Institute of Cetacean Research
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Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR, 日本鯨類研究所 Nippon Geirui Kenkyūsho) is a Japanese privately owned, non-profit institution that claims to carry out the scientific research into cetaceans. It grew out of the Whale Research Institute (founded 1947) which in turn was an off-shoot of Nakabe Scientific Research Centre (founded 1941). The Whales Research Institute obtained its scientific data from commercial whaling. ICR was established in response to the 1986 IWC moratorium on all commercial whaling. It has absorbed ships, crew and equipments of a whaling company which now look after the sale of whale meat from the institute. It is often claimed to be a front for the commercial whaling industry by whaling critics. It is funded by ex-whaling organisations and the Japanese government.
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[edit] Research
The ICR takes part in a wide range of cetacean research, including the following activities:
- Whale Research Programs. Biological research including the collection of samples from the Antarctic and the North-western Pacific under special permit from the Government of Japan (JARPA and JARPN II Programs). Samples are used for studies related to estimation of biological parameters, resource abundance, elucidation of stock structure and the role of whales in the marine ecosystem, and elucidation of the effect of environmental changes on cetaceans.
- Sighting Surveys. Conducted in the Southern Hemisphere and the North Pacific to elucidate trends in abundance, density, distribution, and behavior of whales. These surveys include the International Whaling Commission Southern Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research (SOWER) Program.
- Socio-Economic Research. Conducted to document and clarify the relationship of man and whales from the social, cultural, historical, economical, and dietary culture aspects.
- Legal Research. Conducted with the objective of promoting normalization of IWC activities in line with the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) object and purpose of sustainable utilization of whale resources.
Other Cetacean Research Conducted By ICR:
- Development of a whale products distribution surveillance system using genetic techniques including the creation of a database for the determination of species and place (sea area) of origin, and establishment of individual identification techniques;
- Development of age assessment techniques using age characters, including chemical analysis;
- Research on biotelemetry technology development using artificial satellites;
- Research on natural marks identification;
- Research on the bioaccumulation of heavy metals and environmental chemicals such as organic chlorine compounds;
- Research concerning improvement and development of whale capture/killing techniques;
- Collection and analysis of marine mammal stranding records on the coast of Japan.
[edit] Controversy
Whaling critics accuse the institute of being a cover for Japan's commercial whaling industry. They point to the fact that it is funded by Kyodo Senpaku, a for-profit company that conducts the collection, processing and selling wholesale of the whale specimens on behalf of the research institute. The IRC is also subsidised by the Japanese government. Kyodo Senpaku sells roughly US$60 million worth of whale products each year. In 2005 Japan increased its whale catch vastly undertaken by the IRC, still claiming it was for scientific purposes; Professor Toshio Kasuya, of Teikyo University of Science and Technology in Japan said in the Mainichi Shinbun newspaper “This is nothing other than an economic activity. It leaves no room for researchers to carry out research based on their own ideas.” [1]
