APPENDIX B 



OBSERVATION OF JAPANESE PELAGIC 

 FUR SEAL RESEARCH, 1965 



By 

 Hiroshi Kajimura 



Under Article II, paragraph 5, of the Interim 

 Convention on Conservation of North Pacific 

 Fur Seals, member countries agreed to ex- 

 change scientific personnel by mutual consent 

 of the parties concerned. The last U.S. ob- 

 server sent to Japan under this provision was 

 G. K. Tanonaka, who visited in April and May 

 1958. 



In February 1963 the North Pacific Fur Seal 

 Commission agreed to conduct researchonthe 

 quality of sealskins by sex, age, and time and 

 method of collection. I went to Akahama 

 (Ozuchi), Japan, in 1965 to observe Japanese 

 pelagic fur sealing, particularly in regard to 

 selection of seals, methods of collecting to 

 reduce damage to skins, and skin- handling 

 techniques aboard vessels and on shore. 



I arrived in Tokyo, Japan, 7 April and visited 

 the Tokai Fisheries Laboratory, where the 

 marine mammal specialists are headquartered, 

 before going by train to the field station at 

 Ozuchi on 10 April. During my stay at the 

 field station from 10 April to 10 May I spent 

 15 days aboard a vessel. Because of bad 

 weather, seals were hunted on only 6 days. 



I would like to thank the biologists of the 

 Tokai Fisheries Laboratory, Tokyo, and the 

 members of the research vessels for making 

 my stay in Japan rewarding as well as enjoy- 

 able. 



PERSONNEL 



The four biologists of the Marine Mammal 

 Section, Tokai Fisheries Laboratory, Tokyo, 

 Japan, handle the various aspects of fur seal 

 research conducted by Japan. Each biologist 

 has a tour of duty at the field station at Aka- 

 hama during the sealing season (fig. B-1). 



Temporary employees at the field station 

 were three biological aids and four office 

 clerks. One biological aid is assigned to each 

 vessel to collect data at sea and assist at the 

 field station when the vessels are in port. The 

 office clerks transfer field notes to final data 

 sheets and punchcards, and do miscellaneous 

 tasks. 



FIELD STATION LABORATORY 



The Akahama field station is the base for 

 Japanese pelagic fur seal research. Akahama, 

 in Iwate Prefecture, is a small fishing village 

 about 1.5 nniles from the town of Ozuchi 

 (Otsuchi) on the Pacific Ocean side of Honshu 



Island (fig. B-2). Akahama-Ozuchi has been 

 one of the main ports used by Japanese pelagic 

 sealers since earliest sealing times and is 

 considered by the Japanese as the harpoon 

 vessel capital of the world. 



VESSELS AND EQUIPMENT 



Three vessels were chartered by the Japa- 

 nese Government in 1965 to conduct pelagic 

 fur seal research (table B-1). These char- 

 tered vessels, known as "tsukinnbo-sen" or 

 harpoon vessels, were described by Austin 

 and Wilke (1950). They are designed mainly 

 for collecting fur seals, porpoises, and sword- 

 fish, but are also used for miscellaneous 

 fishing. The only difference between the ves- 

 sels used now and those described by Austin 

 and Wilke is size; present vessels are larger 

 and have more modern equipment (35 gross 

 tons compared with 20 gross tons). Because 

 the vessels are not equipped with radar, navi- 

 gation is by compass, radio direction finder, 

 and the captain's knowledge of the locality. 



Figure B-1. --Biologist, In front of field station laboratory 

 at Akahama. 



Table B-1. --Harpoon vessels chartered for fur seal research by 

 Japan in 1965 



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