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Viewing cable 06TOKYO2229, WHALING: JARPA II LETHAL RESEARCH FLEET RETURNS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06TOKYO2229 2006-04-25 04:09 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Tokyo
VZCZCXYZ0003
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKO #2229/01 1150409
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 250409Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1329
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
INFO RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 0407
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1458
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0868
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1606
RUEHRK/AMEMBASSY REYKJAVIK 0121
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 1061
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 0575
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 3564
UNCLAS TOKYO 002229 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR D, G and OES/OA - MHAYES AND EAP/J - KMIDHA 
USDOC FOR NOAA/NMFS - US IWC COMMISSIONER HOGARTH AND 
McCARTHY 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EFIS KSCA IWC JA ETRD
SUBJECT: WHALING: JARPA II LETHAL RESEARCH FLEET RETURNS 
 
REF: A) 05 TOKYO 2193; B) 05 TOKYO 2932; 
     C) 05 TOKYO 6131; D) 06 TOKYO 2073 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.  The first of Japan's expanded lethal research whaling 
expeditions under JARPA II returned to Japan from the 
Antarctic on April 14.  The Institute of Cetacean 
Research (ICR) praised the new research program as having 
been "successfully conducted", but will now turn to the 
difficult task of trying to sell the whale meat in a glut 
market.  The meat from the 853 minke and 10 fin whales, 
double the number of minke taken in previous years under 
JARPA, is currently refrigerated in Tokyo and Kanazawa in 
north-central Japan, while the ICR and the Fisheries 
Agency of Japan (FAJ) work on a national sales strategy. 
The wholesale price of minke whale red meat, regarded as 
the highest quality part of the whale used for sashimi, 
will be set at Yen 1,950 (USD 16) per kilogram, a 19 
percent decrease from the price set under JARPA in 2004 
and 2005.  The price of fin whale is expected to be about 
the same.  After the FAJ approves a sales plan, the ICR 
expects to start selling the meat as soon as possible, 
from June at the latest.  END SUMMARY 
 
----------------------------- 
JARPA II Delivers As Promised 
----------------------------- 
 
2.  On April 14, the whaling mothership Nisshin Maru 
arrived back in Japan at Kanazawa Port, northern-central 
Japan, from its five months-plus voyage conducting lethal 
resarch in the Antarctic under the Second Phase of 
Japan's Whale Research Program under Special Permit 
(JARPA II).  Three sampling/sighting vessels, the Yushin 
Maru, Yushin Maru No.2, and Kyo Maru No. 1, arrived in 
Shimonoseki, southern Japan, on April 13, while the 
sighting vessels, Kyoshin Maru No. 2, reached Oi Wharf in 
Tokyo on April 15, and Kaiko Maru made it to Shiokama, 
northern Japan, on April 16.  According to the ICR's 
press release (para 10), the first expedition under JARPA 
II took 853 minke whales (462 males; 391 females) and 10 
fin whales (4 males; 6 females) as planned (minke whale: 
850 plus/minus 10 percent; fin whale: 10).  Because of 
the January 8 confrontation with the Greenpeace vessel 
Arctic Sunrise, the central part of the Nisshin Maru was 
dented.  The vessel also sustained other damages, such as 
"scars made with knives", according to the April 18 issue 
of the Suisan Keizai Shimbun, a fisheries trade 
newspaper. 
 
3.  Asked how the crew members were able to double the 
harvest from previous years, Hideki Moronuki, Deputy 
Director for the Far Seas Fisheries Division at the FAJ, 
told us that previous JARPA cruises could have taken many 
more whales, but had ended operations when the catch 
limit was reached.  Under JARPA II, part of the previous 
"dead time" was used to kill more whales.  In addition, 
increasing the number of crewmembers from 202 to 252 
enabled the crews to work in two groups in 24-hour 
shifts, as opposed to only one group in previous years 
(ref B). 
 
4.  With regard to the mothership's ability to process 
the large fin whales, which had been in doubt, Hirohisa 
Shigemune, from the Stock Research Department of Kyodo 
Senpaku, which owns and operates the vessels, said that 
"it was not a big deal", as the crews used two winches to 
reel in the fin whales, whereas only one winch is 
normally used for minkes.  Veteran whalers with 
experience catching fin and other large whales during the 
heyday of commercial whaling are still active and shared 
their experience as well, he added.  The Japanese version 
of the ICR's press release says that the JARPA II 
expedition faced a one month-long "disturbance" from 
Greenpeace and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, but 
Shigemune said that, in fact, their attacks were 
intermittent, resulting in only a half month's worth of 
disruption. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Now the Hard Part: Selling the Meat 
----------------------------------- 
 
5.  The meat from 853 minke whales and 10 fin whales is 
currently refrigerated in Tokyo and Kanazawa in north- 
central Japan.  The ICR has not yet calculated the total 
amount of meat from the harvest, but Takumi Ikeshima at 
the Public Relations Department of the ICR estimates the 
minke whale meat will amount to about 3,000 tons and the 
fin whale meat about 250 tons.  The wholesale price of 
minke whale's red meat, regarded as the highest quality 
part of the whale used for sashimi, has been set at Yen 
1,950 (USD 16) per kilogram, a 19 percent decrease from 
the price set under JARPA's 2004 and 2005 harvests.  Fin 
whale meat is expected to be priced at about the same 
level. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
New Customers: Hospitals and Company Cafeterias? 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
6.  The ICR is currently discussing a sales strategy with 
the FAJ, focusing on expanding the market and target 
consumers.  Ikeshima told EST FSN that the ICR considers 
hospitals and company cafeterias as possible new 
customers, on top of the current distribution routes such 
as seafood markets and whale meat restaurants.  Moronuki 
said that the FAJ is "positively considering such plans" 
since they would take advantage of the "low-calorie, high- 
protein and, thus, healthy nature" of whale meat taken 
from the Antarctic Ocean.  After the Director-General of 
the FAJ approves the sales plans, the ICR expects to 
start selling the meat as soon as possible, from June at 
the latest, according to Ikeshima. 
 
7.  To facilitate this expansion, industry observers say 
that a new company will be established in early May to 
sell whale meat and stimulate more consumption.  The ICR 
and/or Kyodo Senpaku will likely assume ther role of 
parent company, said Naohiko Akimoto, staff writer on the 
whaling beat at the Suisan Keizai Shimbun.  According to 
Akimoto, given that a total of 8,000 tons of whale meat 
will be distributed in Japan in 2006, a number of food 
processing companies have shown interest in entering the 
whale meat industry, attracted by declining prices. 
 
8.  According to the online version of the Yomiuri 
Shimbun's Kyushu (southern Japan) local edition, IRC 
Executive Director Mitsuyoshi Murakami commented that he 
"wished to appeal to the world to resume (commercial) 
whaling, in light of JARPA II's completion".  But ICR's 
Ikeshima said that it would be impossible for Japan to 
return to commercial whaling like the old days, due to 
limited investments, manpower, and technology in the 
Japanese whaling community. 
 
---------------------------------- 
None Too Interested Japanese Media 
---------------------------------- 
 
9.  Despite the "successfully conducted" JARPA II and GOJ 
proclamations that Japan's research whaling program was 
now "supported by the entire nation" (ref D), most 
Japanese media outlets, except for the fisheries trade 
papers, virtually ignored the return of JARPA II story in 
its nation-wide reportage.  Major newspapers Yomiuri, 
Asahi, Mainichi and NIKKEI carried the news in local 
editions only. 
 
----------------- 
ICR Press Release 
----------------- 
 
10. The following is an English version of the ICR's 
Press Release dated April 15, 2006: 
 
Begin Press Release: 
 
MEDIA RELEASE 
15 April 2006 
 
ANTARCTIC RESEARCH PROGRAM A SUCCESS 
 
The Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) said today the 
first cruise of its JARPA II program in the Antarctic was 
successfully conducted and all scientific objectives were 
met.  The Antarctic research vessels arrived back in 
Japan at the weekend to a fanfare from supporters and the 
public. 
 
Director General of the ICR, Dr. Hiroshi Hatanaka, said 
today that despite efforts by anti-science organizations 
Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd, the researchers were able to 
meet their objectives, including the sampling of minke 
and fin whales. 
 
"Despite all claims from these people that their protests 
had prevented us from obtaining our research quota, the 
fact is that minke whales are so abundant that we 
achieved our target - a statistically necessary number of 
samples," Dr. Hatanaka said. 
 
"In addition, we conducted a sighting survey with great 
success and found that humpback and fin whales have 
continuously increased with high reproduction rates.  It 
is clearly demonstrated again that the biomass of 
humpback whales in the JARPA II research area is well 
beyond that of minke whales." 
 
The research vessels surveyed whale stocks over a 
distance of 16,238.07 nautical miles.  The total number 
of whales sampled was 853 Antarctic minke whales (462 
males, 391 females) and 10 Antarctic fin whales (4 males, 
6 females). 
 
During the two and half month expedition in the 
Antarctic, scientists collected through non-lethal 
research photographic data of natural marks from 13 Blue 
whales, 34 Humpback whales and 38 Southern Right whales. 
Biopsy samples were collected from 13 Humpback whales, 15 
Southern Right whales, nine Fin whales, five Blue whales 
and one Sei whale. 
 
For further information contact: Mr. Hideki MORONUKI, Far 
Seas Fisheries Division, Fisheries Agency, Ministry of 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tel: +81-3-3502-2443 
Visit also: www.icrwhale.org 
 
End of Press Release 
 
DONOVAN