A harpooned eel whale 

 struggling to escape 



3. Japanese Whaling Concerns 



a. Whaling in Bonin waters has 

 always been shared by two Japanese fishing 

 companies. The Nippon Marine Products Co, 

 originally known as the Toyo Whaling Co, was 

 the first to exploit whale resources in this 

 area (1923) „ The- Ocean Fishing Co, then 

 known as the Hayashikane Co, entered the 

 field in 1937. To eliminate competition and 

 to insure friendly inter-company relations, 

 the two firms observed an agreement whereby 

 the Toyo Whaling Co exploited waters around 

 Chichijima, and the Hayashikane Co operated 

 in the area surrounding Hahajima. A land 

 station was established on each of these 

 islands by the respective operating company, 

 and catches were processed there (Figure l). 

 The whale meat, oil, bone meal, and blubber 

 were shipped to Japan for marketing. The 

 combined fleet operated by these companies 

 during 1941 consisted of only seven vessels. 

 As lend stations were able to process all 

 catches, no factory ships were employed. 



4. Number of Whales Captured 



a. Prior to 1936 whale catches 

 in the Bonioi Island area were less than one-half of those produced in 

 recent years. Not until the entry of the Hayashikane Co into commercial 

 activities in 1939 did catches increase significantly (Table l). This 

 company was licensed in 1937 but did not actively participate in whaling 

 until April 1938 when its land station at Hahajima was completed. Its 

 earlier operations were conducted only on a trial basis. From 1923 

 through 1938, when only one company was active, the average annual catch 

 was 62 whales. In subsequent years catches increased substantially, 

 averaging 228 whales annually from 1939 through 1941 (Figure 3). 



C. The War Years 1941-1945 



1. With the outbreak of hostilities in December 1941, Bonin 

 whaling operations dropped sharply (Table l). The land station owned by 

 the Nippon Marine Products Co at Futami-ko on Chichijima was transferred 

 to Anijima. All whaling vessels of the Ocean FiBhing Co were comman- 

 deered by the Japanese navy. With such limitations upon the whaling 

 industry, catcheB decreased drastically. During the 1941-1942 season 

 only 68' whales were landed. During the following year the Ocean Fishing 

 Co replaced its losses with other ships, and operations once more re- 

 turned to normal. Stimulated by military and domestic demands, whale 

 catches in 1943 and 1944 surpassed all previous records. 



