A 50-f<fot sperm whale aboard the mother ship 



(a) operations had been un- 

 avoidably delayed in getting 

 under way; (b) the original 

 termination date of 31 

 March would end the oper- 

 ations at a very productive 

 time. The extension was 

 granted 24 March 1946 

 (Appendix V) . The Bonin 

 operations ceased 18 April 

 1946, two weeks before the 

 season expired, for reasons 

 discussed in the following 

 section (E-5). 



I. 



1945-46 



Summary of Bonin Whaling Operations Under Allied Supervision, 



1. When permission was granted the Japanese to resume whaling 

 around the Bonin Islands, two companies, the Nippon Marine Products Co 

 (Nippon Suisan KK) and the Ocean Fishing Co (Taiyo G-yogyo KK), indicated 

 that they would participate. The Nippon Marine Products Co, however, was 

 unable to complete preparations in time for the season and consequently 

 shelved its planB. 



2. With land stations in the Bonin Islands forbidden, the Ocean 

 Fishing Co found it necessary to obtain a whaling factory ship in order to 

 process its whale catches. All large Japanese factory ships, however, had 

 been sunk during the war. This increased the difficulties of assembling 



a whaling fleet. When a former repatriation ship of 1,500 gross tons was 

 obtained by the company, authorization was secured from Shipping Control 

 Administration of Japan for this ship to operate as part of the 10-vessel 

 whaling fleet (Table 2). 



3. The Bonin whaling operation commenced 24 February 1946 when 

 six whaling vessels of the Ocean Pishing Co left Shimonoseki , Japan, for 

 the whaling grounds. Actual operations be^an 1 March 1946. The fleet was 

 augmented by the subsequent arrival of other ships. During March 59 whaleB 

 were captured. 



WHALES CAUGHT DURING MARCH 1946 BONIN WHALING OPERATIONS 



Species Number of Whale 3 



Sperm whales 

 Sei waales 

 Humpback whales 

 TOTAL 



39 



10 

 10 

 59 



Note: See Figure 4 for locality of whales captured. 



12 



