Technical Reports of the Ins�tute of Cetacean Research (2023)

pp. 74–77

CommentaryThe views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reﬂect the views of the Institute of Cetacean
ResearchThe current u�lity of data and samples collected by former Japanesewhale research programs under special scien�ﬁc permit
Luis A. Pastene
Institute of Cetacean Research, 4–5 Toyomi-cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104–0055, Japan
Japan, through the Ins�tute of Cetacean Research(ICR), designed and implemented several whale research
programs under special permits based on Ar�cle VIII ofthe Interna�onal Conven�on for the Regula�on of Whaling (ICRW). Those programs were implemented in boththe Indo-Paciﬁc sector of the Antarc�c and in the western
North Paciﬁc as follow:Antarc�c
1. Japanese Whale Research Program under Special
Permit in the Antarc�c (JARPA): 1987/88–2004/05
2. Japanese Whale Research Program under Special
Permit in the Antarc�c-Phase II (JARPAII): 2005/06–
2013/14
3. New Scien�ﬁc Whale Research Program in the Antarc�c Ocean (NEWREP-A): 2015/16–2018/19
Western North Paciﬁc
4. Japanese Whale Research Program under Special
Permit in the western North Paciﬁc (JARPN): 1994–1999
5. Japanese Whale Research Program under Special Permit in the western North Paciﬁc-Phase II(JARPNII): 2000–2016
6. New Scien�ﬁc Whale Research Program in the western North Paciﬁc (NEWREP-NP): 2017–2019
Japan also conducted dedicated sigh�ng surveys,
which were independent from those research programs
under special scien�ﬁc permit. For example, a dedicatedsigh�ng survey was conducted in the Antarc�c in the austral summer 2014/15.
Those six former whale research programs under
special permits (FWRPs) above had research objec�ves
related with the assessment and management of whale
resources as well as to the role of whales in the ecosystem. The target species of the lethal sampling in theAntarc�c FWRPs were the Antarc�c minke whale (JARPA),
Antarc�c minke and ﬁn whales (JARPAII) and Antarc�c74minke whale (NEWREP-A). In the western North Paciﬁc,the target species of the lethal sampling were the common minke whale (JARPN), common minke, Brydeʼs, seiand sperm whales (JARPNII) and common minke and seiwhales (NEWREP-NP).
An important characteris�c of the Japanese FWRPs
was the combina�on of lethal and non-lethal sampling.
Among the former, a limited number of whales weretaken as indicated above for the objec�ve of collec�ng
informa�on on age, reproduc�ve status, and stomach
contents mainly. Among the la�er, techniques such assystema�c sigh�ng surveys, photo-iden�ﬁca�on, and biopsy sampling were conducted for all large whale species
distributed in the research area. Oceanographic and marine debris surveys were also conducted to understandthe whaleʼs physical environment.
The Japanese FWRP programs were duly reviewed
by interna�onal specialists in workshops organized bythe Interna�onal Whaling Commissionʼs Scien�ﬁc Commi�ee (IWC SC). Reports of the review workshops areavailable in IWC (2008) for JARPA; IWC (2015) for JARPAII;
IWC (2001) for JARPN and IWC (2017) for JARPNII. Theseprograms le� behind unique data and sample sets that
represent around 30 years of systema�c research in boththe Antarc�c and western North Paciﬁc. See IWC (2015)
and IWC (2017) for examples of lists of samples and dataobtained in the Antarc�c and western North Paciﬁc, respec�vely. All those samples and data were collected in aconsistent and systema�c way for the objec�ves of eachresearch program.
Scien�ﬁc outputs from the Japanese FWRPs are available in a substan�al number of peer-reviewed publica�ons (see the last sec�on of this TEREP-ICR issue)
and in scien�ﬁc documents presented to na�onal andinterna�onal mee�ngs, mainly to mee�ngs of scien�ﬁccommi�ee of interna�onal organiza�ons in charge of theconserva�on and management of marine resources including large whales.
In 2018, Japan announced its withdrawal from theThe current utility of data and samples collected by former Japanese whale research programs under special scientific permit

ICRW, which came into eﬀect on 30 June 2019 (seePastene, 2019). Because the Japanese FWRPs were conducted under Ar�cle VIII of the ICRW, Japan had to cease
the NEWREP-A and NEWREP-NP from that same date.
Instead, Japan, through the ICR started dedicated sigh�ng
surveys in the Antarc�c and western North Paciﬁc. Thesenew surveys collect informa�on like that obtained by
the non-lethal component of the FWRP informed above.
The most important data collected by recent non-lethal
surveys are the sigh�ng data for abundance es�matepurposes.
Given the new whaling policy by Japan, a ques�onemerges about the current u�lity of the exis�ng samples1and data collected by the completed FWRPs (JARPA,JARPAII, JARPN, JARPANII) and by the FWRPs that ceased
in 2019 (NEWREP-A and NEWREP-NP). To my view thesamples and data collected by the Japanese FWRP haveimportant future u�li�es on the following research topics:i)Assessment and management of whale resources
in Japanese watersii) Assessment of whale resources in the Antarc�ciii) Role of whales in the marine ecosystemiv) Calibra�on of non-lethal techniquesi) Assessment and management of whale resources inJapanese waters
From 1 July 2019, Japan started commercial whaling oncommon minke, Brydeʼs and sei whales within its territorial sea and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Catch limits
were calculated in line with the IWC-endorsed Revised
Management Procedure (RMP) and the uncertain�es
evaluated through the process known as Implementation
Simulation Trials (ISTs). The applica�on of the RMP andISTs are based on the best available scien�ﬁc informa�on for the target whale species. Relevant informa�on isrevised from �me to �me so that future catch limits canbe adjusted by taking into considera�on the most recent
scien�ﬁc informa�on.
The most relevant informa�on for the applica�on of
the RMP and ISTs are stock structure (important for deﬁning management areas), catch history (available from1

Not all samples are s�ll available. A substan�al number ofsamples collected by the FWRPs were lost because of theearthquake and tsunami that occurred in Japan in February
2011. The tsunami destroyed the marine research sta�on of
Ayukawa where most of the samples collected un�l that year
were stored.

the IWC database), abundance series, and reproduc�veinforma�on of the relevant whale species.
The analysis of gene�c samples obtained during theJapanese FWRPs is essen�al for the applica�on of theRMP and ISTs for two main reasons. The ﬁrst is that,though valuable, gene�c analysis of gene�c samples collected by biopsy sampling during recent dedicated sighting surveys is not suﬃcient to elucidate stock structure.
This is because the sample size is small, and the samplingis limited in geographical distribu�on. These new gene�csamples should be analyzed in conjunc�on with gene�csamples from the FWRPs to provide sound stock structure hypothesis for management purposes. Second, thegene�c analysis on stock structure should be conductedconsidering the temporal factor as distribu�on and stock
structure of a species can change with �me due to environmental factors. In this context, gene�c samples fromFWRPs can be used as a reference in future studies onstock structure of the relevant whale species.
In the same way, sigh�ng data obtained through theJapanese FWRPs should be analyzed in conjunc�onwith sigh�ng data from more recent dedicated sigh�ng
surveys to get �me series abundance es�mates for use
in RMP and ISTs. Under the RMP a larger �me series ofabundance is preferred as it will increase the precisionof the es�mates and therefore will op�mize the use of
the RMP for calcula�ng catch limits. In this context, theabundance es�mates from the Japanese FWRPs havebeen and will be important for the Japanese RMP domes�c process.
Informa�on on natural mortality and age at sexual maturity is par�cularly important for the ISTs. Because suchinforma�on cannot be obtained by the current dedicatedsigh�ng surveys, the use of parameters es�mated fromthe Japanese FWRPs will con�nue in the future.
It should be noted here that the domes�c applica�on of the RMP and ISTs in Japan is responsibility of an
ad-hoc group from diﬀerent research organiza�on. The
Terms of Reference (TORs) and main works of this groupwere explained in Pastene (2019). One of the TORs of thisgroup is ʻthe iden�ﬁca�on of biological data (e.g. age,reproduc�ve data) and the process required to improve/op�mize the use of the current RMPʼ. The research objec�ves of the NEWREP-NP were directly related to this TOR
and therefore the samples and data from that program
related to common and sei whales are relevant to fulﬁll
this TOR in the near future.
ii) Assessment of whale resources in the Antarc�c
The monitoring of the abundance and abundance
75Technical Reports of the Ins�tute of Cetacean Research (2023)

trends of large whales in the Antarc�c is very important.
For the cases of species that were heavily exploited by
the middle of the 20th century, it is important to monitor
their recovery and how this recovery is aﬀec�ng othercomponents of the marine ecosystem including thosewhale species that were not exploited substan�ally inthe past.
Long-term abundance series can be obtained whensigh�ng data collected by past surveys associated and notassociated with FWRPs are analyzed in conjunc�on withmore recent sigh�ng data collected by current dedicatedsigh�ng surveys in the Antarc�c, e.g. by the JapaneseAbundance and Stock structure Surveys in the Antarc�c(JASS-A) program.
Also, gene�c samples from diﬀerent baleen whale species collected by biopsy sampling under the FWRPs canbe analyzed with those obtained by the JASS-A and contribute in this way to understand the stock structure ofthose species, which is essen�al to interpret abundancees�mates.
iii) Role of whales in the marine ecosystem
Apart from the samples and data directly relevant for
management under the RMP, the Japanese FWRPs collected important data to study the role and health ofwhales in the marine ecosystem in both the Antarc�cand western North Paciﬁc. For example, qualita�ve andquan�ta�ve data on stomach content, surveys of the preyspecies of whales, oceanographic surveys to understandthe environment of whales, samples to examine the concentra�on of diﬀerent chemical pollutants in both whales
and prey species, and surveys on marine debris on bothseas surface and whales, were collected systema�cally.
Only the informa�on collected by the non-lethal
component of the FWRPs can be obtained by recent
dedicated sigh�ng surveys, e.g. sigh�ng, oceanographic
and marine debris surveys. The �me series of such data,
constructed by combining FWRPs and recent sigh�ng surveys, are very important to inves�gate changes in the environment surrounding the whales. This is very importantin �mes of climate change. Changes in the oceanographic
condi�ons will imply changes in whaleʼs prey distribu�onand by implica�on, changes in the distribu�on of whales.
Informa�on already obtained on feeding ecology andchemical pollu�on from the Japanese FWRPs will be
important for compara�ve purposes when new data on
those topics emerge in the future.
iv) Calibra�on of non-lethal techniques
Several non-lethal research techniques are being de76

veloped by the ICR. For example, the poten�al use of biopsy samples for epigene�c es�ma�on of age, analysis ofprogesterone in biopsy samples to obtain informa�on ofreproduc�ve status of female whales and stable isotope
to obtain informa�on on the feeding ecology of whales.
The samples and data from Japanese FWRPs can be used
to calibrate non-lethal methodologies, e.g. Goto et al.
(2020) for epigene�c analyses, Takahashi et al. (2022) for
stable isotope analyses and Inoue et al. (2019) for progesterone analyses.
Also, results on non-lethal techniques such as photoiden�ﬁca�on and satellite tracking of whales used forstudying the movement and distribu�on of whales, canbe be�er interpreted in the context of the stock structure
analyses conducted using gene�c samples obtained during the Japanese FWRPs.

CONCLUSION
The samples and data collected under the Japanese
FWRPs have been and will be important for studies on
assessment and management of whales targeted by Japanese commercial whaling, assessment of large whales in
the Antarc�c, role of whales in the marine ecosystem andin studies of calibra�on of new non-lethal techniques. In
addi�on, samples and data from the FWRPs can be usedin worldwide compara�ve studies of a more academic nature, for example on taxonomy e.g. Milmann et al. (2021).

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