84 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



Vol. 28, No. 7 



Japan (Contd.): 



Fig, 2 - Sperm whale meat ready lor freezing aboard a Japanese 

 factoryship in Bering Sea, 



The Agency also announced its intention to 

 progressively reduce the fin whale catch dur- 

 ing the next three years. Two ( Nichiei Maru 

 and Kvokuvo Maru) of the Japanese whaling 

 fleets were scheduled to depart Japan around 

 May 15 and the third (Nisshin Maru No. _3) 

 around May 20. 



1966 Production Plan With Comparisons | 



Products 



Nichiei 



Kvokuvo 



Nisshin 

 Maru No. 3 



Total 



1965 

 Production 



,¥.^ffi 



Mam 



Finback: 



....... (N 



letric Tons 



1 



3,658 

 8,277 



11,010 

 24, 222 



14, 668 



32,499 



14,545 

 31.846 



Oil 



Frozen meat , 



Sperm Whale: 



7,500 

 2,000 



- 



15, 200 

 3,950 



22,700 

 5.950 



19, 524 



Oil 



Frozen meat . 



Other 



1,019 



1.101 



2,920 



5,039 



5,009 



ToUl . , . 



22,454 



36,333 



22,070 



80.856 



70,924 



This year finback meat, which was not 

 fullyused previously, is to be used complete- 

 ly. One company has concluded a contract 

 with a U. S. pet food manufacturer for 3,000 

 metric tons of such food (the export price is 

 about 80,000 yen a short ton (about US$221) 

 c.i.f. ( Suisan Tsushin, April 30, 1966, Nihon 

 Keizai, May 15, 1966, and other sourcesT) 



* * 



* * 



FINBACK WHALE CATCH IN 



NORTH PACIFIC CUT BY TEN PERCENT: 



Japan will "voluntarily'' reduce her catch 

 of finback whales in the Northern Pacific this 

 year by 10 percent, the Fisheries Agency an- 

 nounced in late April 1966. 



The decision was made in view of little 

 hope existing for the four whaling countries 



(Japan, the Soviet Union, the United States, 

 and Canada) to agree on how to conserve 

 dwindling finback resources in the area. No 

 agreement was in sight in time for the start 

 of the whaling season in mid-May. 



By this decision, Japan will reduce her 

 catch for 1966 from the quota of 1,406 fin- 

 backs for last year to 1,266. 



As diminishing whale resources in the 

 Northern Pacific became apparent, the four 

 countries concerned met in Honolulu in Feb- 

 ruary. The international gathering failed to 

 reach any agreement on restrictive measures 

 to be taken. Japan also sounded out the So- 

 viet Union in vain when the two countries met 

 in Moscow on their salmon and crab quotas 

 in Northwestern Pacific waters. Under the 

 circumstances, Japan decided to self -impose 

 the 10 -percent restriction in conformity with 

 a recommendation by a scientists' group at 

 the Honolulu meeting, which proposed that 

 Japan and the Soviet Union limit their total 

 catch below 1,600 finbacks annually if whale 

 resources are to be maintained at the present 

 level. 



By informing the other three parties of 

 the new decision, the Fisheries Agency hopes 

 that the Soviet Union also will voluntarily re- 

 strict its catch. The Agency thinks, however, 

 that a final conclusion on this problem will be 

 reached only after a series of whaling meet- 

 ings this year, including a meeting of the In- 

 ternational Whaling Commission in London in 

 June ( Mainichi, April 30, 1966). 



AGRICULTURE MINISTER URGES 



FISHING INDUSTRY TO 



PRACTICE RESOURCE CONSERVATION: 



In an interview with the press, Japanese 

 Minister of Agriculture Sakata was quoted as 

 follows: " In the Japan-Soviet fishery talks 

 this time, there were many difficult prob- 

 lems, but it was a matter for congratulations 

 that the agreement came to a conclusion in a 

 comparatively short period of time due to 

 the spirit of friendship and mutual under- 

 standing between Japan and the Soviet Union 

 which has been fostered for ten years after 

 conclusion of the Treaty. I think highly of 

 the efforts made by the members of the dele- 

 gation, including Delegate Fujita, and at the 

 same time, I wish to request again of our 

 country's persons concerned with fisheries 

 to realize conservation of resources under 



