousand tons, 4370 thousand tons and 48-56 thousand tons, respectively. The CVs of the seasonal prey consumption consumed

25

by whales were in the range 0.3-0.4. These values were equivalent to 22-48%, 5-66% and 2-7% of the biomassof each fish resources in the western North Pacific.
SC/F16/JR16 examined the preliminary attempt of spatial estimation of prey consumption by sei whales in the
JARPNII survey area using data obtained from 2002 to 2013. Two levels of models are constructed to achieve
the goal. Firstly, relative abundance of sei whales in relation with oceanographic conditions is estimated by using
a generalized additive model (GAM). Secondary, amount of prey consumed by a sei whale in relation withoceanographic conditions is also estimated by using GAM. Finally, prey consumption of sei whales in the
JARPNII survey area is calculated as the product of these two models. Data obtained from 2002 to 2013 are usedin the analysis. Spatial distribution of prey consumption shifted toward north as the season progress. Estimatedamount of prey consumption by sei whales using the spatial model was comparable to estimates based on
traditional methods (Tamura et al., 2016: SC/F16/JR15). SST was selected as environmental covariates in thefirst and second models. However, the shape of functional form for the first level model (prey consumption) was
relatively flat in comparison with the second level model (abundance). The results indicated that spatial
distribution of sei whales at meso scale were largely determined by oceanographic conditions such as SST. Sei
whales could then search for their prey with the optimal oceanographic conditions as indicated by feeding
behaviour study (Ishii et al., 2016: SC/F16/JR25). Future study on feeding ecology of baleen whales should
pursuit such an integrated approach further.
Impact of prey consumption by whales on fisheries resources
Objective 1, Sub-objective 5:
To evaluate the feeding impact by whales on fisheries resources using JARPNII data and samples, andinformation from commercial fisheries and other research sources in coastal areas.
SC/F16/JR17 estimated the prey consumption by common minke whales off Sanriku and Kushiro regions. Prey
species of whales were identified by examining their stomach contents, and the amount of prey consumed in the
research area was estimated by using information on prey consumption per capita and the numbers of whales
distributed. In the Sanriku region, based on the results obtained by three equations combined and Monte Carlosimulations, the daily prey consumptions per capita of common minke whales were 98kg and 106kg for
immature male and female; and 166kg and 223kg for mature male and female, respectively. The CVs was around0.3. The seasonal consumption of total preys by common minke whales were 4,234 tons, 1,822 tons and 850 tons
in 2005, 2006 and 2012 seasons, respectively. The CVs was around 0.2. The seasonal consumption of Japanesesand lance were 3,709 tons, 1,522 tons and 656 tons in 2005, 2006 and 2012 seasons, respectively. It
corresponded to 30-40% of the fisheries catch on this fish resource in two years before the tsunami. In theKushiro region the daily prey consumptions per capita of common minke whales were 82kg and 81kg for
immature male and female; and 116kg and 155kg for mature male and female, respectively. The CVs was around0.2. The seasonal consumptions of total preys by common minke whales were in the range 782-3,469 tons during
the period 2002-2012. The CVs were in the range 0.2-0.3. The seasonal consumption of Pacific saury andwalleye Pollock were 0-843 tons and 85-1,546 tons, respectively. It corresponded to approximately 2-3% of thefisheries catch on these resources in Kushiro.
Biomass estimation of whale’s prey species
Objective 1, Sub-objective 6:
To estimate prey abundance using JARPNII data, complemented with information available from othersources.
SC/F16/JR18 examined basin-scale distribution pattern and biomass estimation of Japanese anchovy in thewestern North Pacific using a quantitative echosounder. This was the first attempt at such a study in this region.
Data were collected in summer from 2004 to 2007. The biomass was estimated using data collected at 38 kHz.
Species compositions in the backscatterings from pelagic fish were assigned based on the results of trawl hauls
taking account of sea surface temperature (SST). Japanese anchovy tended to be high density to the west of
153°E and were distributed in an SST range of 9–24 °C. Although the temporal and spatial coverage of thesurvey differed each year, at least 1.5–3.4 million tons of Japanese anchovy were present in the survey area
between 2004 and 2007. To take account of the spatial coverage of the survey each year, the most reliablebiomass estimate for this region in the time period was 3.4 million tons (coefficient of variation 0.22).

26

SC/F16/JR19 examined estimation of prey species biomass based on 2008 and 2009 JARPNII acoustic surveys
around the Sanriku region. The survey was conducted concurrently with a sampling survey of common minke
whales. Five stratified blocks were surveyed. Zigzag tracklines were set in the blocks. A trawler type RV,
Takuyo-maru, conducted the survey. Acoustic data were recorded continuously along tracklines by a quantitativeecho sounder. Samplings using a midwater trawl net were conducted to identify species and size compositions of
acoustic backscatterings. Vertical oceanographic conditions were recorded by using a CTD. Subsurface
oceanographic conditions were recorded continuously along tracklines. The total biomass estimation of sandlance adult were 8,076t, sand lance juvenile were 1,237t, Japanese anchovy were 0.18t in block B and C in 2008,
respectively. The total biomass estimation of sand lance adult were 2,512t, sand lance juvenile were 315t,
Japanese anchovy were 0.64t in block B and C in 2009, respectively. It was not possible to evaluate any trend insand lance and Japanese anchovy abundance with just two surveys conducted in small areas. However sand lance
and Japanese anchovy estimates were used to compare sand lance and Japanese anchovy consumption by large
whales and as input data for the development of ecosystem models for this area.
Prey preference of whales
Objective 1, Sub-objective 7:
To investigate the prey preference of whales in offshore areas, using JARPNII data and samples.
SC/F16/JR20 examined habitat and prey selection of common minke, sei, and Bryde’s whales in mesoscale
during summer in the subarctic and transition regions of the western North Pacific. The characteristics of the
distribution areas and stomach contents of them in relation to oceanographic and prey environments in summer.
Common minke whales were distributed within subarctic regions and the northernmost region of the transitional
domain, coinciding with the main habitat of the preferred prey, Pacific saury. Sei whales were mainly found in
the northernmost part of the transition zone and showed prey preference for Japanese anchovy, which wassignificantly more abundant in the main distribution area of the whale than in its adjacent areas. ‘‘Hot spot’’ ofBryde’s whales were found in several regions of the transition zone between the subarctic boundary and theKuroshio front. This whale species preferred Japanese anchovy as prey, for which the distribution area the whale
than in the adjacent areas. These results indicate that the summer distributions of Pacific saury and Japanese
anchovy greatly influence the distributions of these whale species, suggesting that the whale’s habitat selection isclosely related to their prey selection.
SC/F16/JR21 examined the prey selection of common minke and Bryde’s whales in the western North Pacific in
2000 and 2001. Whale sighting and sampling surveys and prey surveys using quantitative echosounder and midwater trawl were carried out concurrently in the study. Biomasses of Japanese anchovy, walleye pollock and krill,which were major prey species of common minke and Bryde’s whales, were estimated using an echosounder.
The results suggested that common minke whale showed prey selection for Japanese anchovy while they seemed
to avoid krill in both the offshore and coastal regions and walleye pollock in the continental shelf region.
Selection for shoaling pelagic fish was similar to that in the eastern North Atlantic. Bryde’s whale showed
selection for Japanese anchovy in August 2000 and July 2001, while it showed prey selection for krill in May
and June in 2001.
SC/F16/JR22 examined Prey preferences of common minke, Bryde’s and sei whales in offshore component of
JARPNII from 2002 to 2007 using data from the concurrent surveys of cetacean sampling and prey of cetaceans.
The surveys were conducted as a part of the offshore component of JARPN II from 2002 to 2007. A prey
preference index, Manly’s α, was used in the analysis. The sum of Manly’s α for all prey species is 1 and preyspecies with large values of Manly’s α indicates preference for it. Minke whales showed preference towardpelagic fishes as previously reported. Bryde’s whales showed preference for anchovy. Sei whales showed
preference for copepods. Although the prey of three baleen whale species overlapped, Manly’s α suggested theirtrophic niches were different from each other. Minke and sei whales coexisted in same survey blocks but theirprey utilization patterns were different.
Feeding habit of whales
Objective 1, Sub-objective 8:
To investigate feeding habit of baleen and toothed whale species in the research area, and theenvironmental factors involved in determining such habits.
SC/F16/JR23 examined the feeding ecology and its decadal change in common minke, sei and Bryde’s whales in
the western North Pacific. Stomach contents from sei, Bryde’s and common minke whales in May-October27

during 2000-2013 off the Pacific coast of Japan were examined. Stomach contents analysis showed that the threewhale species are highly dependent on small pelagic fish, i.e. Japanese anchovy, Pacific saury and mackerels in
addition to copepods and euphausiids. The trend of food compositions in the three baleen whales differ amongwhale species and sei whale showed drastic change of pelagic fish from the main prey Japanese anchovy in early
2000s to mackerels and Japanese sardine. This synchronized with the catch record of pacific stocks in Japanesefishery. The change of prey composition is preferable for sei whale from the results of increase in body condition
trend. Copepods and euphausiids are also important prey species for sei whales and steadily available in the
blooming period. Bryde’s whale has more simple prey composition with Anchovy and euphausiids as main preyspecies and the composition of two main prey species are highly variable among years and no remarkable change
since 2000-2013. Food composition in common minke whale at offshore (east of 150°E) showed anchovy andsaury are the majority species but the composition differ among years. Among three whale species, sei whale
distributes at the most widely in latitude through Kuroshio extension to north of subarctic front feeding at thevariety of prey species in the JARPNII study area where abundant pelagic fish carried by Kuroshio-current andNeocalanus copepods in booming season are available. The change of food composition in sei whale likely tochange the water temperature it occurs and its school size.
SC/F16/JR24 examined the relationship between maturity and feeding habit of common minke whales in the
coastal region off Kushiro. A total of seven dominant preys, including one species of krill (Pacific krill), one ofsquids (Japanese common squid) and five of fishes (Japanese anchovy, Japanese sardine, chub mackerel, Pacificsaury and walleye Pollock) were identified in 589 stomachs of minke whales. Differences in feeding habits
between immature and mature whales in the coastal waters off Kushiro in autumn suggested previously, could be
confirmed. These results suggested that migration and prey preference of common minke whales in the coastal
waters off Kushiro in autumn possibly differed with their maturity stage. Feeding strategy of common minke
whales might change to adapt the local environments. Differences can be explained by the trade-offs of cost of
foraging activity for prey and/or energy demands between immature and mature whales.
SC/F16/JR25 examined the feeding behaviour of sei whale observed in JARPNII. Diving behaviour of sei
whales and vertical distribution of their prey were recorded simultaneously in 2013 JARPN II to study theirfeeding behaviour at micro scale. This was the first attempt of this kind of observation targeting on this species.
Small acoustic time depth transmitters (pingers) were attached to two sei whales and their behaviors wererecorded for 10.2 and 32.0 hours, respectively. Vertical distributions and densities (volume backscatteringstrength, SV) of their prey were recorded by an echosounder following swimming path of the individuals. The
diving behaviour deeper than 10 m was classified into two shapes (U-shape, V-shape). It was assumed that Ushape was related to feeding behaviour, especially lung feeding, while V-shape was related to other behaviour.
Sei whales showed diel patterns in mean diving depth (day: 19 ± 14 m, 16 ± 10 m, night: 12 ± 5 m, 10 ± 5 m).
Dense scattering layers (presumably zooplankton) were observed around 40 m during the daytime, and theymigrated closer to the surface in the evening. Diving depth of the whales followed the changes in the scattering
layers (i.e. diving depth was same as depth of scattering layers). U-shape diving was associated with higher SV
values than V-shape diving in daytime. Frequency of U-shape diving increased around dusk. The results
suggested that sei whales frequently lunged to prey around dusk. First-Passage Time (FPT) of sei whales as anindicator of foraging was calculated using the cruise track as a proxy of horizontal movement of taggedindividuals. Large FPT can be considered as foraging behaviour. PPT were increased around dusk which wascorresponding to increase in U-shape diving. Combining these results, it could be said sei whales actively fed on
prey around dusk. Swimming depth of the whales was shallower than 10m after sunset while deep scattering
layers (presumably myctophids) were migrated from below 60 m to around 30 m. The results might indicate thatthey did not fed on prey in deep scattering layers at night. However, it could not preclude a possibility that sei
whales fed on prey near surface in night because data on behaviour and prey distribution near surface could notrecorded by the acoustic devices (pinger and echosounder) used in the study. The results of this study revealed
that sei whales changed their diving behaviour in response to availability of their prey in daytime.
SC/F16/JR26 examined the feeding habits of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in the western North
Pacific in spring and summer. The 56 stomach contents of fifty six sperm whales examined from May to
September of the years 2000 to 2013. A total of 49 undigested and half-digested prey items were found,including 28 species of cephalopods and six species of fish. The Index of Relative Importance (IRI) showed that
Belonella borealis and Histioteuthis spp. were the dominant prey in the Subarctic Region, while B. borealis andGaliteuthis phyllura were the dominant prey in the Transitional Domain. B. borealis and Taningia danae were
the dominant prey in the Northern part of the Transition Zone, while T. danae and Histioteuthis spp. were thedominant prey in the Southern part of the Transition Zone. In the Kuroshio Zone, T. danae and Octopoteuthis
spp. were the dominant preys. The composition of prey items changed in relation to transitional change between
north and south. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) indicated that environmental and biological factors

28

significantly contributed to the prey composition of sperm whales. This study demonstrated that sperm whales
moved along waters with different oceanographic conditions, feeding on a variety of prey species. Larger whales
tend to feed at offshore waters. This flexibility and different size distribution in sperm whale seems to beimportant to maintain large body size and large abundance in the western North Pacific. The commercially
important Neon flying squid O. bartrami was not an important prey of sperm whales in spring and summer.
Body condition indicators of whales
Objective 1, Sub-objective 9:
To investigate the yearly trend in body condition indicators of baleen whales using JARPNII data andsamples.
SC/F16/JR27 examined the annual trend in energy storage in sei, Bryde’s and common minke whales during the
JARPN II period. Regression analyses showed that blubber thickness in sei whales have been increasing during
the JARPN II period. The increase per year is estimated at approximately 0.1 cm for mid-lateral blubber
thickness. “Body length” and “Date” were included in the best model at 5% level, while no year effects were
included in the best model for other blubber thickness and girth measurements. The blubber thickness for midlateral probably be most sensitive for detecting energy storage. In Bryde’s and minke whales, no significant
trends have been observed in the regression analyses. This increase trend of body condition indicators and therecent change of prey composition suggest food availability has been changed to a favorable for sei whale in the
study area.
Ecosystem modelling
Objective 1, Sub-objective 10:
To develop several ecosystem models, in both coastal and offshore areas, using JARPNII data and samples
as input. Output of the models are likely to provide information on i) the ecosystem structure, ii) effects ofprey availability and consumption on the population dynamics of common and sei whales withconsideration of levels of energy intakes, iii) predation impacts of common minke whales consumption on
sandlance stock off Sanriku.
SC/F16/JR28 exercised ecosystem modelling in the western North Pacific from 1994 to2013 using Ecopath with
Ecosim (EwE). Firstly, Ecopath in 2013 is constructed as available data for the modelling is relative rich.
Ecopath in 1994 is then constructed based on the model in 2013. Finally, Ecosim is constructed based on
Ecopath in 1994 using available time series data from 1994 to 2013. Regime of the period is relative stable incomparison with the past. A series of pre-balance diagnostics, “PREBAL” (Link, 2010) is conducted for both the2013 and 1994 models to evaluate the initial satanic energy budget of Ecopath. An ecosystem network analysis
indicator, mixed trophic impact (MTI) is used to assess the positive or negative effect of changes in the biomassof a species/group on the biomass of the other species/groups in the steady state ecosystem. Order of Trophic
level (TL) of baleen whales is as follows (from high to low): common minke (4.1), Bryde’s (3.9), sei (3.7),
humpback (3.5), fin (3.3) and blue (3.2) whales. These species are in intermediate TL in the ecosystem. MTIs
suggested that changes in biomass of forage fish impact most of species/groups from low to high trophic levels.
Baleen whales impact forage fish negatively but the magnitude is weak. The Ecosim model with forced biomass
trends of 4 forage fish species (Japanese sardine and anchovy, and chub and spotted mackerels) having 10
predator and prey search blocks attain the lowest AIC. Estimated trends of biomasses and total mortality byusing the model are reasonably fitted to input time series data especially for cetaceans targeted by JARPNII.
Overall results appear to be reasonable but it is still preliminary largely because of incompleteness of input data.
Following are points to be improved in the further excises: (1) consistency of spatial resolution of input data, (2)development of regional models within our EwE area, (3) collection of diet composition data in regular interval,(4) resolution and quality of data on non-commercial and lower trophic level species and (5) evaluation of thesensitivity of Ecopath models to input data.
SC/F16/JR29 conducted a statistical analysis to assess predation impacts of the common minke whales on thesand lance population off Sanriku region. A state-space delay-difference model, which is a two-stage population
dynamics model with a stock-recruitment relationship, was used for the sand lance population to employ two
independent time series indices for the juvenile and mature population sizes as well as catch and agecomposition data. Predation impacts on the sand lance were assessed through minke whales’ consumption
expressed as a functional response. To take into account several stochastic flexibilities such as process errors, aBayesian method was used to estimate the parameters and latent variables in the model. The results showed that29

the predation by the common minke whales accounts for a certain proportion of the current adult biomass for thesand lance population although the level of proportion is sensitive to the model assumption.
Objective 2: Monitoring Environmental Pollutant in Cetacean and the Marine Ecosystemi) Pattern of accumulation of pollutants in cetaceans and ii) Bioaccumulation process of pollutants through thefood chain
Objective 2, Sub-objective 1:
To investigate pattern of accumulation of pollutants in cetaceans and their food items.
SC/F16/JR30 examined the yearly changes of total Hg of common minke whales from sub-areas 7 (period 19962012), 8 (period 1996-2009), 9 (period 1994-2013), off Kushiro (period 2002-2014) and off Sanriku (period
2003-2014), sei whales from sub-area 9 (period 2002-2014) and Bryde’s whales from sub-areas 8 and 9 (period
2002-2013). The multiple regression analysis was carried out. The data included adjustment for confounders,sampling years, sampling longitude, latitude, sampling date, body length, blubber thickness and main preyspecies. No significant correlations with sampling years were observed in almost all whales, while significant
correlations with sampling year and main food item were observed in minke whales from sub-areas 7 and 9 andsei whales from sub-area 9. It is indicated that yearly changes of total Hg in latter would could be effected bychanges of their play species. The result was suggested that background levels of total Hg stabilized in thewestern North Pacific during 1994-2014.
SC/F16/JR31 examined the yearly changes of PCBs of common minke whales from sub-areas 7 (period 20022012), 8 (period 2002-2009), 9 (period 2002-2013), off Kushiro (period 2002-2014) and off Sanriku (period
2003-2014) from the western North Pacific. The multiple regression analysis was carried out. Data included
adjustment for confounders, sampling years, sampling longitude, latitude, sampling date, body length, blubber
thickness and main prey species. No significant correlations between with year and food items were observed in
all areas. It is suggested that PCB levels in minke whales from the western North Pacific stabilized during 20022014.
SC/F16/JR32 examined the patterns of PCB congeners, DDT isomers, HCH isomers, HCB and CHL isomers inthe blubber of 5 mature males of each of common minke, sei and Bryde’s whales taken from the western North
Pacific in 2012. For comparison, those compounds were also determined in the blubber of 5 mature males ofAntarctic minke whales taken from Antarctic Area V in 2010/11. Concentrations of PCBs were highest amongorganochlorines in the whales from the western North Pacific, whereas they were lower than concentrations of
HCB, DDTs and CHLs in Antarctic minke whales from the Antarctic Ocean. Principal Component Analysis
showed differences of trophic level and habitat of PCB congener profiles in the whales. Over 4 chlorinatedchlorobiphenyl (CB) congeners in the studied whales contributed to the difference of trophic levels, and the CB32, 16 and 25 contributed to the geographical difference. The main component isomers from pesticide products
originating in DDTs and HCHs were comparatively lower, and those originating in CHLs were not detected in
the whales from the western North Pacific. These results suggest that in the western North Pacific, a great deal oftime would have passed from the release of DDTs, HCHs and CHLs into the environment.
SC/F16/JR33 examined differences of total Hg concentrations in muscle and liver of J- and O-stocks of common
minke whales from the waters off Sanriku. Concentrations of total Hg in muscle and liver of 35 O- and 24 Jstock immature minke whales taken in the 2012 and 2013 JARPN II surveys were measured. Multiple linear
regression analyses of total Hg concentrations of the whales were carried out. These included adjustment for
confounders, age index, sex, stock, blubber thickness and year. Stock had no discernible effect. These findings
suggest that there is no stock-dependent difference of total Hg exposure risk for the minke whales from off
Sanriku.
SC/F16/JR34 examined the pollutants status of sperm whales in the western North Pacific. Total Hg, PCBs,
DDTs, HCHs, HCB and CHLs were determined in samples of sperm whales in the period 2001-2013. Mean
concentrations of total Hg in muscle of sperm whales in the periods 2001-2005 and 2011-2013 were 1.9 and 1.5(ppm wet wt.), respectively. No significant difference was observed in their total Hg levels between the two
periods. Mean concentrations of PCBs, DDTs, HCHs, HCB and CHLs in blubber samples in 2012 were 1.9, 0.74,
0.040, 0.077 and 0.65 (µg/g fat wt.), respectively. Levels of total Hg in muscle samples of sperm whales in thepresent study were slightly lower than those from Ayukawa, Japan in 1978 and 1979, and from the southern
North Sea in 1994 and 1995. Levels of organochlorines, except for CHLs, in sperm whales from the western
North Pacific were similar or lower than those in sperm whales from the middle latitudes of the northern30hemisphere nearby human activity. In addition, there is no evidence that levels of total Hg in muscle of sperm
whales increased in the period of 1970s to 2000s.
Objective 2, Sub-objective 2:
To investigate bioaccumulation process of pollutants through the food chain.
SC/F16/JR30 examined the yearly changes of total Hg of common minke whales from sub-areas 7, 8, 9, off
Kushiro and off Sanriku, sei whales from sub-area 9 and Bryde’s whales from sub-areas 8 and 9. The multiple
regression analysis was carried out. Data included adjustment for confounders, sampling years, sampling
longitude, latitude, sampling date, body length, blubber thickness and main prey species. No significant
correlations between total Hg and sampling years were observed in almost all whales except for minke whales
from sub-areas 7 and 9 and sei whales from sub-area 9. Total Hg levels in minke whales from sub-areas 7 and 9
and sei whales from sub-area 9 were simultaneously correlated with main food items. These findings suggest thatyearly changes of total Hg in common minke whales from the western North Pacific could be effected bychanges of their play species.
SC/F16/JR31 examined the yearly changes of PCBs of common minke whales from sub-area 7, 8, 9, off Kushiro
and off Sanriku from the western North Pacific. The multiple regression analysis was carried out. Data included
adjustment for confounders, sampling years, sampling longitude, latitude, sampling date, body length, blubber
thickness and main prey species. No significant correlations between with year and main prey species wereobserved in all areas, while significant correlations with body length, blubber thickness and sampling date.
Therefore, total Hg levels in baleen whales would be easily received with the influences of the changes of fooditems, than the PCBs levels. The difference between total Hg and PCBs could be attributed to their persistency inwhale body.
iii) Relationship between chemical pollutants and cetacean healthObjective 2, Sub-objective 3:
To investigate the relationship between chemical pollutants and cetacean health.
SC/F16/JR35 examined the health risk of radioisotopes (RIs) for the large whales from the western North Pacific.
From 11 March 2011 onward, RIs were released to the marine environment from the Nuclear Power Plant inFukushima following an earthquake and tsunami. To assess the presence of these RIs in the large whales fromthe western North Pacific, the I131, Cs134 and Cs137 levels in muscle samples of 53 common minke, 16
Bryde’s, 32 sei and 3 sperm whales from JARPN II surveys were measured in the period of JARPN II (20112015). I131 was not detected in muscle samples of all large whales, except for two minke whales from off
Kushiro in 2012. Ranges of Cs134 + Cs137 concentrations in minke, sei, Bryde’s and sperm whales were ND-31,
ND-9.8, ND-7.1 and ND-0.59 Bq/kg wet wt., respectively. The radioisotope levels in all whales examined havebeen decreasing since 2011, and were also extremely lower than the radiation safety threshold for humans.
Therefore, risk of acute toxicity levels for I131, Cs134 and Cs137 would be extremely low in the large whales
from the western North Pacific.
SC/F16/JR36 examined the effects of OCs on the transcriptome in the common minke whale of the JARPN II
samples. A hepatic oligo array of this species where 985 unique oligo nucleotides were spotted and further
analyzed the relationship between the OC levels and gene expression profiles of liver tissues. The stepwise
multiple linear regression analysis identified 32 genes that correlated with hepatic OC levels. The mRNA
expression levels of seven cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes, CYP1A1, 1A2, 2C78, 2E1, 3A72, 4A35, and 4V6
showed no clear correlations with the concentration of each OC, suggesting that the accumulated OCs in the liver
did not reach levels that could alter CYP expression.
SC/F16/JR37 examined variations in the amino acid residues of the V region of 19 toothed and 7 baleen whale
species, covering almost all cetacean genera. Three‐dimensional (3D) models of them were generated in ahomology model using the crystal structure of the marmoset signaling lymphocyte activation molecule andmeasles virus H protein complex as a template. Among the cetacean species studied, variations were found at sixof the residues. Bottlenose and striped dolphins have substitutions at five positions (E68G, I74V, R90H, V126I,
and Q130H) compared with those of baleen whales. Three residues (at positions 68, 90 and 130) were found toalternate electric charges, possibly causing changes in affinity for the virus. This study shows a new approachbased on receptor structure for assessing potential vulnerability to viral infection. This method may be useful forassessing the risk of morbillivirus infection in wildlife.

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Objective 3: Stock structure of large whalesi) Common minke whale
Objective 3, Sub-objective 1:
Monitoring of the spatial and temporal distribution of J stock on both west and east coasts of Japan using
genetics and non-genetics approaches, and all sources of samples available e.g. JARPN, JARPNII and bycatches.
SC/F16/JR38 examined a total of 4,275 western North Pacific common minke whales were examined with a setof 16 microsatellite DNA loci and the program STRUCTURE to assign individual to either J or O stocks.
Samples were available from JARPN/JARPNII (1994-2014; n= 2,637)), and by-catches (2001-2014; n= 1,638),
from different management sub-areas (SA) around Japan. Results of the Bayesian clustering analysis confirmedthat the whales came from two genetically differentiated stocks, J and O stocks. The number of unassigned
individuals (‘unknown’) decreased with the increase in the number of microsatellite loci used, and they were
widely distributed. By using 16 loci, more than 90% of the individual whales were assigned to either stocks.
Almost all of the individuals collected from the Sea of Japan side (SA6 and SA10E) belonged to the J Stock,whereas almost all of the individuals from the offshore North Pacific (east of SA7WR) belonged to the O stock.
Intermediate areas (SA7CN, 7CS and SA11) contained individuals from both stocks. The SA2 was mainly
occupied by the J stock. In SA2 the J stock was predominant (around 80% in proportion) around the year. In
SA7CS and SA7CN the proportion of the J stock increase in autumn/winter and decrease in spring/summer. A
phylogenetic tree of mtDNA haplotypes showed several clades but none supported by high bootstrap values.
There was no stock-specific clade although most of the individuals assigned to the J stock shared a same clade.
Most of the individuals assigned to the O stocks share clades where the J stock individuals were less frequent.
The unknown samples were widely distributed through the clades.
SC/F16/JR39 focused on the unique white patch on the flipper of the common minke whale to differentiate
between J and O stocks. Animals collected from JARPNII research during 2012 and 2013 were used; assignmentof individual whales to the O and J stocks was based on microsatellite analysis (n = 220). The morphologicaldifferences in the size and pattern of the white patch on the flipper of each whale was examined. The length of
the white patch along the anterior (ventral) margin of the flipper tends to be proportionally larger in O stock
animals. The pattern of the boundary area of the white patch named as the “Grayish Accessary Layer (GAL)”
was remarkably different between stocks. Of the total animals with “no GAL” type, 94% were J stock.
Conversely, of the total animals with GAL expanding over the half the flipper width, 98% were O stock. It is
concluded that there were clear morphological differences in the body color pattern of the flipper between J andO stocks.
Objective 3, Sub-objective 2:
Using genetic and non-genetic data from JARPN and JARPN II, investigate whether or not the subdivision of the O stock into Ow and Oe is plausible. The genetic analysis should include those approaches
mentioned as providing support for the existence of the Ow (e.g. PCA analyses).
SC/F16/JR40 examined the genetic population structure of ‘O’ stock common minke whale in the western North
Pacific based on mitochondrial DNA control region sequencing (487bp) and microsatellite DNA (16 loci).
Samples used in the tests of homogeneity were obtained during the surveys of the JARPN and JARPNII in subareas of the Pacific side of Japan between 1994 and 2014 (n= 2,071 for microsatellite; n= 2,070 for mtDNA).
Whales were assigned to the ‘O’ stock by the analysis of STRUCTURE presented in SC/F16/JR39. Tests basedon both genetic markers and different grouping of the samples showed no evidence of sub-structuring in the ‘O’stock common minke whale in the Pacific side of Japan. A simulation exercise showed that the statistical powerof the homogeneity test was high. In addition, a Discriminant Analysis of Principal Components (DAPC) basedon the total samples used in SC/F16/JR38 showed clear differentiation between J and O stock whales but noevidence of sub-structuring within the O stock samples. Consequently the results of this study suggested a low
plausibility for the hypothesis of sub-division of the O stock common minke whale into Ow and Oe.
SC/F16/JR41 examined stock structure of western North Pacific common minke whales by using externalmeasurement data collected during 1994 and 2014 JARPN and JARPNII surveys. Most of the analyses
conducted followed recommendations from the 2009 JARPNII review workshop. External measurements ofmature males were first compared between O and J stock animals assigned by the microsatellite DNA analysis.
Then, only O stock animals were compared among sub-areas. The analytical procedures used were the Analysis
of Covariance (ANCOVA) and Discriminant Analysis (DA). Significant differences were detected between O

32and J stock whales. J stock animals had longer head region compared to O stock animals. No significant
differences were detected in O stock animals among sub-areas. The results of the present study provided noevidences for sub-structuring of the O stock into Ow and Oe as proposed in one of the hypotheses used in the
RMP Implementation, as common minke whales from coastal and offshore sub-areas did not differ inmorphometric characters.
SC/F16/JR42 described an experiment on satellite tracking conducted on common minke whales in the Pacificside of Japan, specifically in coastal water off Hokkaido in autumn 2010. Using a handy air gun, a satellite tag(Argos transmitter) was attached on one common minke whale on 13 September (estimated body size: 7.8m).
The movement of the whale was tracked for a period of 27 days. The whale stayed in the coastal waters off
Kushiro, for at least four weeks in the autumn season. The JARPNII review workshop in 2009 had recommended
satellite tracking experiments on the whale species studied, as a long-term task. This study started such
experiments in the common minke whale. Further satellite tracking experiments have the potential to elucidate
whether or not a coastal-resident stock of common minke whale occur in waters off Hokkaido (OW) as
proposed by one of the current stock structure hypotheses.
In SC/F16/JR43 the catch-at-age data for minke whales in the western North Pacific provided by
the JARPN/JARPNII were used to refine existing RMP ISTs in a simple way, so as to investigate
the relative plausibility of the single- and two stock hypotheses for the O stock whales in the
Pacific side of Japan. While the single stock scenario seems consistent with these age data, it isdifficult to reconcile the two stock hypothesis (Ow and Oe) with them because of the relative
absence of particularly younger whales in a supposedly separate discrete Oe stock. The analysis
demonstrated the importance for management purposes of obtaining age data for the common
minke whales in the western North Pacific, which in turn necessitates lethal sampling. Such age
data need to be incorporated in the conditioning of revised RMP ISTs for common minke whales inthis region.
ii) Bryde’s whale
Objective 3, Sub-objective 3:
To investigate the plausibility of i) stock sub-division within Sub-area 1 as proposed under Hypothesis 4,
and ii) sub-division between Sub-areas 1 and 2 as proposed under Hypotheses 2 and 3, using all genetic
samples available from different source till 2014, and different genetic markers included satellite tracking.
SC/F16/JR44 examined a total of 1,019 and 1,026 samples of North Pacific Bryde’s whales with microsatellite
DNA (17 loci) and mitochondrial DNA sequencing (299bp), respectively, to examine the plausibility of four
stock structure hypotheses used by the IWC SC during the 2007 RMP Implementation. Samples were fromdifferent sources: JARPNII (catches), Japanese dedicated sighting surveys (biopsy); IWC/POWER surveys(biopsy) and past commercial whaling (catches). No significant genetic heterogeneity was found between theWestern and Eastern Sectors of sub-area 1, a result supported by high statistical power. However both genetic
markers showed significant differences (for males, females and sexes combined) between sub-areas 1 and 2.
Phylogenetic analysis of mtDNA haplotypes revealed no subarea-specific clades. It is proposed that alongitudinal sector around 180° could represent a hard boundary or a transition area where the two stocks mix.
Based on these results, it is suggested that the plausibility of the stock structure hypotheses for western North
Pacific Bryde’s whale used in the 2007 Implementation whale should be re-examined. The results of this study
suggest that the two-stock hypotheses (Hypotheses 2 and 3) could be more plausible than the one-stock
hypothesis (Hypothesis 1) and the three-stock hypothesis (Hypothesis 4).
SC/F16/JR45 reported the movement of two individual Bryde’s whales using satellite-monitored radio tags inoffshore waters of the western North Pacific (sub-area 1). One whale was recorded for 13 days 4 hours 57
minutes from 13 to 26 July 2006. The other whale was recorded for 20 days 5 hours 5 minutes from 24 July to 13
August 2008. It has been documented that the subarctic-subtropical transition area (around 40°S) is one of thefeeding areas of Bryde’s whales in summer. However, the results of this study revealed that some Bryde’s
whales move from the subarctic-subtropical transition area to the sub-tropical area even in summer. This study
provided the first information on continuous movement of Bryde’s whales in the offshore western North Pacificin summer. The JARPNII review workshop in 2009 had recommended satellite tracking experiments on thewhale species studied, as a long-term task. This study started such experiments in the Bryde’s whale. Further
satellite tracking experiments have the potential compliment the genetic studies on stock structure in sub-areas 1
and 2.

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iii) Sei whale
Objective 3, Sub-objective 4:
To investigate the plausibility of a single stock of sei whale in the pelagic regions of the North Pacific(‘North Pacific pelagic’), using all genetic samples available from different sources till 2014, and different
genetic markers.
SC/F16/JR46 examined genetically a total of 1,554 sei whales with mtDNA control region sequencing (487bp)
and microsatellite DNA (17 loci) to investigate population genetic structure of this species in the North Pacific.
Samples were available from different sources, JARPNII (catches) (2002-2014), POWER (biopsy) (2010-2012)and past commercial (catches) (1972-73). For the heterogeneity test two longitudinal sectors were defined in the
North Pacific: Western and Eastern at 180°, which covered this ocean basin widely from approximately 145°E to
135°W. No significant spatial genetic heterogeneity was found by the two genetic markers. A phylogenetic treeof 82 mtDNA haplotypes showed several clusters, but none was supported by high bootstrap values. Whales
from both Western and Eastern sectors were widely distributed through the clusters. Taken as a whole, thegenetic information in this study is consistent with the view that the oceanic regions of the North Pacific is
occupied by a single stock of sei whale.
SC/F16/JR47 used microsatellite DNA markers to analyze samples of sei whales collected widely from the North
Pacific at the same time of the year in order to test spatial genetic heterogeneity in this ocean basin. Although wehave been reporting results of the genetic studies on the North Pacific sei whales to previous IWC/SC meetings,
this study is the first to utilize temporally similar (collected at the same year), yet geographically very different,
samples (covered west-end to east-end of the North Pacific). This study used samples collected from thenorthwestern (JARPNII), northcentral (POWER), and northeastern (POWER) areas of the North Pacific in thesame summer seasons in 2010, 2011 and 2012. No evidences of significant genetic differences between thesamples from JARPNII and POWER in each of the three years were found. Each yearly sample was then
combined as JARPNII as well as POWER samples, respectively. No significant genetic differences weredetected between these two samples. We used genotypic profiles of each whale in the POWER biopsy samples tofind any cases of matching to the individuals in the JARPNII samples, no matching was found at all. In
conclusion, this study failed to demonstrate evidence of multiple stocks of sei whales in the North Pacific.
SC/F16/JR48 presented a review of past studies on sei whales in order to describe stock structure hypotheses forthe species in the North Pacific. A number of evidence obtained from different kinds of the analyses using markrecapture, sighting, catch history, and genetic data shed light on patterns of distribution and migration of the sei
whales, facilitating the hypothesis development. The mark-recapture data indicated that whales from the same
breeding area distribute widely in the feeding area over almost the entire North Pacific. Although historical catch
data from commercial whaling era had shown heterogeneous distribution of the sei whales, genetic evidence
indicated no temporal and spatial genetic differences among the whales obtained from the entire North Pacific.
The heterogeneous catch distribution appeared to reflect non-random operations of the commercial whaling aswell as patchy distribution of their prey species. Overall, based on the series of the available evidence we
propose a single stock hypothesis for sei whales in the North Pacific.
iv) Other species and analyses
Sperm whale
SC/F16/JR49 examined genetic variation at 15 microsatellite DNA loci and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
control region sequences (338bp) in sperm whales collected during JARPNII from 2000 to 2013 in order toexamine the effectiveness of these genetic markers for studies of stock structure in this species. Analyses of
mtDNA and microsatellite markers in a total of 56 sperm whales (16 males; 40 females) confirmed that thesegenetic markers were variable enough to explore stock structure of sperm whales. The overall heterozygosity
over 15 loci was 0.730 while the nucleotide and haplotype diversity were 0.0038 and 0.7188, respectively.
Statistical tests found no evidence of deviation from the expected Hardy-Weinberg genotypic proportion at all of
the 15 microsatellite loci. At this point, no signal of multiple stocks of sperm whale in the western North Pacificoff Japan was detected.
North Pacific right whale
SC/F16/JR50 examined genetic variation at 14 microsatellite DNA loci and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
control region sequences (275bp) in right whales from the western North Pacific and Antarctic Area IV. Genetic
analyses were based on biopsy samples collected during the surveys of the JARPNII in 2011 and 2012 (n=15),
and JARPAII in 1993/94-2009/10 (n=67). The overall heterozygosity was 0.630 and 0.650 for North Pacific and34southern right whales, respectively, while the nucleotide diversity/haplotype diversity were 0.0222/0.9048 and0.0234/0.7743, respectively. Statistical tests found no evidence of deviation from the expected Hardy-Weinberg
genotypic proportion in each of the oceanic basins. The Kimura’s two parameter net interpopulational distance
was 0.0358 (mtDNA) while the Nei’s genetic distance (Da) was 0.7582 (microsatellite DNA), between North
Pacific and southern right whale. A phylogenetic tree separated mtDNA haplotypes of the North Pacific, North
Atlantic and southern right whales.
Mismatch distribution
SC/F16/JR51 examined the distribution of the number of nucleotide substitutions between all pairs of individuals
within western North Pacific O and J stock common minke, Bryde’s, sei and right whales, to investigate whether
the pattern of distribution is indicative of exponential population growth (in evolutionary terms), and thus of nonequilibrium. According to Slatkin and Hudson (1991), unimodality of the frequency distribution is indicative of
exponential population growth, and this pattern was found in the O stock common minke and sei whales. In
contrast multimode pattern in the frequency distribution was found in the J stock common, Bryde’s and rightwhales, which is inconsistent with exponential population expansion.
Other results
SC/F16/JR52 examined the feasibility of a new technique of incorporating gelatin in order to collect earplugs forage assessment of common minke whale. Frozen sectioning and histology of the earplug core were also used as
methods to improve age estimation. Earplugs were collected by filling the space in the external auditory meatus
with gelatin, hardening the gelatin, earplug and its fragments, by spraying with cooling gas, and removing theearplug embedded in gelatin. In 174 trials with common minke whales in the western North Pacific of coastal
waters of Japan in 2007–2009, it was revealed that embedding earplugs with gelatin minimized breakage andprotected the neonatal line (NL). This method was particularly effective in younger animals. As a result, thereadability was improved. The histological sections were also examined. The sections were sliced using the
Kawamoto specialized frozen sectioning technique, and stained them separately with toluidine blue,
haematoxylin and eosin, Sudan III, Sudan VII, and alizarin red Sto display a clearer core surface image of thegrowth layers. The histological sections stained with alizarin red S provided the clearest images, in which bothdark and pale laminations, could be easily identified. This suggested a close relationship with the seasonalchanges in calcium intake from feeding. Earlier age estimation methods focused on fat content in the growthlayers; however, we found potential for an improvement in the readability of unclear growth layers when
focusing on calcium.
SC/F16/JR53 examined age reading from the earplugs in the common minke whale from the western North
Pacific. Under JARPN and JARPNII surveys, all earplugs of common minke whales were carefully collected andeffort was made to read growth layers. This study provided basic information of earplug readability and age
composition of North Pacific common minke whales collected from 1994 to 2013. Age readability was 45.2%
and 41.2% for males and females, respectively. Readability of mature animals (49.2% for male and 59.0% forfemale) was higher than immature animals (35.4% for male and 34.7% for female) in both sexes. From interreader calibration experiment, the age reading outcomes of two readers appeared similar. Differences wereobserved in body length and age distribution of common minke whales between coastal and offshore areas.
Whales of less than five years old were dominant in the coastal area. On the other hand, males of more than six
years old were dominant in the offshore area. Result of age distribution supported the segregation of common
minke whales by sex and maturity status in western North Pacific, as suggested previously.
SC/F16/JR54 reviewed the changes made in JARPNII design following the ICJ Judgment. The overall research
objectives, the research area and research methodology remained the same as those specified in the original
JARPNII research plan. The voluntary review resulted in the reprioritization of research focus as well as
recalculation of sample sizes. The survey concentrated on the study of interactions between whales and fisheries
in the coastal area and interactions among whale species in the offshore area as well as a contribution to the
management of whales. Sampling of sperm and common minke whales in the offshore component of JARPNII
was suspended because their role in the study focus seemed to be limited. Sei whale sample size of 100 (as in theoriginal plan) of which 10 were studied using only non-lethal methods. Bryde’s whale sample size of 50 (as in
the original plan) of which 25 were studied using only non-lethal methods. A study for verifying the feasibility of
non-lethal methods, such as biopsy sampling and feces collection, for the objectives of JARPNII has been carriedout during 2014 to 2016 JARPNII surveys.
SC/F16/JR55 reported the progress of age determination of sei whales collected during 2002 to 2013 JARPNII
surveys, based on earplugs reading. Earplugs were collected carefully from all whales sampled and laboratory
work was carried out to count growth layers. Readability of sexually-immature sei whale earplugs was 52.8% for35males and 49.2% for females. Readability of mature animal was higher than immature, 71.0% and 64.5% formales and females, respectively. Readability of all samples was 63.0%. Studies on spatial and temporalsegregation, feeding ecology and population dynamics of western North Pacific sei whales will be conducted in
the future, based on age data.
4.3 Integration of results and considerations for future research
Figures 2, 3 and 4 showed a schematic representation of the research components under Objectives 1, 2 and 3 of
JARPNII, respectively. Results of each component (and sub-objectives) were summarized in sections 4.1 and 4.2.
In this section an integration of those components is attempted in the context of i) whale management under the
RMP, and ii) ecosystem and multi-species management.
As noted earlier, responses to the original scientific questions on ecosystem can derive from both research
conducted under individual components as well from the outputs from the ecosystem models under Objective 1.
Integration among components is important to understand and summarize the achievements of JARPNII in thecontext of conservation and management of fisheries resources including whales and ecosystem in the western
North Pacific, and to identify what need to be achieved in the future.
Whale management under the RMP
The main target species for the studies on stock structure under the JARPNII were the common minke, Bryde’s
and sei whales. Common minke and Bryde’s whales are species on which the RMP ISTs have been applied while
the sei whale is still under the in-depth assessment started recently by the IWC SC. Sei whale is a target species
for applying the RMP ISTs in the near future. Description of stock structure is a key piece of information for theapplication of the RMP to calculate a catch limit for future commercial whaling.
Other key pieces of information for the application of the RMP is abundance and the productivity of the stock(MSYR). JARPNII conducted systematic sighting surveys for the aim of abundance estimates. On the other handageing based on earplugs reading has proved useful in the case of the common minke and sei whale (seeSC/F16/JR53 and SC/F16/JR55, respectively). This means that biological parameters useful for the RMP
Implementation such as MSYR could be estimated in the near future. Ideally, abundance and biologicalparameters should be estimated on a stock by stock basis.
There are two main areas for integration in the context of information relevant for the RMP:i)

Dynamics of the stocks

For management purposes it is important to monitor the spatial and temporal changes in the distribution of thestocks, and the reasons involved. In cases of multiple stocks, for example the case of the common minke (J andO stocks) and Bryde’s (sub-areas 1 and 2), it is also important to monitor their interactions through the time.
One of the possible mechanisms for the isolation of stocks is the fidelity to feeding and breeding areas. Under
this perspective it make sense to study the dynamics of stocks in conjunction with the dynamics of their preyspecies, and the oceanographic process involved. While under JARPNII plausible hypotheses on stock structure
in large whale have been proposed, a delineation of a process to monitor the dynamics of the stocks through thetime in the context of environmental variables has not been feasible yet. Such information would be valuable inevaluating sub-areas and formulating catch scenarios under the RMP.
For such aim an integration among Objective 1, Sub-objectives 1-2 (oceanography, distribution) and Objective 3,
Sub-objectives 1-3 (stock structure) is required.
ii) Estimation of abundance and biological parameters on a stock basis
The abundance estimates of large whales presented at this workshop have been made on a sub-area basis. This isbecause the main reason for such estimates has been to provide information on the number of whales in subareas for the estimation of whale’s prey consumption. For assessment and management purposes what is
important is the estimation of abundance and trend on a stock basis, not on a sub-area basis.
Some assessments of common minke, Bryde’s and sei whales have been carried out in the past considering
plausible stock structure hypothesis, mainly in the context of the analyses on the effects on the stocks. In the
future, however, assessments should be carried out considering the more plausible hypotheses on stock structureof the main three baleen whale species, as concluded under the JARPNII research. Future sighting surveys

36

should be planned in accordance with what has been learnt on the geographical and temporal distribution ofstocks under JARPNII.
Development of ageing techniques in common minke and sei whale allows for the estimation of biologicalparameters useful for assessment, on a stock by stock basis for those species. For example estimation of
biological parameters including MSYR, could be attempted separately for J and O stocks in the near future. In
the case of the Bryde’s whale, the ageing technique should be further developed so that suitable age information
can be obtained for this species as well. If so, the estimation of biological parameters should be carried out on thebasis of the two stocks identified by the JARPNII research. Such kind of refined assessment for North Pacificbaleen whales will reduce the uncertainty in some key parameters used in the RMP Implementation.
For such aim an integration among Objective 1, Sub-objectives 3 (whale abundance), research on biologicalparameters (see section 4.2-Others), and Objective 3, Sub-objectives 1-3 (stock structure) is required.
It should be noted that the RMP is a single-species management procedure. Output from the ecosystem modelingwork has the potential to incorporate the effects arising from the inter-species interaction into the RMP, such as
possible changes in carrying capacity for whale species in the western North Pacific, which is not considered in
the RMP currently. This is a new area for integration of results from JARPNII, and is closely related to themarine ecosystem and multi-species management.
The above would require an integration among Objective 1, Sub-objectives 10 (ecosystem modelling), and subobjectives related to the RMP, e.g. research on biological parameters (see section 4.2-Others), and Objective 3,
Sub-objectives 1-3 (stock structure).
Ecosystem and multi-species management
Suggestions from the 2009 review workshop
There are several suggestions for integration of research components from the 2009 JARPNII review workshop.
Progress on the integration work is reported here.
The 2009 workshop made some suggestions for integration as following:‘To combine the oceanographic data, prey distribution and sighting survey data statistically to investigate how
prey and whale distributions are associated with oceanographic conditions, and how whale distributions are
related to distribution of prey’ (IWC, 2010 409pp).
‘To combine data on prey distributions as observed in the area where the whales were caught with the diet of thewhales (referred to as the micro scale) statistically to evaluate how well the whale diet reflects prey availability
in the area where it was caught’ (IWC, 2010 409pp).
‘In the long term, to more fully understand the preferred habitat, prey preferences, niche separation of different
species, functional responses, and spatial and temporal trends in local abundance and other biological factors(such as blubber thickness, pollutants, presence of scars, and stock structure), the oceanographic data collectedon the cruises (bottom depth, water column temperature, salinity, and density) and satellite derived data such as
SST, chlorophyll, and sea surface height be integrated into future analyses’ (IWC, 2010 409pp).
The analyses above were recommended as medium to long term. The recommendation was addressed to someextent in published documents (SC/F16/20-21), a document presented to the 2009 review workshop(SC/J09/JR18) and documents presented to this workshop (SC/F16/JR7, SC/F16/JR16 and SC/F16/JR27). All
these studies but JR7, J16 and JR27 were conducted at the mesoscale.
The works above involved the integration among several sub-objectives of objective 1.
Integrations relevant to ecosystem multi-species management
The main outputs on whale feeding habits and prey consumption studies under the JARPNII were on thefollowing topics: i) trend of prey compositions in three baleen whale species; ii) prey consumption by whales
with improved level of statistical precision; and iii) prey preference of cetaceans using integrated approach.
To further advance those researches, integration of different components is necessary.

37

In the case of i) trend in prey composition analysis, an integration between the information of oceanography(Objective 1, Sub-objective 1), prey abundance (Objective 1, Sub-objective 6), distribution and feeding habit ofwhales (Objective 1, Sub-objectives 2, 8), is necessary. Such integration has been already attempted in previous
studies, but this kind of integrative analyses require long-term surveys considering the regime shift (decadal
period).
In the case of ii) prey consumption by whales with improved level of statistical precision, an integration between
the analyses of prey consumed (Objective 1, Sub-objective 4) with the number of whales distributed in the
research area (Objective 1, Sub-objective 3), is necessary. In particular more coordination is required for thesurveys on whale stomach contents and sighting for abundance estimation.
In the case of iii) prey preference, further integration between the information on oceanography (Objective 1,
Sub-objective 1), prey abundance (Objective 1, Sub-objective 6), distribution (Objective 1, Sub-objective 2) andfeeding habit (Objective 1, Sub-objective 8) of whales is also necessary. This requires long-term micro-scale dataobtained by concurrent prey and whale sighting/sampling surveys in the future.
Regarding modelling, firstly it should be clarified that the development of ecosystem models is not a final goal of
JARPNII. What is important is the output of the ecosystem models and how the output can assist in the
management of the marine living resources in the western North Pacific ecosystem.
The output of the ecosystem models developed under the JARPNII have contributed to understand i) the
ecosystem structure, and ii) the predation impacts of common minke whales consumption on sand lance stock inthe coastal area off Sanriku.
In the long term, to fully understand the above issues, spatial and temporal trends in local abundance and feeding
habit in each whale and prey species, and other biological factors of whales (such as sex and sexual maturity
status, population dynamics of whales and stock structure information), fisheries data (fishing catch, fishingground, mortality and productivity of fishes), oceanographic data (water temperature and salinity) and satellite
derived data such as SST, chlorophyll, and sea surface height should be integrated more rigorously in futurestudies.
Ecosystem modelling using Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) presented to this meeting (Objective 1, Sub-objective10) addressed spatial heterogeneity and temporal biomass dynamics in some extent but the results were not
perfect. Spatial resolution considered in the model was coarse (only 3 blocks were considered). Spatial modelingof such distribution and prey consumption of whales (Objective 1, Sub-objective 4) should be integrated todevelop more detailed ecosystem models. Integration or coupling with other ecosystem models such asindividual based ecosystem models (Okunishi et al., 2012) and SEAPODYM (Lehodey et al., 2011) developedaround Japan should also be considered for further work.
Results of Basin scale EwE model in the western North Pacific were presented to this meeting. This kind of
exercise has its own merit to understand the overall structure of the large marine ecosystem (LME). However, it
might overlook small scale ecological interactions. Outputs of a regional model in the southern part of coastal
Oyashio (Yonezaki et al., 2015) were used in the present study. Development of regional ecosystem models inother areas such as in coastal Kuroshio area and northern part of coastal Oyashio area (e.g. off Kushiro) is
required to understand the details. These regional ecosystem models will be served as sub-blocks of theecosystem model at the LME scale. Time series fitting from 1994 to 2013 was attempted in the EwE model
presented to this meeting. However, ecological drivers of regime shift (Objective 1, Sub-objective 8) in thewestern North Pacific could not be tested as it appeared that the regime in that period was relatively stable(Objective 1, Sub-objective 1). Such examination can be done by using past data and the results would be useful.
However, preparation of appropriate data (e.g. biomass and diet compositions) is difficult. Continuation ofcollection of data for ecosystem models are important to investigate causes of such ecological changes.
Monitoring of ecosystem is a basis for management of fisheries resources and it is the main concept of JARPNII.
Although JARPNII will be terminated as a program, similar researches should be continued as a routine offisheries surveys, in an integrated manner.
The ecosystem model has been proved to be a useful approach to examine the impact on the sandlance byconsumption of common minke whales (Objective 1, Sub-objective 10). The consumption by common minke
whales should be taken into account for the fishery management of Japanese sandlance off Sanriku region. On
the other hand, the complexity of the Kushiro region (different prey species involved, decadal changes in preycomposition, several fisheries involved) was revealed by several researches under JARPNII. This complexity

38

precluded to use of ecosystem modeling in this region. For fisheries management in Kushiro region, ecosystemmodel should be developed to incorporate such complexity in the future. Integration of information from several
sub-objectives of objective 1 will be required for such development.
A different kind of MRM-type ecosystem model is being developed for offshore waters of the western North
Pacific. It is an age-structured population model aimed to evaluate the effects of prey availability andconsumption on the population dynamics of common minke and sei whales with a consideration of levels ofenergy steps. This model is being developed in conjunction with progress made on the earplug-based ageing
technique for those species (SC/F16/JR53, 55).
5. SUMMARY RESPONSE TO RELEVANT TOR OF THE JARPNII REVIEW WORKSHOPSPECIFIED IN ANNEX P
Assess the extent of the programme’s scientific output, and whether this is appropriate in light of thestated research objectives and the time elapsed
Scientific outputs of JARPNII were summarized under items 4.1 and 4.2. These outputs were directly related(and summarized) to the main objectives and sub-objectives of JARPNII. Documents SC/F16/JR5-29 addressed
the sub-objectives of main objective 1. Documents SC/F16/JR30-37 addressed the sub-objectives of main
objective 2, and Documents SC/F16/JR38-49 addressed the sub-objectives of main objective 3. Apart from these,
there were some published papers addressing these objectives as well (see Annex 1).
Assess the degree to which the programme coordinated or continues to coordinate its activities withrelated research projects
Research activities under the JARPNII were coordinate (and continue being coordinated) with several research
institutions that carry out similar investigations. Figures 9-12 are diagrams showing the coordination andcollaboration among research institutions with regard the research conducted by JARPNII under the main threeobjectives as well as other research not directly related to those objectives.

Figure 9. Coordination and collaboration among research institutions related to objective 1 of JARPNII.

39

Figure 10. Coordination and collaboration among research institutions related to objective 2 of JARPNII.

Figure 11. Coordination and collaboration among research institutions related to objective 3 of JARPNII.

40

Figure 12. Coordination and collaboration among research institutions related to other research needs.
Evaluate how well the initial, or revised, objectives of the research have been met, and for broad categories
of objectives 1 and 2, include the extent to which results have led to demonstrated improvements in theconservation and management of whales
Based on the results summarized under items 4.1 and 4.2 it is considered that the main objectives and subobjectives have been met to a reasonable extent. This means that the main original questions under each main
objectives have been responded to a reasonable extent. As it is natural in science, scientific results by JARPNII
brought new scientific questions. The aspects not fully addressed under JARPNII and the new emerging
scientific questions should be addressed in future.
JARPNII research conducted under main objective 1 is relevant for assisting the development of management
policy of fisheries resources based on ecosystem consideration. One example of this is the output from theecosystem modeling work related to an assessment of the interaction of common minke whale and a fisheryresource, the sandlance.
JARPNII research conducted under main objective 2 is relevant for management as any decreasing trend inwhale stock could be related to negative health effect on whales by environmental pollutants, and JARPNII has
evaluated such possibility.
JARPNII research conducted under main objective 3 is relevant for the development of RMP ISTs in the case of
the common minke and Bryde’s whale, and for the in-depth assessment of North Pacific sei whale being
conducted by the IWC SC. In the near future, information on stock structure can assist the development of RMP
ISTs for North Pacific sei whale.
Evaluate other contributions to important research and information needs that were not part of theoriginal set of objectives of the research program
Important information on ageing techniques in the North Pacific common minke and sei whales was obtained
through JARPNII research.
Biopsy sampling of the North Pacific right whales enabled the study of the level of genetic diversity in thisendangered species.
Genetic samples from common minke whales obtained during the JARPNII have contributed to international
collaborative studies on movement and hybridization among minke whale species and sub-species (Annex 1).
A number of published studies on physiology, reproductive biology and phylogeny of baleen whales wereconducted based on JARPNII samples and data (Annex 1).

41

6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank scientists and crew members that participated in the JARPN and JARPNII field surveys as well those
involved in laboratory and analytical work under these challenging research programs. They made possible theattainment of a very comprehensive data/sample sets as well of a substantial amount of new information onwhales and the ecosystem in the western North Pacific. We also thank H. Moronuki and N. Okazoe (Fisheries
Agency of Japan) for useful comments offered during the writing of this paper.
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43Annex 1
List of documents for the JARPN II Review Workshop
Primary documents
Framework and methodology documents
SC/F16/JR1. Tamura, T., Kishiro, T., Bando, T., Yasunaga, G., Murase, H., Kitakado, T and Pastene, L.A. The
Japanese Whale Research Program under Special Permit in the western North Pacific Phase-II (JARPN II):
results and conclusions in the context of the three main objectives, and scientific considerations for future
research.
SC/F16/JR2. Matsuoka, K., Hakamada, T. And Miyashita, T. Methodology and procedure of the dedicatedsighting surveys in JARPN II (2008-2013) - Offshore component -.
SC/F16/JR3. Kishiro, T., Yoshida, H., Yasunaga, G., Bando, T., Mogoe, T. and Kato, H. Methodology and survey
procedure under the JARPN II – coastal component of Sanriku and Kushiro-, during 2008 to 2014, withspecial emphasis on whale sampling procedures.
SC/F16/JR4. Bando, T., Yasunaga, G., Tamura, T., Matsuoka, K., Murase, H., Kishiro, T. and Miyashita, T.
Methodology and survey procedures under the JARPN II - offshore component- during 2008 to 2014 withspecial emphasis on whale sampling procedures.
Objective 1: Feeding ecology and ecosystem studies
Oceanographic conditions
SC/F16/JR5. Okazaki, M., Masujima, M., Murase, H. and Morinaga, K. Oceanographic conditions in the
JARPNII survey area from 2000 to 2013 using FRA-ROMS data.
SC/F16/JR6. Okazaki, M., Masujima, M., Murase, H. and Morinaga, K. Oceanographic conditions in the survey
area of JARPNII coastal component off Kushiro in September from 2000 to 2013 using FRA-ROMS data.
Distribution and abundance of whales
SC/F16/JR7. Murase, H., Hakamada, T., Sasaki, H., Matsuoka, K. and Kitakado, T. Seasonal spatial distributionsof common minke, sei and Bryde’s whales in the JARPNII survey area from 2002 to 2013.
SC/F16/JR8. Murase, H., Hakamada, T., Matsuoka, K., Nishiwaki, S., Inagake, D., Okazaki, M., Toji, N. andKitakado, T. Distribution of sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis) in the subarctic-sub-tropical transition area of
the western North Pacific in relation to oceanic fronts. Deep-Sea Research II 107: 22-28, 2014.
SC/F16/JR9. Matsuoka, K., Hakamada, T. and Miyashita, T. Distribution of blue (Balaenoptera musculus), fin (B.
physalus), humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) and north Pacific right (Eubalaena japonica) whales in thewestern North Pacific based on JARPN and JARPN II surveys (1994 to 2014).
SC/F16/JR10. Sasaki, H., Murase, H., Kiwada, H., Matsuoka, K., Mitani, Y. and Saitoh, S. Habitat differentiation
between sei (Balaenoptera borealis) and Bryde’s whales (B. brydei) in the western North Pacific. Fish.
Oceanogr. 22 (6): 496-508, 2013.
SC/F16/JR11. Hakamada, T. Matsuoka, K., Kishiro, T. and Miyashita, T. The number of western North Pacificcommon minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) distributed in JARPNII coastal survey areas.
SC/F16/JR12. Hakamada, T. and Matsuoka, K. The number of western North Pacific common minke, Bryde’s
and sei whales distributed in JARPNII offshore survey area.
SC/F16/JR13. Hakamada, T. and Matsuoka, K. The number of blue, fin, humpback, North Pacific right whales in
the western North Pacific in the JARPN II offshore survey area.
SC/F16/JR14. Hakamada, T. and Matsuoka, K. The number of sperm whales in the western North Pacific in the
JARPN II offshore survey area.

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Prey consumption by whales
SC/F16/JR15. Tamura, T., Konishi, K. and Isoda, T. Updated estimation of prey consumption by sei, Bryde’s andcommon minke whales in the western North Pacific.
SC/F16/JR16. Tamura, T., Murase, H., Sasaki, H. and Kitakado, T. Preliminary attempt of spatial estimation of
prey consumption by sei whales in the JARPNII survey area using data obtained from 2002 to 2013.
Impact of prey consumption by whales on fisheries resources
SC/F16/JR17. Tamura, T., Kishiro, T., Yoshida, H., Konishi, K., Yasunaga, G., Bando, T., Saeki, M., Onodera, K.,
Mitsuhashi, M., Yamashita, Y., Funamoto, T. and Kato, H. Updated prey consumption by common minke
whales and interaction with fisheries in coastal areas.
Biomass estimation of whale’s prey species
SC/F16/JR18. Murase, H., Kawabata, A., Kubota, H., Nakagami, M., Amakasu, K., Abe, K., Miyashita, K. andOozeki, Y. Basin-scale distribution pattern and biomass estimation of Japanese anchovy Engraulis japonicas
in the western North Pacific. Fish. Sci. 78: 761-773, 2012.
SC/F16/JR19. Wada, A., Onodera, K., Saeki, M. and Tamura, T. Estimation of prey species biomass in the
Sanriku region based on 2008 and 2009 JARPNII acoustic surveys.
Prey preference
SC/F16/JR20. Watanabe, H., Okazaki, M., Tamura, T., Konishi, K., Inagake, D., Bando, T., Kiwada, H. andMiyashita, T. Habitat and prey selection of common minke, sei, and Bryde’s whales in mesoscale during
summer in the subarctic and transition regions of the western North Pacific. Fish. Sci. 78:557-67, 2012.
SC/F16/JR21. Murase, H., Tamura, T., Kiwada, H., Fujise, Y., Watanabe, H., Ohizumi, H., Yonezaki, S.,
Okamura, H. and Kawahara, S. Prey selection of common minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and Bryde’s(Balaenoptera edeni) whales in the western North Pacific in 2000 and 2001. Fish. Oceanogr. 16 (2): 186-201,
2007.
SC/F16/JR22. Murase, H., Tamura, T., Isoda, T., Okamoto, R., Yonezaki, S., Watanabe, H., Matsukura, R.,
Miyashita, K., Kiwada, H., Matsuoka, K., Nishiwaki, S., Inagake, D., Okazaki, M., Okamura, H., Fujise, Y.
and Kawahara, S. Prey preferences of common minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), Bryde’s (B. edeni) andsei (B. borealis) whales in offshore component of JARPNII from 2002 to 2007. Document SC/J09/JR18.
Feeding habit of whales
SC/F16/JR23. Konishi, K. Isoda, T. and Tamura, T. Decadal change of feeding ecology in sei, Bryde’s andcommon minke whales in the offshore of the Western North Pacific.
SC/F16/JR24. Tamura, T., Kishiro, T., Yoshida, H., Konishi, K. and Kato, H. Relationship between feeding habit
and maturity status of common minke whale off Kushiro.
SC/F16/JR25. Ishii, M., Murase, H., Fukuda, Y., Sawada, K., Sasakura, T., Tamura, T., Bando, T., Matsuoka, K.,
Shinohara, A., Nakatsuka, S., Katsumata, N., Miyashita, K. and Mitani, Y. A short note on feeding behavior ofsei whales observed in JARPNII.
SC/F16/JR26. Isoda, T., Tamura, T., Konishi, K., Ohizumi, H. and Kubodera, T. Feeding habits of sperm whale(Physeter macrocephalus) in the western North Pacific in spring and summer.
Body condition indicators of whales
SC/F16/JR27. Konishi, K. Analyses of body condition in sei, Bryde’s and common minke whales in the western
North Pacific with JARPN and JARPNII dataset.
Ecosystem modeling
SC/F16/JR28. Murase, H., Tamura, T., Hakamada, T., Watari, S., Okazaki, M., Kiyofuji, H., Yonezaki, S. And

45

Kitakado, T. Ecosystem modelling in the western North Pacific from 1994 to2013 using Ecopath with
Ecosim (EwE): some preliminary results.
SC/F16/JR29. Kitakado, T., Murase, H., Tamura, T. Predation impacts on sand lance population by consumptionof common minke whales off Sanriku region.
Objective 2: Monitoring environmental pollutants in cetaceans and the marine ecosystemi) Pattern of accumulation of pollutants in cetaceans and ii) Bioaccumulation process of pollutants through thefood chain
SC/F16/JR30. Yasunaga, G. and Fujise, Y. Temporal trend of Total Hg levels in three baleen whale species basedon JARPNII data for the period 1994-2014.
SC/F16/JR31. Yasunaga, G. and Fujise, Y. Yasunaga, G. and Fujise, Y. Temporal trend of PCB levels in common
minke whales from the western North Pacific for the period 2002-2014.
SC/F16/JR32. Yasunaga, G. and Fujise, Y. Accumulation features of POPs of baleen whales in the western North
Pacific based on samples collected during the 2012 JARPNII survey.
SC/F16/JR33. Yasunaga, G. and Fujise, Y. Comparison of total Hg levels in O and J type stock of common minke
whales based on JARPN II coastal samples collected in 2012 and 2013.
SC/F16/JR34. Yasunaga, G. and Fujise, Y. A note on POPs and Hg accumulation in sperm whale based on
JARPNII samples collected during 2001-2013.
iii) Relationship between chemical pollutants and cetacean health
SC/F16/JR35. Yasunaga, G. and Fujise, Y. Status of I131, Cs134 and Cs137 in baleen and sperm whales from thewestern North Pacific during 2011-2015.
SC/F16/JR36. Niimi, S., Imoto, M., Kunisue, T, Watanabe, M.X., Kim, E., Nakayama, K., Yasunaga, G., Fujise,Y., Tanabe, S. and Iwada, H. Effects of persistent organochlorine exposure on the liver transcriptome of thecommon minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) from the North Pacific. Ecotoxicology andEnvironmental Safety 108: 95-105, 2014.
SC/F16/JR37. Shimizu, Y., Ohishi, K., Suzuki, R., Tajima, Y., Yamada, T., Kakizoe, Y., Bando, T., Fujise, Y.,
Taru, H., Murayama, T. and Maruyama, T. Amino acid sequence variations of signaling lymphocyte
activation molecule and mortality caused by morbillivirus infection in cetaceans. Microbiol. Immunol.
57:624-32., 2013.
Objective 3: Stock structure of large whalesi) Common minke whale
SC/F16/JR38. Pastene, L.A., Goto, M., Taguchi, M. and Kitakado, T. Temporal and spatial distribution of the ‘J’and ‘O’ stocks of common minke whale in waters around Japan based on microsatellite DNA.
SC/F16/JR39. Nakamura, G., Kadowaki, I., Nagatsuka, S., Hayashi, R., Kanda, N., Goto, M., Pastene, L.A and
Kato, H. Morphological differences in the white patch on the flipper between J and O stocks of the North
Pacific common minke whale.
SC/F16/JR40. Pastene, L.A., Goto, M., Taguchi, M. and Kitakado, T. Updated genetic analyses based on
mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA indicated no sub-structure of the ‘O’ stock common minke whale in
the western North Pacific.
SC/F16/JR41. Bando, T. and Hakamada, T. Morphometric analysis on stock structure of the ‘O’ stock common
minke whale in the western North Pacific.
SC/F16/JR42. Kishiro, T. and Miyashita, T. Satellite tracking of a common minke whale in the coastal waters off
Hokkaido, northern Japan in 2010. Document SC/63/RMP10. 10pp. 2011.

46

SC/F16/JR43. Kitakado, T. and Maeda, H. Fitting to catch-at-age data for North Pacific common minke whalesin the Pacific side of Japan.
ii) Bryde’s whale
SC/F16/JR44. Pastene, L.A., Goto, M., Taguchi, M. and Kitakado, T. Updated genetic analyses based on mtDNA
and microsatellite DNA suggest possible stock differentiation of Bryde’s whales between management subareas 1 and 2 in the North Pacific.
SC/F16/JR45. Murase, H., Tamura, T., Otani, S. and Nishiwaki, S. Satellite tracking of Bryde’s whales
Balaenoptera edeni in the offshore western North Pacific in summer 2006 and 2008. Fish. Sci. (in press).
iii) Sei whale
SC/F16/JR46. Pastene, L.A., Goto, M., Taguchi, M. and Kitakado, T. Genetic analyses based on mtDNA control
region sequencing and microsatellite DNA confirmed the occurrence of a single stock of sei whales inoceanic regions of the North Pacific.
SC/F16/JR47. Kanda, N., Matsuoka, K., Goto, M. and Pastene, L.A. Genetic study on JARPNII and IWCPOWER samples of sei whales collected widely from the North Pacific at the same time of the year.
Document SC/66a/IA8. 8pp. 2015.
SC/F16/JR48. Kanda, N., Bando, T., Matsuoka, K., Murase, H., Kishiro, T., Pastene, L.A. and Ohsumi, S. A
review of the genetic and non-genetic information provides support for a hypothesis of a single stock of sei
whales in the North Pacific. SC/66a/IA9. 17pp. 2015.
iv) Other species and analyses
SC/F16/JR49. Pastene, L.A., Goto, M., Taguchi, M. and Kitakado, T. A note on the genetic diversity of sperm
whales in the western North Pacific as revealed by mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA.
SC/F16/JR50. Pastene, L.A., Goto, M., Taguchi, M., Nishiwaki, S. and Kitakado, T. A note on the genetic
diversity and phylogeny of western North Pacific and southern right whales based on mitochondrial andmicrosatellite DNA.
SC/F16/JR51. Pastene, L.A., Goto, M. and Kitakado, T. A note on mismatch distributions of mtDNA control
region sequences in baleen whales from the western North Pacific.
OthersSC/F16/JR52. Maeda, H., Kawamoto, T. and Kato, H. A study on the improvement of age estimation in common
minke whales using the method of gelatinized extraction of earplug. NAMMCO Scientific Publication 10:
17pp, 2013.
SC/F16/JR53. Maeda, H., Bando, T., Kishiro, T., Kitakado, T. and Kato, H. Basic information of earplugs as age
character of common minke whales in western North Pacific.
SC/F16/JR54. Fisheries of Agency. Japan’s voluntary considerations and response to the ICJ judgement inrelation to the adjustment of JARPNII program during the period from 2014 to 2016.
SC/F16/JR55. Bando, T., Maeda, H., Ishikawa, Y., Kishiro, T. and Kato, H. Preliminary report on progress inearplug-based age determination of sei whales collected during 2002 to 2013 JARPNII survey.

47

For information documents
Objective 1: Feeding ecology and ecosystem studies
1. Konishi, K., Tamura T., Isoda, T. Okamoto, R., Hakamada, T., Kiwada, H. and Matsuoka, K. 2009. Feeding
strategies and prey consumption of three baleen whale species within the Kushiro-Current Extension.
Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science 42: 27-40.
2. Matsukura, R., Yasuma, H., Murase, H., Yonezaki, S., Funamoto, T., Honda, S. and Miyashita, K. 2009.
Measurements of density contrast and sound-speed contrast for target strength estimation of Neocalanus
copepods (Neocalanus cristatus) in the North Pacific Ocean. Fish. Sci. 75: 1377-87.
3. Murase, H., Ichihara, M., Yasuma, H., Watanabe, H., Yonezaki, S., Nagashima, H., Kawahara, S. andMiyashita, T. 2009. Acoustic characterization of biological backscatterings in the Kuroshio-Oyashio interfrontal zone and subarctic waters of the western North Pacific in spring. Fisheries Oceanography 18(6):386-401.
4. Murase, H., Nagashima, H., Yonezaki, S., Matsukura, R. And Kitakado, T. 2009. Application of a generalized
additive model (GAM) to reveal relationships between environmental factors and distributions of pelagic
fish and krill: a case study in Sendai Bay, Japan. ICES Journal of Marine Science 66(6): 1417-24.
5. Tojo, N., Matsukura, R., Yasuma, H., Yonezaki, S., Watanabe, H., Kawahara, S., Murase, H., and Miyashita,
K. 2010. Spatial analysis of isada krill (Euphausia pacifica) distribution in frontal environments in the
North Pacific Ocean. GIS/spatial analyses in fisheries and aquatic science. 4th. International Fishery GISSociety 115-38.
6. Murase, H., Kawabata, A., Kubota, H., Nakagami, M., Amakasu, K., Abe, K., Miyashita, K. and Oozeki, Y.
2011. Effect of depth-dependent target strength on biomass estimation of Japanese anchovy. Mar. Sci.
Technol. 19: 267-72.
7. Matukura, R., Sawada, K., Abe, K., Minami, K., Nagashima, H., Yonezaki, S., Murase, H., Miyashita, K.
2013. Comparision of measurements and model calculations of target strength of juvenile sandeel in Sendai
Bay. Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi 79: 638-48 (in Japanese with English abstract).

Objective 2: Monitoring environmental pollutants in cetaceans and the marine ecosystem
8. Ohishi, K., Zenitani, R., Bando, T., Goto, Y., Uchida, K., Maruyama, T., Yamamoto, S., Miyazaki, N. andFujise, Y. 2003. Pathological and serological evidence of Brucella-infection in baleen whales (Mysticeti) in
the western North Pacific. Comp. Immunol. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 26(2):125-36.
9. Ohishi, K., Takishita, K., Kawato, M., Zenitani, R, Bando, T., Fujise, Y., Goto, Y., Yamamoto, S. andMaruyama, T. 2005. Chimeric structure of omp2 of Brucella from Pacific common minke whales(Balaenoptera acutorostrata). Microbiol. Immunol. 49(8):789-93.
10. Niimi, S., Watanabe, M.X., Kim, E.-Y., Iwata, H., Yasunaga, G., Fujise, Y. and Tanabe, S. 2005. Molecularcloning and mRNA expression of cytochrome P4501A1 and 1A2 in the liver of common minke whales(Balaenoptera acutorostrata). Mar. Pollut. Bull. 51(8-12):784-93.
11. Niimi S., Kim E.-Y., Iwata, H., Watanabe, M.X., Yasunaga, G., Fujise, Y. and Tanabe, S. 2007.
Identification and hepatic expression profiles of cytochrome P450 1-4 isozymes in common minke whales(Balaenoptera acutorostrata). Comp. Biochem. Physiol. B Biochem. Mol. Biol. 147(4):667-81.
12. Ohishi, K., Fujise, Y. and Maruyama, T. 2008. Brucella spp. in the western North Pacific and Antarctic
cetaceans: a review. J. Cetacean Res. Manage. 10(1): 67-72.
13. Shishido, R., Ohishi, K., Suzuki, R., Takishita, K., Ohtsu, D., Okutsu, K., Tokutake, K., Katsumata, E.,
Bando, T., Fujise, Y., Murayama, T. and Maruyama, T. 2010. Cetacean Toll-like receptor 4 and myeloid
differentiation factor 2, and possible cetacean-specific responses against Gram-negative bacteria.
Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 33(6): 89-98.

48

Objective 3: Stock structure of large whales
14. Kanda, N., Goto, M., Kato, H., McPhee, M.V. and Pastene, L.A. 2007. Population genetic structure of
Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera brydei) at the inter-oceanic and trans-equatorial levels. Conservation
Genetics 8:853-864.
15. Kanda, N., Goto, M., Kishiro, T., Yoshida, H., Kato, H., and Pastene, L.A. 2009. Update of the analyses on
individual identification and mixing of the J and O stocks around Japanese waters examined by
microsatellite analysis. Paper SC/61/JR5 presented to IWC Scientific Committee May 2009 (unpublished).
14pp.
16. Kanda, N., Park, J.Y., Goto, M., An, Y.R., Choi, S.G., Moon, D.Y., Kishiro, T., Yoshida, H., Kato, H. andPastene, L.A. 2010. Genetic analyses of western North Pacific minke whales from Korea and Japan basedon microsatellite DNA. Paper SC/62/NPM11 presented to the IWC Scientific Committee, May 2010
(unpublished). 13pp.
17. Kanda, N., Goto, M., Oikawa, H. and Pastene, L.A. 2014. Update of note on sampling and laboratory
procedure protocols of the genetic work at the Institute of Cetacean Research (SC/F14/J27rev). Paper
SC/65b/DNA1 presented to the IWC Scientific Committee, May 2014 (unpublished). 6pp.

Others
18. Sasaki, T., Nikaido, M., Hamilton, H., Goto, M., Kato, H., Kanda, N., Pastene, L.A., Cao, Y., Fordyce, R.E.,
Hasegawa, M. and Okada, N. 2005. Mitochondrial Phylogenetics and Evolution of Mysticete Whales.
Systematic Biology 54(1): 77-90.
19. Kanda, N., Goto, M. and Pastene, L.A. 2006. Genetic characteristics of western North Pacific sei whales,
Balaenoptera borealis, as revealed by microsatellites. Marine Biotechnology 8:86-93.
20. Nikaido, M., Hamilton, H., Makino, H., Sasaki, T., Takahashi, K., Goto, M., Kanda, N., Pastene, L.A. andOkada, N. 2006. Baleen whale phylogeny and a past extensive radiation event revealed by SINE insertion
analysis. Mol. Biol. Evol. 23 (5):866-873.
21. Pastene, L.A., Goto, M., Kanda, N., Zerbini, A.N., Kerem, D., Watanabe, K., Bessho, Y., Hasegawa, M.,
Nielsen, R., Larsen, F. and Palsboll, P.J. 2007. Radiation and speciation of pelagic organisms during periodsof global warming: the case of the common minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata. Molecular Ecology
16 (7): 1481-1495.
22. Bhuiyan, M.M.U., Suzuki, Y., Watanabe, H., Hirayama, H., Matsuoka, K., Fujise, Y., Ishikawa, H., Ohsumi,
S. and Fukui, Y. 2008. Attempts at in vitro fertilization and culture of in vitro matured oocytes in sei(Balaenoptera borealis) and Bryde's (B. edeni) whales. Zygote 16: DOI 10.1017/S0967199408004887.
23. Birukawa, N., Ando, H., Goto, M., Kanda, N., Pastene, L.A. and Urano, A. 2008. Molecular cloning of urea
transporters from the kidneys of baleen and toothed whales. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. Part B 149: 227-35.
24. Hiwasa, M., Suzuki, Y., Watanabe, H., Bhuiyan, M.M.U., Matsuoka, K., Fujise, Y., Ishikawa, H., Ohsumi, S.
and Fukui, Y. 2009. Effects of semen extenders and storage temperatures on characteristics of frozenthawed Bryde’s (Balaenoptera edeni) whale spermatozoa. J. Reprod. Dev. 55: 599-606.
25. Lee, E., Bhuiyan, M.M.U., Watanabe, H., Matsuoka, K., Fujise, Y., Ishikawa, H. and Fukui. Y. 2009.
Production of cloned sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) embryos by interspecies somatic cell nuclear
transfer using enucleated pig oocytes. J. Vet. Sci. 10(4): 285-92.
26. Tsuki, K., Sato, A., Kaneko, H., Yasunaga, G., Fujise, Y. and Nomata, H. 2009. Comparison ofphysiologically significant imidazole dipeptides in cetaceans sampled in Japanese Whale research (shortpaper). Sci. Rep. Hokkaido Fish. Exp. Stn. 74: 25-8.

4927. Pastene, L.A., Acevedo, J., Goto, M., Zerbini, A.N., Acuna, P. and Aguayo-Lobo, A. 2010. Population
structure and possible migratory links of common minke whales, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, in theSouthern Hemisphere. Conserv. Genet. 11:1553-1558.
28. Glover, K.A., Kanda, N., Haug, T., Pastene, L.A., Oien, N., Goto, M., Seliussen, B.B. and Skaug, H.J. 2010.
Migration of Antarctic minke whales to the Arctic. PlosOne 5 (12):29. Bhuiyan, M.M.U., Suzuki, Y., Watanabe, H., Lee, E., Hirayama, H., Matsuoka, K., Fujise, Y., Ishikawa, H.,
Ohsumi, S. and Fukui, Y. 2010. Production of Sei Whale (Balaenoptera borealis) Cloned Embryos byInter- and Intra-Species Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. J. Reprod. Dev. 56: 131-9.
30. Suzuki, Y., Umatani, M., Bhuiyan, M.M.U., Watanabe, H., Mogoe, T., Matsuoka, K., Fujise, Y., Ishikawa,
H., Ohsumi, S., Sasaki, M. and Fukui, Y. 2010. Effects of equilibration steps, type of sugars and addition ofwhale follicular fluid on viability and in vitro maturation of vitrified whale oocytes. Japanese Journal of
Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. 15(2): 65-72.
31. Maeda, H.and Kato, H. 2012. Technical improvements of the age character (earplug) collections in common
minke whales. Bull. Jpn. Soc. Fish. Oceanogr. 76(2): 59-65. (in Japanese with English abstract).
32. Nakamura, G., Kato, H. and Fujise, Y. 2012. Relative Growth of the Skull of the Common Minke Whale
Balaenoptera acutorostrata from the North Pacific in Comparison to Other Balaenoptera Species. Mammal
Study 37(2): 105-112.
33. Glover, K.A., Kanda, N., Haug, T., Pastene, L.A., Oien, N., Seliusen, B.B., Sorvik, A.G.E. and Skaug, H.J.
2013. Hybrids between common and Antarctic minke whales are fertile and can back-cross. BMC Genetics
14:25.
34. Inoue, S., Kishiro, T., Fujise, Y., Nakamura, G. and Kato, H. 2014. Seasonal changes in the testis of theNorth Pacific common minke whale. Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi 80 (2): 185-90 (in Japanese with English
abstract).

50Annex 2:
Brief outline of the research area, target species and sample size of JARPN II

Research area of JARPN II
In the western North Pacific, there are numerous fronts and water masses (Figure 1). The Kuroshio Current,
which is one of the strongest west-boundary currents of the subtropical gyre, flows northward from the offshore
area of the Philippines to the waters off Japan with warm high-salinity water. It turns eastwards off the Pacificside of Japan as the Kuroshio Extension. On the other hand the Oyashio Current flows southward along the
Kurile Islands with cold low-salinity water. It branches into two flows off northern Japan. The Kuroshio and the
Oyashio flow eastward, and the area between the Kuroshio Extension and Oyashio east of Japan is usually called
the Kuroshio-Oyashio Inter-frontal Zone or simply the Transition Zone. It is well-known that these areas have ahigh productivity and are feeding grounds for highly migratory species such as Pacific saury, skipjack tuna andbaleen whales.
The research area of JARPN II covered the Kuroshio, the Oyashio and the Transition Zone (Figures 1). It also
covers part of sub-areas 7, 8 and 9 used by the IWC for management purposes, see Figure 2).
The research area for the feeding ecology study in the full JARPN II was extended eastward to 170ºE to cover
the geographical distribution of fisheries resources caught by Japanese fisheries. In particular, Pacific saury is
distributed in sub-areas 8 and 9 in summer just before they are recruited to the fishery in autumn (Sugisaki andKurita, 2004). The eastward extension of the research area was also important for more detailed studies on stock
structure of the target species that allowed us to investigate additional structure in offshore waters.

Time frame of JARPN II
The full JARPN II research plan was designed as a long term research program of undetermined duration(Government of Japan, 2002a). The habitats of marine living resources around Japan are quite diversified andtheir relationships are very dynamics. The long term research is necessary to investigate these complex
relationships and the fluctuations of biological processes in time so that ecosystem models can be adjusted forsuch fluctuations. Annual fluctuations in abundance, distribution, prey consumption, prey species, etc., are large.
Therefore long-term monitoring of these and other environmental variables involved is necessary. In order toincorporate the results into the ongoing surveys, however, the research plan included a comprehensive review
following completion of the first six years of the research. The time frame of JARPN II is as follows:
2000-2001: Feasibility study (Government of Japan, 2000; 2002b)
2002-2007: First full research period (Government of Japan, 2002a)
After 2007: Comprehensive review and output for fisheries resource management in the western North Pacific2008-2013: Research plan of second period improved by taking into account results of the first period
Target whale species and rational for sample sizes in the whale survey component
The JARPN II started with two feasibility surveys in the spring/summer seasons of years 2000 and 2001. The
research plan for the two-year feasibility study was presented to the 2000 Meeting of the IWC SC as Document
SC/52/O1 (Government of Japan, 2000).
The target species and sample sizes for the feasibility study were the common minke whale (Balaenoptera
acutorostrata, n=100), Bryde’s whale (B. edeni, n=50) and the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus, n=10).
These species were chosen for sampling because they occupy an important niche in the pelagic zone of the North
Pacific and because their populations are relatively abundant (Government of Japan, 2000). Regarding the sperm
whales previous reports showed that this species fed mainly on neon flying squids around the Joban area (subarea 7) in winter (Okutani et al., 1976). The abundance of sperm whales was estimated to be 102,000 (Kato andMiyashita, 1998). Under the assumption that the neon flying squid was 5 % of their prey consumption, the total
consumption was estimated to be eight hundred thousand tons, equivalent to roughly eight times the total
estimated recent neon flying squid fisheries catch in the western North Pacific. There was therefore a need tocollect more data on the food habits of sperm whales to investigate the role of this species in the ecosystem, inparticular to evaluate the impact of their consumption on neon flying squids.
The two-year JARPN II feasibility surveys were conducted in order to make the full JARPN II successful by i)
examining the performance and practicability of the concurrent whale and prey surveys using a total of six
research vessels, and ii) assessing whether such concurrent surveys provide enough data to determine prey51

preferences. The feasibility study was also conducted to evaluate the performance of the whale survey under thesituation when the number of target species increased from one in the JARPN to three in the JARPN II(Government of Japan, 2000). This evaluation was important given the practical and logistical problems involved
when the number of target species is increased.
A comprehensive report of the results of the two-year feasibility study was presented to the 2002 IWC/SC
Meeting as Document SC/54/O17 (Government of Japan, 2002b). The report of the feasibility study concluded
that the concurrent prey and whale surveys were feasible and that information on feeding ecology of Bryde’s andsperm whales could be obtained in the same way as it had been obtained for minke whales (Government of Japan,
2002b). Given these positive results the full ‘Research Plan for Cetaceans Studies in the Western North Pacificunder Special Permit (JARPN II) was implemented from 2002. The full research plan of JARPN II plan waspresented to the IWC SC in 2002 as Document SC/54/O2 (Government of Japan, 2002a).
The target species and sample sizes for the full JARPN II were the common minke whale (n=100 pelagic; 50
coastal), Bryde’s whale (n=50), sei whale (B. borealis, n=50) and the sperm whale (n=10).
This research plan involved two new components:a) Sampling of 50 sei whales.
b) Sampling of 50 common minke whales by small type whaling catcher boats in coastal waters as a twoyear feasibility study (50 whales to be sampled each in fall 2002 and spring 2003, respectively)
Abundance (biomass) and ecological niche in the western North Pacific were two criteria for choosing the sei
whale as a target species of JARPN II. Their biomass is larger than those of the common minke and Bryde’s
whales, and the past information indicated that they feed on schooling fish and squid as well as krill in the
JARPN II research area and on copepods in the Northern North Pacific (Government of Japan, 2002a).
The coastal component for common minke whales was necessary to cover the temporal (late autumn, early
spring) and spatial gaps in sampling, which cannot be covered by the pelagic research base Nisshin Maru
(Government of Japan, 2002a).
It should be noted that some elements of the full JARPN II were defined as feasibility studies e.g. sampling ofminke whale under the coastal component in 2002 and 2003 to investigate the feasibility of sampling using small
catcher boats. The sample size for minke whales in the coastal component was also considered as preliminary
and further calculation should be made after new data were obtained in the two-year feasibility survey wereaccumulated. Also the sperm whale sampling to investigate the relationship and impact of sperm whales on thesurface ecosystem was still considered as a feasibility study (Government of Japan, 2002a).
Considerations related to the feasibility components of the JARPN II were presented to the IWC SC Meeting in
2004 as Document SC/56/O2 (Government of Japan, 2004a). It was concluded that research surveys using small
type whaling catcher boats was feasible. Furthermore geographical and/or temporal variations of prey species ofthe minke whales revealed during the feasibility coastal surveys were considered to re-calculate the sample sizesof minke whales for the coastal component of the research. Also data on stomach content of sei whales collectedin the 2002 and 2003 surveys were used to calculate sample size of this species using the new information on
stomach contents. Finally it was decided to keep the sampling of a small number of sperm whales, which was
useful at least for qualitative studies on feeding ecology of this species (Government of Japan, 2004a).
Based on these considerations a revised research plan for cetacean studies in the western North Pacific underSpecial Permit was presented to the same meeting as Document SC/56/O1 (Government of Japan, 2004b). The
objectives of the research were the same as specified in Government of Japan (2002b), but the following new
research elements were added:a)Sample size for the minke whale in the coastal component was increased to 120, with 60 each inspring and autumn, respectively (in 2004, 60 animals would be sampled in fall and from 2005, 60
each in spring and fall, respectively).
b) Sample size for sei whales was increased to 100.

Rational for sample size of common minke whales:
During the feasibility study (2000-2001) the sample size was calculated for estimating their prey consumption
with good precision (CV equal to, or less than 0.2) using the method developed by Norwegian scientists during
their feeding ecology study of common minke whales in the North Atlantic (Government of Norway, 1992).
Data on prey consumption obtained during the JARPN in sub-area 7 (Figure 2) was used. Data was divided into
two, based on seasons - spring and summer. Two types of data were used for the calculation: number of whales
feeding on each of the prey species (krill, Pacific saury and Japanese anchovy), and average stomach contents52weight with its standard deviation. On the basis of these estimations a sample size of 100 animals for the total
research area (sub-areas 7, 8 and 9, Figure 2) was determined (Government of Japan, 2000).
For the full JARPN II a similar procedure was used but this time using a larger data set. A sample size of 100
animals was determined for the offshore research area (Government of Japan, 2002a). The sample size for thecoastal minke whale component was calculated using a similar procedure with and data obtained in the Sanriku
region and coastal region of Hokkaido in 2000 and 2001. A sample size of 50 animals was determined for theinshore part of sub-area 7 (Government of Japan, 2002a).
Results of the 2002 (fall, Kushiro) and 2003 (spring, Sanriku) coastal surveys revealed geographical andtemporal changes of prey species of minke whales. Required sample size was then recalculated with these data tosecure statistical accuracy for constructing ecosystem models. Based on these results the revised JARPN II
research plan concluded that the coastal survey component would be conducted twice a year and that 60 whales
would be sampled in early and late seasons, respectively, beginning with the survey in the fall 2004 (Governmentof Japan, 2004a; 2004b) .
Rational for sample size of Bryde’s whales:
A similar procedure as that used for the minke whale was used to calculate the necessary sample size for Bryde’s
whales in order to obtain statistically reasonable results. Calculation for the feasibility study was based on dataon prey consumption obtained during the period of commercial whaling. Preliminary sample size of 50 was
determined (Government of Japan, 2000). During the full research plan recalculations were conducted based ondata on consumption collected during the feasibility studies. A sample size of 50 was determined (Governmentof Japan, 2002a).
Rational for sample size of sei whales:
Calculation of sample size for this species in the full JARPN II was made using a similar procedure as above
with data on prey consumption from the Bryde’s whale. A sample size of 50 was determined. Given the scarcity
of consumption data for this species, the calculation of sample size was considered as preliminary (Governmentof Japan, 2002a).
In the revised plan sample size was recalculated using data from the 2002 and 2003 surveys to secure statisticalaccuracy for constructing ecosystem models. New calculation of sample size for sei whales using data from these
two surveys showed that at least 100 sei whales per year were required for estimating prey consumption with
sufficient precision (CV=0.2). The sample size of sei whale increased because the study in 2002 and 2003
indicated that a wider variety of prey species was consumed by the sei whale than had been known in the past
(Government of Japan, 2004a; 2004b).

Literature cited
Endo, Y. 2000. Japanese waters, distribution and standing stock. pp. 40-52. In: I. Everson (ed). Krill biology,
ecology and fisheries. Backwell Science, London.
Government of Japan. 2000. Research plan for cetacean studies in the western North Pacific under special permit(JARPN II) (Feasibility study plan for 2000 and 2001). Paper SC/52/O1 presented to the IWC ScientificCommittee, June 2000 (unpublished). 68pp.
Government of Japan. 2002a. Research plan for cetacean studies in the western North Pacific under special
permit (JARPN II). Paper SC/54/O2 presented to the IWC Scientific Committee, May 2002 (unpublished).
115pp.
Government of Japan. 2002b. Report of 2000 and 2001 feasibility study of the Japanese Whale Research
Program under Special Permit in the western North Pacific-Phase II (JARPN II). Paper SC/54/O17 presented to
the IWC Scientific Committee, May 2002 (unpublished). 202pp.
Government of Japan. 2004a. Some considerations of the feasibility components of the JARPN II research plan.
Paper SC/56/O2 presented to the IWC Scientific Committee, June 2004 (unpublished). 36pp.
Government of Japan. 2004b. Revised research plan for cetacean studies in the western North Pacific under
special permit (JARPN II). Paper SC/56/O1 presented to the IWC Scientific Committee, June 2004
(unpublished). 14pp.
Government of Norway. 1992. A research proposal to evaluate the ecological importance of minke whales in the
Northeast Atlantic. Paper SC/44/NAB18 presented to the IWC Scientific Committee, June 2002 (unpublished).
85pp

53

Kato, H. and Miyashita, T. 1998. Current status of the North Pacific sperm whales and its preliminary abundance
estimates. Paper SC/50/CAWS2 presented to the IWC Scientific Committee, May 1998 (unpublished). 13pp.
Okutani, T., Satake, Y., Ohsumi, S. and Kawakami, T. 1976. Squids eaten by sperm whales caught off Joban
district, during January-February 1976. Bull. Tokai Reg. Fish. Res. Lab., 87:67-113.
Sugisaki, H. and Kurita, Y. 2004. Daily rhythm and seasonal variation of feeding habit of Pacific saury(Cololabis saira) in relation to their migration and oceanographic conditions off Japan. Fishery Oceanography
13 (Suppl. 1):63-73.
Yasuda, I., Okuda, K. and Shimizu, Y. 1996. Distribution and modification of North Pacific Intermediate Waterin the Kuroshio-Oyashio Interfrontal Zone. J. Phys. Oceano. 26 (4):448-65.

54

Figure 1: Schematic representation of the current and frontal systems in the western North Pacific(Yasuda et al., 1996; modified from Endo, 2000). SC: Soya Current, TW, O1: Oyashio first branch, O2:
Oyashio second branch, WCR: warm core ring, CCR: cold core ring, KF: Kuroshio Front.

12

11

Figure 2: The research area and strata for the full-scale JARPN II surveys.

55

Annex 3:
A summary of samples/data collected by JARPN II (2000-2014)
Some samples and data obtained by JARPN II are not related to the main research objectives of JARPN II or toother main research need, and these items are not listed here but they are available for research collaboration
with ICR under data access protocols of ICR (http://www.icrwhale.org/pdf/appendix2.pdf), outside the context
of the IWC SC review workshop.
The table below shows the research items and sample sizes by each item for the period 2000-2014.
1. Outline of the data
I-1. SIGHTING DATA-Offshore components (SV+SSV)
Data

Sample size

Weather data (no. observations)
Effort data (Searching distance (n. miles))Sighting data (no. of school)
Angle and distance experiments
Photo-ID blue whales (no. of schools photographed)
Photo-ID humpback whales (no. of schools photographed)
Photo-ID North Pacific right whales (no. of schools photographed)

85,219202,403
15,594
6,031
107
65
50

I-2. SIGHTING DATA-Coastal components (Sanriku)(SV)
Data

Sample size

Weather data (no. observations)
Effort data (Searching distance (n. miles))Sighting data (no. of school)
Angle and distance experiments

1,008
3,048
110
88

I-3. SIGHTING DATA-Coastal component (Kushiro SV)
Data

Sample size

Weather data (no. observations)
Effort data (Searching distance (n. miles))Sighting data (no. of school)
Angle and distance experiments

2,150
5,155
353
112

I-4. SIGHTING DATA-Coastal component (Sanriku)(SSV)
Data

Sample size

Weather data (no. observations)
Effort data (n. miles)
Sighting data (no. of school)

4,769
32,665642

I-5. SIGHTING DATA-Coastal components (Kushiro)(SSV)
Data

Sample size

Weather data (no. observations)
Effort data (n. miles)
Sighting data (no. of school)

4,847
33,378985

Note 1=Sighting data (no. of school) are on baleen, sperm, and killer whales.
Note 2=Sighting data of the coastal components surveyed by SSVs were not obtained by strict line transect surveys.
Note 3=Sighting data on sei and Bryde’s whales obtained during IWC/POWER would be available depending on progress ofdata validation by the IWC Secretariat.

56II-1. BIOLOGICAL DATA - Common minke whale (Offshore component)
Data and sample
Sampling date
Sampling location
Body length
Body proportion (19 measurements)
Skull (length and width)
Body scar record
Record of external body characters
Sex
Body weight
Organ weight
Blubber thickness (5 points)
Girth
Maturity stage
Corpora albicantia and lutea (presence/absence only)
Corpora albicantia and lutea (presence/absence and number)
Lactation condition
Testis weight
Stomach contents (IWS format)
Stomach contents weight
Main prey species in stomach contents
Freshness of stomach contents
Energy contents of prey species
Foetus number, sex, body length, body weight
Aspartic acid isomers ratios (lens of fetus)*
Age (from Ear plug)**
Total PCB concentrations (blubber)
Total Hg concentrations (muscle)
PCBs, DDTs, HCB, HCHs and CHLs concentrations(blubber)
I-131, Cs-134 and Cs-137 concentrations (muscle)
Mitochondrial DNA control region sequences
Nuclear DNA microsatellite (16 loci)Sample size
Female
Total
121
982
121
982
121
982
121
982
119
966
121
982
121
982
121
982
121
982
29
209
121
982
121
982
121
982
15
15
106
106
121
121
861
121
982
121
982
121
982
121
982
16
51
13
409
55
464
546
0
546
680
0
680
5
0
5

Male
861
861
861
861
847
861
861
861
861
180
861
861
861
861
861
861
861
861
-

8
855
855

2
121
121

10
976
976

*: Analysis of samples is ongoing.
**: 2000-2013.
II-2. BIOLOGICAL DATA - Sei whale (Offshore component)
Data and sample
Sampling date
Sampling location
Body length
Body proportion (19 measurements)
Skull (length and width)
Sex
Body weight
Organ weight
Blubber thickness (5 points)
Girth
Maturity stage
Corpora albicantia and lutea (presence/absence only)
Corpora albicantia and lutea (presence/absence and number)
Lactation condition
Testis weight
Stomach contents (IWS format)
Stomach contents weight
Main prey species in stomach contents
Freshness of stomach contents
Energy contents of prey species

57

Male
551
551
551
551
534
551
551
77
551
551
551
551
551
551
551
551
-

Sample size
Female
Total
623
1,174
623
1,174
623
1,174
623
1,174
603
1,137
623
1,174
623
1,174
104
181
623
1,174
623
1,174
623
1,174
205
205
418
418
623
623
551
623
1,174
623
1,174
623
1,174
623
1,174
20

Prey species estimating by next generation sequencing (NGS)
Behavioral data using acoustic tags
Foetus number, sex, body length, body weight
Age (from Ear plug)*
Total Hg concentrations (muscle)
PCBs, DDTs, HCB, HCHs and CHLs concentrations (blubber)
I-131, Cs-134 and Cs-137 concentrations (muscle)
Mitochondrial DNA control region sequences
Nuclear DNA microsatellite (16 loci)

8

2

335
160
5
12
551
551

348
0
13
622
623

10
2
366
683
160
5
25
1,173
1,174

*: 2002-2013.
II-3. BIOLOGICAL DATA - Bryde’s whale (Offshore component)
Data and sample

Sample size

Sampling date
Sampling location
Body length
Body proportion (19 measurements)
Skull (length and width)
Sex
Body weight
Organ weight
Blubber thickness (5 points)
Girth
Maturity stage
Corpora albicantia and lutea (presence/absence only)
Corpora albicantia and lutea (presence/absence and number)
Lactation condition
Testis weight
Stomach contents (IWS format)
Stomach contents weight
Main prey species in stomach contents
Freshness of stomach contents
Energy contents of prey species
Prey species estimating by next generation sequencing (NGS)
Foetus number, sex, body length, body weight
Total Hg concentrations (muscle)
PCBs, DDTs, HCB, HCHs and CHLs concentrations (blubber)
I-131, Cs-134 and Cs-137 concentrations (muscle)
Mitochondrial DNA control region sequences
Nuclear DNA microsatellite (16 loci)

Male
289
289
289
289
278
289
289
60
289
289
289
289
289
289
289
289
2
49
5
6
284
289

Female

391
391
391
391
375
391
391
77
391
391
391
87
304
391
391
391
391
391
4
0
0
7
387
391

Total
680
680
680
680
653
680
680
137
680
680
680
87
304
391
289
680
680
680
680
13
6
169
49
5
13
671
680

II-4. BIOLOGICAL DATA - Sperm whale (Offshore component)
Data and sample
Male
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
10
16
16
13
16
16
16
16
16

Sampling date
Sampling location
Body length
Body proportion (18 measurements)
Skull (length and width)
Sex
Body weight
Organ weight
Blubber thickness (11 points)
Girth
Maturity stage
Corpora albicantia and lutea (number)
Lactation condition
Testis weight
Stomach contents (IWS format)
Stomach contents weight
Main prey species in stomach contents
Freshness of stomach contents

58

Sample size
Female
Total
40
56
40
56
40
56
40
56
38
54
40
56
40
56
26
36
40
56
40
56
40
53
40
40
40
40
16
40
56
40
56
40
56
40
56

Energy contents of prey species
Foetus number, sex, body length, body weight
Age (from tooth)*Total Hg concentrations (muscle)
PCBs, DDTs, HCB, HCHs and CHLs concentrations(blubber)
I-131, Cs-134 and Cs-137 concentrations (muscle)
Mitochondrial DNA control region sequences
Nuclear DNA microsatellite (15 loci)

4
1
1

19
4
2

10
10
23
5
3

1
16
16

2
40
40

3
56
56

*: 2000-2013.
II-5. BIOLOGICAL DATA - Common minke whale (Coastal component-Sanriku)
Data and sample
Sampling date
Sampling location
Body length
Body proportion (19 measurements)
Skull (length and width)
Body scar record
Sex
Body weight
Organ weight
Blubber thickness (5 points)
Girth
Maturity stage
Corpora albicantia and lutea (number)
Lactation condition
Testis weight
Stomach contents (IWS format)
Stomach contents weight*
Main prey species in stomach contents
Freshness of stomach contents
Energy contents of prey species
Prey species estimating by next generation sequencing(NGS)
Foetus number, sex, body length, body weight
Age (from Ear plug)**
Aspartic acid isomers ratios (lens)***Total Hg concentrations (muscle)
Total Hg concentrations (liver)
PCBs, DDTs, HCB, HCHs and CHLs concentrations(blubber)
I-131, Cs-134 and Cs-137 concentrations (muscle)
Mitochondrial DNA control region sequences
Nuclear DNA microsatellite (16 loci)

Male
221
221
221
221
215
221
221
221
7
221
221
221
219
221
205
221
221
1

Sample size
Female
Total
295
516
295
516
295
516
295
516
286
501
295
516
295
516
295
516
10
17
295
516
295
516
295
516
295
295
295
295
219
295
516
281
486
295
516
295
516
3
2
3

94
46
195
46
5

123
48
48
48
0

44
217
94
280
94
5

7
221
221

6
295
295

13
516
516

* : 2003-2013. Analysis of 2014 samples is ongoing.
**: 2003-2013.
***: Analysis of samples is ongoing.
II-6. BIOLOGICAL DATA - Common minke whale (Coastal component-Kushiro)
Data and sample
Male
438
438
438
438
430
438
438
438
17
438

Sampling date
Sampling location
Body length
Body proportion (19 measurements)
Skull (length and width)
Body scar record
Sex
Body weight
Organ weight
Blubber thickness (5 points)

59

Sample size
Female
Total
219
657
219
657
219
657
219
657
215
645
219
657
219
657
219
657
8
25
219
657

GirthMaturity stage
Corpora albicantia and lutea (number)
Lactation condition
Testis weight
Stomach contents (IWS format)
Stomach contents weight*
Main prey species in stomach contents
Freshness of stomach contents
Energy contents of prey species
Prey species estimating by next generation sequencing(NGS)
Foetus number, sex, body length, body weight
Age (from Ear plug)**
Total Hg concentrations (muscle)
PCBs, DDTs, HCB, HCHs and CHLs concentrations(blubber)
I-131, Cs-134 and Cs-137 concentrations (muscle)
Mitochondrial DNA control region sequences
Nuclear DNA microsatellite (16 loci)

438
438
438
438
403
438
438
3

219
219
219
219
219
203
219
219
3

657
657
211
211
429
657
606
657
657
3
6

172
377
5

78
0
0

14
250
377
5

12
438
438

13
219
218

25
657
656

* : 2002-2013. Analysis of 2014 samples is ongoing.
**: 2002-2013.
III. POLLUTANT DATA (Environmental and prey species samples)-Offshore components
Data and sample

Sample size

Total Hg concentrations (krill)
Total Hg concentrations (fishes)8
19

IV-1. OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA- Offshore components
Data and sample

Sample size

Temperature & salinity (XCTD survey)
Temperature & salinity (CTD survey)
Midwater trawl (# of hawls)
MOTH trawl (# of hawls)
MOCNESS (# of hawls)
IKMT (# of hawls)
NORPAC (# of hawls)
Other nets (VMPS, Ring, BONGO) (# of hawls)
Echo sounder (2002-2007: km)
Echo sounder (2008-2013: n.miles)

47
761
262
16
36
34
254
36
12,838
8,098

Others nets: VMPS 12, ring net 8, BONGO net 16
Note 4=2008 cruise: Shunyo-Maru and Kaiko-Maru; 2009, 2012, 2013 cruises: Shunyo-Maru;
2010, 2011 cruises: Hokko-Maru.

IV-2. OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA- Coastal components (Sanriku)
Data and sample

Sample size

Temperature & salinity (XCTD survey)
Temperature & salinity (CTD survey)
Midwater trawl (no. of hawls)
Bongo net (no. of hawls)
IKMT (no. of hawls)
Sampling by fishing (no. of stations)
Echo sounder (2005 and 2006 seasons: km)
Echo sounder (2008 and 2009 seasons: n.miles)

11
325
109
5
17
2
277.5
354.3

IV-3. OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA- Coastal components (Kushiro)
Data and sample

Sample size

Temperature & salinity (CTD survey)

109

60

Midwater trawl (no. of hawls)
IKMT (no. of hawls)

133
6

V-1. GENETIC DATA- North Pacific right whale
Data and sample

Sample size

Mitochondrial DNA sequences

20

Note 5= Data of some items for common minke whales are also available for the JARPN period (1994-1999), which were reviewed by the
IWC SC in 2000 (IWC, 2001).
Note 6= Genetic data from other sources have been used to complement the previous genetic analyses on stock structure of baleen whales.
These data would be also available for the review.

61Annex 4:
Protocol for access to samples/data from the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), Tokyo, Japan, underProcedure B (Item 3)
INTRODUCTION
This protocol has been developed in the context of Procedure B of the IWC Scientific Committee's rules for data
availability adopted at the 55th Annual Meeting (IWC, 2004a). Procedure B applies to data required for analyses
deemed important in providing advice to the Committee other than catch limits. Conditions for data recipients(repeated below) as specified in the rules for data availability are applicable.
It was agreed that the Committee shall specify the nature of the work and the data required during the meeting at
which the recommendation is made, to the fullest extent possible in the time available at the meeting and inaccord with the published protocol. Requests to the ICR for data under Procedure B of the Scientific Committee's
rules for data availability shall be submitted by the Data Availability Group assisted by a nominated member of
ICR.
It was also agreed that if the correct process is followed, the data owners will normally approve the applications
within a ‘specified time period’; in this case ICR agrees that it will respond within two weeks of receiving anapplication.

FORMAT OF THE APPLICATION
The format for the application is based on the revised application for catch-at-age analyses agreed by all
members of the Scientific Committee at the end of the Scientific Committee meeting in 2003 (IWC, 2004b,
Appendix.10).
(a) Title of the proposal, giving the broad subject of the proposed analyses.
(b) Investigators: the full name and affiliation of the principal investigator(s) and co-investigator(s) should be
provided. This should include at least one scientist from ICR.
(c) Objectives and rationale of the study as specified by the by the Scientific Committee along with theappropriate reference to the report(s) of the Scientific Committee. This will include the reasons why the
proposed analyses are important and how they fit into previous work.
(d) Data to be used will include a general description of all data to be used as well as data held by ICR. For
the ICR-held data, the precise requirements will be given, including the level of disaggregation.
(e) Description of the methods likely to be used. The level of detail must be in accordance with the level ofnovelty of the proposed methods and the particular research questions they will address. References tosimilar analyses should be included where available.
(f) Schedule of the work: this should include estimated times for the various analyses to be carried out and an
indication of which investigators will collaborate on individual components. If the project is a long-term
project, annual progress reports will be required by ICR and the Scientific Committee.
(g) Output of the research: this will follow the rules for publication agreed at the Scientific Committee
meeting and given below. ICR may consider requests for less stringent conditions (e.g. presentations at
non-IWC scientific meetings, publications, etc.). Such requests should be detailed here.
CONSIDERATION OF THE PROPOSAL
If an application has been approved by the whole Scientific Committee at an annual meeting, it will normally beapproved by ICR. However, the final decision will always remain the prerogative of ICR. ICR may request
reviews by an internal review group and/or external experts. The following factors will be taken in to account by
ICR when considering applications.
(a) Priority: highest priority for analysis/research of samples/data produced by Japan's Whale Research
Programs under Special Permit, will be for the scientists that collected and obtained the data in any
particular field.
(b) Suitability of the requested data in the context of the proposed methods and the objectives of the research.
(c) Level of co-operation with ICR scientists.

62

The response to an application for data will be communicated by the ICR's Director General to the Data
Availability Group and may include requests for further information. If the research proposal is accepted, ICR
will nominate a scientist, (normally one of the co-investigators) who shall be responsible for making thenecessary arrangements to provide the required samples/data.

Agreed Scientific Committee conditions for data recipients
Applications deemed suitable under Procedure A or Procedure B below are granted under the following
conditions:(1) Data shall not be transmitted to third parties.
(2) Papers may only be submitted to a Committee meeting in accordance with the time restrictions given
below. Such papers must not include the raw data or the data in a form in more detail than is necessary
to understand the analysis.
(3) Papers must carry a restriction on citation except in the context of IWC meetings.
(4) Data owners are offered co-authorship.
(5) Publication rights remain strictly with the data owner.
(6) Data shall be returned, to the Secretariat or the data owner as appropriate, immediately after the meetingat which the paper is submitted and any copies destroyed, unless an extension is granted.
(7) Data requesters sign a form agreeing to the above conditions. Such forms will be held by the data ownerand the Secretariat. In the case of Procedure B, the Data Availability Group will sign the agreement on theCommittee’s behalf and ensure that the conditions of any agreement are met by any individual scientists
involved in the analysis.
(8) In the event of a breach of the conditions in (6), serious sanctions [to be determined] will apply.

Literature cited
International Whaling Commission. 2004a. Report of the Scientific Committee. J. Cetacean Res. Manage.
(Suppl.) 6: 57-8.
International Whaling Commission. 2004b. Report of the Scientific Committee. Annex G. report of the Subcommittee on the comprehensive assessment of whale stocks – In-depth assessments. J. Cetacean Res.
Manage. (Suppl.) 6: 224-245.

63

Annex 5:
Summary of the work carried out by Japanese scientists in response to several recommendations and suggestions
on JARPNII research offered by the 2009 JARPNII review workshop (IWC, 2010).
Recommendation or suggestion
1. Feeding ecology andecosystem studies
Whale abundance and distribution issue
1. Using the sightings data collected
over the 1994-2007 period for thevariety of large whales, the Panelrecommends investigation of whether
these data can be used to provide
information on trends.
2. It also recommends that the photoidentification data be worked up andcomparisons made with catalogues
elsewhere in the North Pacific.

3. Panel recommends that increased
effort to obtain better estimates should
be a high priority.
Prey consumption by cetaceans
4. Panel recommends that additional
analyses be undertaken to identify thegreatest sources of uncertainty and to
determine appropriate sampling andanalytical strategies to address them.
5. The Panel recommends that as partof the treatment of uncertainty, theanalyses of the JARPN II data should:(a) incorporate the use of several
reasonable models and include the rangeof possible results in reporting theirwork; (b) use that range in subsequent
analyses (including any ecosystemmodelling) that employ thesedaily/annual consumption estimates and(c) undertake sensitivity analyses for therange of parameter values used in the
consumption equations.
Medium and long term
6. Combine the oceanographic data,
prey distributions and sighting survey
data statistically to investigate how prey
and whale distributions are associatedwith oceanographic conditions, and how
whale distributions are related to
distributions of prey–in this regard thesei whale example spatial modelling
approach given in SC/J09/JR36 needs tobe refined and extended further.
7. Combine data on prey distributions asobserved in the area where the whales
were caught with the diet of the whales(referred to as the micro scale)statistically to evaluate how well thewhale diet reflects prey availability inthe area where it was caught.
8. Compare results from the approaches

Response status

Geographic coverage of JARPNII survey was not always thesame among the years. For this reason, it would be necessary
to pool sighting data to obtain full geographical coverage to
examine abundance trend. Possible approach may be that in
SC/F16/JR9, in which sighting data were stratified by periodsof 7-9 years.
Photo-identification data for blue, humpback and North
Pacific right whales have been collected during JARPNII
surveys. The number of the collected photo-ID data were
provided in Annex 3. Collaboration between Russian andJapanese scientists is being prepared to conduct preliminary
analysis of photo-id data for North Pacific right whales. Also
analysis of photo-id data for blue and humpback whales will
be conducted, and data from IWC-POWER surveys will beincorporated (in collaboration with IWC-POWER specialists).
After 2009 survey, design was made so that research areas
were covered with sufficient effort by the dedicated sighting
surveys. However, this depended on logistic aspects, forexample on the availability of survey vessels.
Uncertainties in the number of whales distributed in the
research area, body weight of whales, consumption models,and energy content of prey species, assimilation efficiency andthe ratio of low/high feeding intake of whales were taken into
account in the updated estimation (SC/F16/JR15, 17).
Addressed in SC/F16/JR15, 17. See also response torecommendation 4.

The analyses were recommended as medium to long term. The
recommendation was addressed to some extent in publisheddocuments (SC/F16/20-21), a document presented to the 2009
review workshop (SC/J09/JR18) and documents presented tothis workshop (SC/F16/JR7, SC/F16/JR16 and SC/F16/JR27).
All these studies but JR7, J16 and JR27 were conducted at themesoscale.

Response to recommendation 6 above is also relevant
here.

Not addressed yet.

64

listed above with the results on
selectivity already produced andpresented at the workshop.
Ecosystem modelling
9. Considerably more resources must be
allocated to the modelling work –without this, the likelihood that theobjective of the programme will bereached in a reasonable timeframe will
be minimal. The models developed
should be used to identify the areas of
uncertainty with the greatest impact onmodel outputs of relevance tomanagement, and hence to guide theprioritisation of future data collection
and the associated sample size/sampling
design.
10. A wider range of models needs to beconsidered if the objectives of the
programme are to be met. Further work
should aim towards fitting dynamic
models to time series of data, especiallyabundance indices.
11. The area covered by JARPNII is not
spatially homogeneous, and serious
consideration should be given todeveloping separate models for three
regions distinguished by the inshore or
shelf region, the sub-Arctic oceanic
region of the Oyashio current and the
sub-tropical region of the Oyashio andKuroshio transition zone.
12. There is a need to take much wider
account of uncertainty at all stages ofthe modelling process, including thatassociated with the prey consumption
rates of whales

13. The importance, ultimately, ofdeveloping models which incorporate
natural variability in dynamic processes
was emphasised, although it wasrecognised that this might not be
possible for certain ecosystem modelling‘packages’. This is in addition to taking
account of uncertainty in model
structure and parameter values. The
complexity of ecosystems and the
difficulty of modelling species
interactions adequately might mean thatmanagement actions based on suchmodels are more likely to induce
unexpected instabilities than current
single-species based approaches; thissuggests a more cautious approach will
be needed on the part of decision
makers.
14. If there are other predators making
individual contributions to sand lance
natural mortality of similar size to that
estimated for minke whales, their
explicit inclusion in this model must be
considered. It agrees that Type I
functional relationships are unrealistic
and need not be considered further. As
noted earlier, any results presented

Regarding the collection of data, collaboration with specialists
in other disciplines (e.g. oceanography, pelagic fish and highly
migratory fish [sharks and tunas]) has been strengthened forEwE modelling.

Results of two modeling exercises were presented here
(SC/F16/JR28-29) and a third one (MRM) is being considered
for the near future. Time series data from 1994 to 2013 wasfitted in Ecosim to estimate vulnerability parameters which isone of important parameters in the model.
A quasi sub-model structure is established in EwE consideringbottom topography and oceanography of the modelled area.

Uncertainty is not addressed fully in EwE althoughvulnerability parameters are estimated in Ecosim. In
SC/F16/JR29, both observation and process errors were
accounted for using a Bayesian state-space delay-difference
model, and estimation uncertainty was of course addressed inposterior distributions for unknown and latent variables as inusual way.
A climate index, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) index,
is initially considered whether it can be used as forcing
function in Ecosim. However, it is not considered in actualmodelling because it appear that influence of PDO on biomass
dynamics in the modelling period (1994-2013) is not strong.
But it is still on the to-do list in the further modelling
especially if the modelling period is expanded to the past.

Type II functional response is employed in the state-spacedelay-difference model in SC/F16/JR29, but any predator
other than common minke whales has not been taken into
account for the assessment of predation impact because of its
potentially biggest consumption in the region.

65

should distinguish yields of the preyspecies to predators and the fishery.
15. It is important to concentrate first on
improving the Ecopath component of
this EwE analysis before moving on to
the next step of extending the modelling
effort from a static to a dynamic modelsuch as Ecosim.
16. The species included in the Ecopath
analysis should be reviewed giving
attention to Ecopath models developed
for other regions; in particular the
inclusion of gelatinous zooplankton
should be considered. Furthermore thevalues of the parameters of this Ecopath
analysis should be compared with values
for those others, with attention directed
towards any instances of major
discrepancies.
17. The need to rebalance the Ecopath
model. Alternative approaches to doing
so should be considered. For example,
rather than use values for someparameters drawn from other regions,placing a bound on some relationship(e.g. P/C<0.6) may lead to an improved
result overall.
18. Further analyses must take fullaccount of the uncertainties associatedwith model inputs e.g. using Ecoranger
19. Further work on MRM approaches is
encouraged and should focus inparticular on fitting such models to timeseries of data.

Oceanography
20. The salinity CTD data must be
corrected/calibrated using the water
samples that were simultaneously
collected with the CTD data.
21. The authors incorporate into theindex of density, the sightability ofdetected groups (e.g. effective strip half
widths that include appropriate
covariates such as weather conditions).
As for all modelling exercises, it isimportant to test whether the chosenmodel is an improvement over a null,
uninformative model and to validate themodel results. Approaches to such
validation could include: comparison of
the modelled results not only with index
of densities from the present study but
also with data that were collected fromother years (e.g. JARPN or other surveydata) and exploration of cross-validation
type techniques.
22. More of these types of analyses(including using other appropriate
modelling techniques such as GAMs orlogistic regressions) be conducted.

Others
23. JARPNII data be pooled or

A series of pre-balance diagnostics, “PREBAL” (Link, 2010)
is conducted for both the 2013 and 1994 models to evaluate
the initial satanic energy budget of Ecopath before Ecosim
modelling is conducted.

Because EwE mainly focuses on offshore instead of coastal
area, it appears that gelatinous zooplankton is not key species.
In addition, such data are scarce so far. Presented EwEmodelling mainly focus on interaction between forage fish andtheir predators and the number of predators in the model isincreased from the previous one. Values of basic parameters
are compared with other models qualitatively.

A series of pre-balance diagnostics, “PREBAL” (Link, 2010)
is conducted for both the 2013 and 1994 models to evaluate
the initial satanic energy budget of Ecopath before Ecosim
modelling is conducted.

Ecoranger is not used in the modelling as its development islittle so far.
In a MRM off Sanriku region, various kinds of time series
data such as CPUE, catch series and age composition wereused for fitting the model. The model is considered as anintegrated model, where weighting to likelihood components
is influential to the results. At this moment, this issue has notbeen dealt well in the paper, but different effective sample
sizes will be used to check the sensitivity/robustness
In principle, the salinity data recorded under JARPNII were
calibrated. Quality checks are carried out for input data of the
FRA-ROMS.
In abundance estimation using standard method (i.e. design
based method), Beaufort Sea State was used as a covariate ofdetection function. Beaufort Sea State was selected as one ofcovariates for some of species (see SC/F16/JR11-14).
SC/F16/JR7 conducted Generalized Additive Model (GAM)
for relative abundance estimation of the common minke, sei
and Bryde's whales. Model selection was conducted based on
GCV scores. Sea surface temperature (SST) and seafloor
depth was selected as covariates of the GAM for the common
minke and sei whales. SST, sea surface height anomaly(SSHa), sea surface chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a) andthe seafloor depth were selected for the GAM for Bryde's
whales.

GLM and GAM has been considered and some of the results
were published in scientific literatures. Spatial distributions ofcommon minke, sei and Bryde’s are attempted and the results
are presented to this meeting (SC/F16/JR7). Furthermore, prey
consumption of sei whales is preliminary estimated(SC/F16/JR16).
Several of the analyses in the documents presented to this66

compared with other datasets (e.g.
JARPN I or other historical surveys)
when possible. This will increase thesample size and increase the possibilityof data covering periods of changing
relationships (e.g. previous regimechanges), thus allowing patterns to be
detected.
24. In the long term, to more fully
understand the preferred habitat, prey
preferences, niche separation ofdifferent species, functional response,and spatial and temporal trends in local
abundance and other biological factors(such as blubber thickness, pollutants,
presence of scars, and stock structure),
the oceanographic data collected on thecruises (bottom depth, water column
temperature, salinity, and density) andsatellite derived data, such as SST,
chlorophyll, and sea surface height beintegrated into future analyses.
Monitoring environmental
pollutants in cetaceans andthe marine ecosystem
1. Study based on balanced , structured
study design with a specific number ofindividuals sampled within each strata
2. Tissues should be archived for future
retrospective analyses

workshop used pooled data from JARPN and JARPNII.

The analyses were also recommended as medium to long term.
The recommendation was addressed to some extent inpublished documents (SC/F16/20-21), a document presented
to the 2009 review workshop (SC/J09/JR18) and documents
presented to this workshop (SC/F16/JR7, SC/F16/JR16 andSC/F16/JR27). All these studies but JR7, JR16 and JR27 wereconducted at the mesoscale.

2.

3. Include age as an additional covariate
for the interpretation of results
4. Include coastal J stock bycaught
minke whales in future studies

5. Include data on stable isotope ratios
and fatty acid profiles from a variety oftissues
6. Air and water samples obtained could
have been useful in a ‘fate andbehaviour’ study
7. Conduct simple mass balance studies(input-output estimates)
8. Contaminant results should eventually
be linked to the prey consumption
studies
3. Stock structure
Simple issues
1. Brief description of procedures toensure data quality
2.Include estimate of genetic divergence

3. P values and divergence estimatesshould be reported for all loci combined
than for each locus separately
4. Use alternative procedure to
Bonferroni corrections in case ofmultiple testing

In the pollutant studies, the number of samples and strata(location, period, sex, and maturity) examined was carefully
considered in function of the objective of the study.
All tissues and organs such as muscle, liver, kidney andblubber of all whales sampled by JARPNII were stored at 20ºC. Unfortunately a substantial number of samples were lost
after the 2001 earthquake and tsunami.
Age was incorporate as a covariate in the analyses conductedin SC/F16/JR33.
Samples from by-catch are available only for genetic analyses
and such samples are not suitable for pollutant analyses.
However J stock animals (24) sampled by JARPNII in Sanriku
were used for pollutant analysis (Hg) (see SC/F16/JR33).
Samples from JARPN/JARPNII have not been analyzed forstable isotope ratios and fatty acid yet (logistic reasons).
Future analyses are being considered.
This was already addressed in SC/J09/JR24. However suchkind of analyses have been stopped because logistical reasons.
Preliminary attempts were made but results were notsatisfactorily at this stage. Further attempts will be made in
future.
Addressed in SC/F16/JR30 and SC/F16/JR31.

Addressed in document SC/65b/DNA1. The IWC SC
welcomed this document and agreed that it responded
appropriately to the recommendation.
Addressed in papers presented to the IWC SC after 2009. See
also SC/F16/JR40 for common minke whales; SC/F16/JR44
for Bryde’s whale; SC/F16/JR46 for sei whales.
Addressed in papers presented to the IWC SC after 2009. See
also SC/F16/JR40 for common minke whales; SC/F16/JR44
for Bryde’s whale; SC/F16/JR46 for sei whales.
The recommended False Discovery Rate (FDR) was used in
all population genetic structure papers presented to thisworkshop.

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5. Provide more details on the analyses
involving the program STRUCTURE

6. Include a brief discussion on
experimental design with respect tosampling

More extensive matters
7. Redo the analyses based on the
Boundary Rank analysis
8. Integrate samples from Korea
bycatches into the datasets
9. Assessment of power using simulated
data should be undertaken
10. Tests for population genetic
equilibrium should be undertaken
11. Estimations of divergence between
samples partitions should be undertakenusing non-equilibrium approaches
12. Effort to detect pairs of individuals
that are related
13. Multivariate analyses ofmorphological data could be informativewith respect to stock structure; use aprinciple component (or similar)
analysis of individuals that does not
require a priori decisions about groupmembership
14. Use of contaminant data as part ofan integrative study of stock structure

Longer term
15. Effort to attach satellite tags tominke whales

4. Others
1. Development of refined, morequantified sub-objectives for eachcomponent of the programmeMore details were provided in papers presented to the IWC SC
after 2009. See also SC/F16/JR38 for the application of the
STRUCTURE program to individual assignment to J and O
stocks common minke whale.
Sampling design in JARPNII was made mainly in the context
of main objective 1. For the key species, samples obtained by
JARPNII were examined for stock structure purposes based on
the IWC SC’s designed sub-areas used for management
purpose.
In discussion at the IWC SC after 2009, this task was not
assigned to JARPNII workers.
Samples from Korean bycatches were incorporated in several
genetic studies presented to the IWC SC after 2009.
See SC/F16/JR40 for O stock minke whale; SC/F16/JR44 for
Bryde’s whale.
Preliminary analyses presented in SC/F16/JR51.
Not addressed yet. Will be addressed in future following thediscussions on JR51.
Work has been started but results are not available for thisworkshop.
Addressed in SC/F16/JR41.

Previous studies showed that DDT levels in whales could be
informative of stock structure. In recent years and for logistic
reasons, samples have not been analyzed with DDT inappropriate numbers for stock structure studies.
Work has been started. Successful experiment were conducted
for North Pacific Bryde’s (SC/F16/JR45) and common minke(SC/F16/JR42) whales.

Addressed in this paper.

References
International Whaling Commission 2010. Report of the Expert Workshop to Review the Ongoing JARPNII
Programme. J. Cetacean Res. Manage. 11 (Suppl. 2): 405-449.
Link, J.S. 2010. Adding rigor to ecological network models by evaluating a set of pre-balance diagnostics: A
plea for PREBAL. Ecol. Model. 221: 1580-91.

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