THE INSTITUTE OF CETACEAN RESEARCHTOYOMI SHINKO BLDG. 4-5 TOYOMI-CHO CHUO-KU TOKYO 104-0055 JAPAN
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MEDIA RELEASE
2 December 2002

JAPAN RESPONDS TO SEA SHEPHERD ACCUSATIONS
The founder of the Sea Shepherd Society, Paul Watson, “is a thug and a terrorist who has left
only lies and deception in his wake.”
Mitsuyoshi Murakami, the Executive Director of Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research, wasresponding to Paul Watson’s accusations aired on TVNZ’s “Sunday” programme on 1December 2002.
Sea Shepherd’s “Farley Mowat” is bound for the Antarctic soon aiming to disrupt Japan’s
whale research program. Mr Murakami said, “despite his claims to the contrary, the record isclear. Watson is a criminal who has intentionally rammed a number of vessels, and served
time in jail. Any activities that would interfere with the operations of our research vessels inthe Antarctic are a threat to the lives of crew and scientists and are beyond legitimate protest.
The sinking of vessels by Watson are the acts of a terrorist and he should be treated like one.”
He has been convicted of offences on numerous occasions, including the 1983 conviction inQuebec, Canada, for interfering with the annual seal hunt. He served 15 months in prison.
Watson was also convicted for the 1992 attempted scuttling of the Norwegian combined
whaling and fishing vessel “Nybræna”. He was arrested at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam,
Netherlands, by Dutch police after Interpol issued a warrant and was held in custody in theNetherlands. Watson admits to having sunk a number of vessels.
In 1994, the Sea Shepherd Society had its observer status at the International Whaling
Commission revoked. IWC Secretary, Ray Gambell, declared at the time that the IWC and allits member states ardently condemn Sea Shepherd’s acts of violence.
Mr Murakami said that Watson’s claims that Japan’s whale research in the Antarctic is illegal
are “simply untrue”. Article VIII of the International Convention for the Regulation ofWhaling (ICRW), explicitly provides that member countries may issue permits for scientificresearch. He said this was important because the ICRW requires that the IWC’s regulations
be based on scientific findings.
Mr Murakami also emphasized that the IWC’s Southern Ocean Sanctuary specifically does
not apply to research and that the Convention requires that the byproducts of the research –the meat – be processed.
(Page 1 of 2 – Japan Responds to Sea Shepherd Accusations)(Page 2 of 2 – Japan Responds to Sea Shepherd Accusations)“The explicit nature of the ICRW to allow for scientific whaling, as well as the requirementthat the meat from such research be processed to the greatest extent practicable, demonstrates
this is not a ‘loophole’ and shows Japan is following the ICRW to the letter. That meat ‘ends
up on dinner tables’ is a requirement of this international treaty, not contrary to it.”
Mr Murakami said it needed to be remembered that the IWC agreed a “moratorium” in 1982
following a call by some member states that there was not enough scientific information tocontinue commercial whaling. Since then, Japan’s research has received strong support fromthe IWC’s Scientific Committee.
The program continues to make major contributions to understanding the biology of whales in
the Antarctic. It involves non-lethal research, including sighting surveys and biopsy sampling,
as well as a take of whales for research that cannot be effectively done by non-lethal means.
This includes examination of earplugs for age determination studies, reproductive organs for
examination of maturation, reproductive cycles and reproductive rates, stomachs for analysis
of food consumption and blubber thickness as a measure of condition. The number of minke
whales taken (440) is the smallest number required to obtain statistically valid results.
“Contrary to the claims of anti-whaling interests, the Scientific Committee of the IWC hascommended Japan’s research program noting that it is providing valuable scientificinformation required for the management of these resources,” Mr Murakami said.
The Scientific Committee says the research has made “a major contribution to understandingof certain biological parameters” and that “the information produced has set the stage foranswering many questions about long-term population changes regarding minke whales in theAntarctic,” Mr Murakami said.
For more information, contact
Mitsuyoshi Murakami, Executive Director, Institute of Cetacean Research