Technical Reports of the Institute of Cetacean Research (2019)

pp. 55–58

Commentary
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reﬂect the views of the Institute ofCetacean Research

Withdrawal of Japan from the International Convention for
the Regulation of Whaling: implications for the whale research
conducted by the Institute of Cetacean Research
Luis A. Pastene**Contact e-mail: pastene@cetacean.jp

INTRODUCTION
On 26 December 2018, Japan announced its withdrawal
from the International Convention for the Regulation ofWhaling (ICRW), which came into eﬀect on 30 June 2019.
From this same date Japan ceased its two whale research
programs under special scientiﬁc permit conductedunder Article VIII of the ICRW, the NEWREP-A (New Scientiﬁc Whale Research Program in the Antarctic Ocean) andthe NEWREP-NP (New Scientiﬁc Whale Research Programin the western North Paciﬁc). From 1 July 2019, Japan
started commercial whaling on common minke, Brydeʼsand sei whales within its territorial sea and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
As reported by Tamura et al. (2017), the Institute ofCetacean Research (ICR) was in charge of designing andimplementing both NEWREP-A and NEWREP-NP, and research under these two programs was the main and ﬁrst
priority of the ICR. Now that these research programs
have ceased, what is the future of the ICR and its researchon whales? This note attempts to respond to this question.
This authorʼs view is that the basis for responding tothe question above can be found i) in the statement fromJapan at the International Whaling Commission Scientiﬁc Committee (IWC SC) in 2019 regarding Japanʼs withdrawal from the IWC; and ii) in Japanʼs research activities
aimed to calculate sustainable catch limits for commercial
whaling in its EEZ.

STATEMENT FROM JAPAN AT THE IWC SCIENTIFICCOMMITTEE REGARDING JAPANʼS WITHDRAWALFROM THE IWC
At the 2019 annual meeting of the IWC SC, Japan made astatement regarding its future involvement in the work of
the IWC SC (IWC, 2019). The main points of the statement
are summarized below:• Japan will continue research programs with non-lethal methods in both the North Paciﬁc and theAntarctic Ocean.
• Japan will collect ﬁsheries-dependent scientiﬁcdata through commercial whaling within its EEZ.
• Japan will provide the IWC SC scientiﬁc ﬁndings derived from the activities described above.
• Japan will provide the IWC SC standard statistics inrelation to its commercial whaling.
• As for the data collected through its special permit programs (JARPA/JARPAII, NEWREP-A, JARPN/JARPNII, NEWREP-NP), Japan will continue to beengaged in their analyses and provide the IWC SC
with scientiﬁc ﬁndings thereon.
• Japan will continue to provide information on its
DNA register for large whales on a voluntary basis.
• Japan is prepared to continue the IWC-POWER (Paciﬁc Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research) in theNorth Paciﬁc.
Given their previous experience with NEWREP-A andNEWREP-NP, this author considers that ICR scientists
have the potential to play a substantial future role in theresearch activities listed above.

CATCH LIMIT CALCULATION FOR SUSTAINABLE
WHALING IN THE WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC
In its IWC SC statement, Japan noted that catch limits ofcommon minke, Brydeʼs and sei whales will be calculated
in line with the Revised Management Procedure (RMP),
ʻtaking into account relevant scientiﬁc progress achievedby the IWC SC such as outputs from Implementation
Reviews and In-depth Assessment.ʼ While such scientiﬁcprogress should be taken into account, Japanʼs withdrawal from the ICRW means that it is now the sole mandate
and responsibility of Japan to calculate sustainable catch
limits for the target whale species in the western North
Paciﬁc, and to allocate such quotas internally within
Japan.
In fact, Japan established an ad-hoc domestic group55

Technical Reports of the Institute of Cetacean Research (2019)

composed of scientists from several Japanese researchorganizations and oﬃcials from the Fisheries Agency ofJapan (FAJ) with the aim to carrying out the calculationsof catch limits of common minke, Brydeʼs and sei whales
in line with the RMP. The main work of the ad-hoc group
was:i) to summarize the key information on stock structure (required to deﬁne management areas),abundance and catch history of the three speciesof baleen whales;ii) to run the Norwegian Catch Limit Algorithm (CLA)
computer code for a tuning level of 0.6;iii) to investigate the robustness of the catch limits
calculated by the CLA to some uncertainties by theso-called Implementation Simulation Trials (ISTs)
process (in the case of common minke and Brydeʼswhales where stock structure is complex).
The ﬁnal catch quotas were determined by the FAJ
after the calculations of catch limits by the domestic
ad-hoc group were reviewed by a team of international
experts. Based on those catch quotas, which were lower
than the calculated catch limits, commercial whaling operations started from 1 July 2019 in Japanʼs EEZ. Participation of ICR scientists was key in the successful work of thead-hoc group.
Japanʼs work on catch limits (including the ISTs) willcontinue to be based on the best available science;
hence, the catch limits will be revised from time to time
to reﬂect the latest scientiﬁc information. In this context,
a domestic Steering Group was recently established todeal with the required data and analyses associated with
future updates of the calculations of catch limits. The
Terms of References (TORs) of this Steering Group involve
among others, i) the identiﬁcation of relevant input data
to update the catch limit calculations in line with the RMP(i.e. abundance estimates, genetic and non-genetic datafor reﬁning the current stock structure hypotheses, etc.);ii) the identiﬁcation of biological data (i.e. age, reproductive data) and the process required to improve/optimize
the use of the current RMP and; iii) the research of alternative management procedures to the RMP.
This author considers that, given the contribution andexperience acquired by ICR scientists during the work of
the previous ad-hoc group, the contribution of ICR scientists to the work of the new Steering Group would remain
substantial.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE WHALE RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY THE ICR
From the points made in Japanʼs statement at the IWC
56

SC and the TORs and activities proposed for the domestic
Steering Group on sustainable whaling in the westernNorth Paciﬁc it is possible to highlight some research activities relevant for the future work of the ICR.
1.

Research programs with non-lethal methods inboth the North Paciﬁc and the Antarctic Ocean
Japan presented the outline of a new research program in
the Indo-Paciﬁc region of the Antarctic at the 2019 IWC SC(GOJ, 2019a) and at the Convention on the Conservationof Antarctic Marine Living Resourcesʼs Working Group on
Ecosystem Monitoring and Management (CCAMLR EMM)
(GOJ, 2019b) meetings. The research program, called
JASS-A (Japanese Abundance and Stock structure Surveys
in the Antarctic), has two main research objectives i) thestudy of the abundance and abundance trends of large
whale species, and ii) the study of the distribution, movement and stock structure of large whale species. JASS-A
also has several secondary research objectives related
to oceanographic conditions, marine debris and whalebiology. The research program will be based on systematic sighting surveys utilizing the line transect method, tobe conducted alternatively in IWC Areas III, IV, V and VI,
south of 60°S by one or two specialized vessels, during atentative period of eight austral summer seasons. Analyses related to main and secondary objectives will be conducted based on new as well previous data collected by
JARPA/JARPAII and NEWREP-A in the same research area.
In the western North Paciﬁc, dedicated sighting surveys are being planned with the aim of obtaining sighting
data for abundance estimation of large whale species,
with emphasis given to common minke, Brydeʼs and sei
whales, the species that are the current target of commercial whaling. Also the surveys will collect biopsy
samples, which are important for genetic analyses toelucidate/reﬁne stock structure hypotheses.
Surveys of the IWC-POWER program have been conducted successfully until 2019. Japan in consultation with
the IWC should decide on the survey plan for 2020, andon the future of the POWER after 2020. The importanceof such surveys is that they provide sighting data (andbiopsy samples) from areas not covered by the Japanese
dedicated sighting surveys.
The ICR could play a key role in the research activities
based on non-lethal methods given the substantial experience of its scientiﬁc staﬀ in both ﬁeld sighting surveys
and in analytical procedures related to abundance estimates and stock structure research.

Withdrawal of Japan from the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling

2.

Collection of ﬁsheries-dependent scientiﬁc data
through commercial whaling
Japanese scientists have already identiﬁed the dataand samples to be collected during commercial whaling
operations. The data involve data/samples relevant for
applying/optimizing the RMP as explained above (geneticsamples for stock structure analyses, biological samples
for age and reproductive status determination), andother data/samples for more generic use.
As is the case for non-lethal research noted above, ICR
scientists also have substantial experience in collecting
data and biological samples during past whale research
programs under special permit. To keep consistency andthe quality of the sampling process, ICR scientists should
be involved in sampling during commercial whaling operations in collaboration with scientists from the National
Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries and government
inspectors.

of the Steering Group in areas of their expertise such as, i)the design of dedicated sighting surveys; ii) the estimatesof abundance; iii) collection and analyses of genetic
samples to reﬁne the information on stock structure ofthe key species; and iv) running the CLA and designing/
implementing the ISTs.
Data accumulated by the ICR through its previous
whale research programs are likely to play a key role inthe process. Data available involve not only those key
for the application of the current RMP (stock structure,abundance, and catch history) but also some biological
data such as age and reproductive status, which can beused for the improvement or optimization of the current
RMP, and for developing of new catch limit calculation
methods.

3.

Japan will have observer status for its future participation in the work of the IWC SC. As usual, ICR scientists
should continue participating in the annual meetings andintersessional workshops of the IWC SC either as part ofJapanʼs observer delegation or as Invited Participants.
Following domestic consultation, ICR scientists may present results of the analyses mentioned above to the annual meetings.
ICR scientists have been engaged in meetings of otherinternational organizations related to the conservationand management of marine living resources i.e. in meetings of the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission
Scientiﬁc Committee (NAMMCO SC), CCAMLRʼs working groups, North Paciﬁc Marine Science Organization(PICES), etc. Their future participation in these international fora should be encouraged.

Analyses of data and samples from previous whale
research programs under special permit
In the case of the Antarctic the analyses by JASS-A under
its main and secondary objectives will be conducted onpooled data with those data/samples collected by JARPA/
JARPAII and NEWREP-A. The analyses of pooled data willcontribute with important information not only for theassessment of several large whale species but also forstudies on the ecosystem.
The analyses of samples and data obtained by JARPN,
JARPNII and NEWREP-NP in the western North Paciﬁc will
be continued, and those analyses should be conductedin conjunction with data and samples collected duringcommercial whaling operations. In this case emphasisshould be given to analyses relevant for assessment andmanagement of common minke, Brydeʼs and sei whales.
Because the whale research programs under special
permit were designed and implemented by the ICR, it isnatural to assume that the ICR would play an importantrole in this particular research activity in the future.
4. DNA registry of large whales
Given the expertise and accumulated experience, the ICR
should continue developing and implementing the DNA
registry of large whales for monitoring of the domestic
market under the supervision of the FAJ. Technical updates of the registry should be presented by the ICR to
the annual meetings of the IWC SC on a voluntary basis.
5. Catch limit calculations for sustainable whaling
ICR scientists have the potential to contribute to the work

FUTURE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JAPAN AND
THE IWC SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE AND OTHER
RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONSCONCLUSIONThe ICR and its scientists can play an important role in
the future whale research activities of Japan. The basisfor this conclusion are given in the research plans andguidelines outlined at Japanʼs statement regarding its
withdrawal from the IWC, and on the TORs of the recently
established Steering Group on sustainable commercial
whaling in Japanʼs EEZ. This conclusion is not surprising
given the ICRʼs substantial accumulated experience ofapproximately 30 years investigating whales and theirecosystem in both the Antarctic and the western North
Paciﬁc. The ICR scientists have the ﬁeld and analyticalexpertise (based on lethal and non-lethal methods) tocontinue responding to biological and ecological ques57

Technical Reports of the Institute of Cetacean Research (2019)

tions on whales, and contribute in this way to the futureconservation and management of this group of animals.

REFERENCES
Government of Japan. 2019a. Outline of a research program
to investigate the abundance, abundance trends and stock
structure of large whales in the Indo-Paciﬁc region of theAntarctic, including a survey plan for the 2019/20 australsummer season. Paper SC/68a/ASI08 presented to theIWC Scientiﬁc Committee, May 2019 (unpublished). 16 pp.
[Available from the IWC Secretariat].
Government of Japan. 2019b. Outline of a research program
to investigate the abundance, abundance trends and stock

58

structure of large whales in the Indo-Paciﬁc region of theAntarctic, including a survey plan for the 2019/20 australsummer season. Paper WG-EMM-2019/68 presented tothe CCAMLR Working Group on Ecosystem Monitoring andManagement, July 2019 (unpublished). 16 pp.
International Whaling Commission. 2019. Report of theScientiﬁc Committee. Annex U: Statement from Japan regarding Japanʼs withdrawal from the IWC: https://archive.iwc.int/pages/search.php?search=!collection73&bc_from=themes.
Tamura, T., Matsuoka, K. and Pastene, L.A. 2017. An overview
of the research programs on large whales conducted by
the Institute of Cetacean Research. Technical Reports of theInstitute of Cetacean Research (TEREP-ICR) No. 1: 1–14.