FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE OF

THE INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION

SORRENTO, ITALY
29 June – 10 July 2004
SC/56/BC3

Market surveys of whales, dolphins and porpoises in Japan and Korea,

2003-2004, with reference to stock identity of sei whales
1 1,4 3 2 1 1
C.S. BAKER , M.L. DALEBOUT , N. FUNAHASHI , Y.U. MA , D. STEEL , and S. LAVERY

1
School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019 Auckland, New Zealand
2
Korean Federation for Environmental Movement 251 Nuha-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 110-806, Republic of Korea
3
Japan Representative, International Fund for Animal Welfare, 1-2-10 Koyama, HigashiKurume-shi, Tokyo 203-0051,
Japan
4
Biology Department, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4J1, Canada

ABSTRACT
We report on species and stock identification of whale and dolphin products available on commercial markets of Japan in late
September/October 2003 and late January/February 2004, and the Republic of (South) Korea in December 2003 and February 2004,
based on phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequences. In Japan, a total of 82 products included six species of baleen
whale: humpback (n=1), fin (n=2), Bryde’s (n=4), sei (n=16), North Pacific minke (n=40) and Antarctic minke whales (n=20). The
remaining products represented Baird’s beaked whale (n=2), Hubb’s beaked whale (n=1), short-finned pilot whales (n=2) and
various dolphins (n=4). In Korea, a total of 56 products represented North Pacific minke whales (n=45), densebeaked whale (n=1),
finless porpoise (n=3), short-finned pilot (n=2) and dolphins (n=5). This brings the total number of whale meat products from the
Japanese and Korean markets identified to species using comparable methods to 1462, of which 1,072 were purchased in Japan, and
383 in Korea.
An improved dataset of reference sequences representing sei whales from the North Atlantic, North Pacific and Southern
Hemisphere allowed greater confidence in estimating the geographic origins of 32 sei whale products purchased on the Japanese
market from 1998-2003. For 13 products purchased prior to the release of products from the JARPNII hunt of North Pacific sei
whales, 3 were likely of North Atlantic origin and 10 were likely of Southern Hemisphere origin. Of the latter, 4 were an exact
match to reference sequences in the Southwest Fisheries Science Center archive of southern hemisphere sei whales. The sale of sei
whale products from the Southern Hemisphere cannot be explained by legitimate sources and requires further investigation as a
potential infraction of international agreements.

INTRODUCTION
A diverse range of products originating from protected whales and unprotected dolphins continues to be widely
available on commercial markets throughout Japan and some coastal cities of the Republic of (South) Korea more than
16 years after the 1986 international moratorium on commercial whaling (e.g., Chan et al. 1995; Baker et al. 1996a, b;
Mills et al. 1997, Grohman et al. 1999, Baker et al. 2000, Dizon et al. 2000). In 2000, Japan increased the species
diversity of its legal market in whale products by expanding its scientific whaling programme in the North Pacific
(JARPNII) to include up to 50 Bryde’s whales and ten sperm whales. In 2002, this programme was again expanded to
include 50 sei whales. According to reports from the whaling industry (Anon., 2001a), the ‘by-products’ from all these
species have been permitted to enter the domestic market, together with those from the annual 100 North Pacific minke
whales (mainly ‘O’ stock taken off the Pacific coast of Japan), and approximately 400 Antarctic minke whales taken
annually by the JARPA programme. From the summer 2002 season onwards, an additional 50 North Pacific minke
whales were to be taken annually from some coastal areas, as part of JARPNII. In addition, Japanese regulations were
changed in April 2001 to permit the killing and selling of whales that had been accidentally caught in coastal fishing
nets (Anon. 2001b). Finally, products from reported stock-piles of frozen products from species killed before the 1986
moratorium, or taken in subsequent scientific hunting (Anon. 1994) may also be sold on the Japanese market,
although such products are suggested to have a 10-year freezer life-span. Although South Korea does not have a
scientific whaling programme, meat from stranded or incidentally caught whales, dolphins and porpoises is commonly
sold on commercial markets, particularly in coastal cities in the southeast region of the country.

Molecular species identification of cetacean products has become an important tool for monitoring the species
composition of market samples. We, and others, have conducted surveys of commercial markets in Japan since 1993,
and in South Korea since 1994 (e.g., Baker and Palumbi 1994, Baker et al. 1996a,b, Baker et al. 2000, Congdon et al.
1999, Lento et al. 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, Lavery et al. 2002). Here we report on the species identification of market
products purchased in Japan between September 2003 and February 2004, and in South Korea between December 2003
and February 2004. The results of these surveys highlight persistent uncertainties regarding stock definitions for some
protected species and stocks, and possible infractions of international agreements with regard to the likely origins of
some products. In particular, we present evidence that some sei whale products sold in Japan prior the start of the
scientific hunt this species in the North Pacific in 2002 originated from the Southern Hemisphere. The last reported
hunt of sei whales in the Southern Hemisphere was by Chile in 1979, with pelagic whaling ending in 1977/78. In
another report (Lavery et al. SC/56/BC4), we use microsatellite genotyping of North Pacific minke whale products to
Baker et al. SC/56/BC3, Page 2 of 8

estimate a census of individual whales sold on Japanese and Korean markets from 1999-2003. These results challenge
the assumption that reporting of fisheries bycatch for this species is accurate and raise additional concerns regarding
multiple coastal stocks impacted by this large unregulated ‘take’ of whales.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Market product surveys. For the 2003-04 surveys of Japan, products were purchased from shops and restaurants in four
coastal prefectures on the island of Honshu (Ishikawa, Osaka, Wakayama and Miyagi) during two synoptic surveys in
late September/October 2003 and late January/February 2004. Previous surveys have shown that the markets in these
prefectures were either important for whale products, or included a particularly high proportion of North Pacific minke
whales (Lavery et al. SC/55/BC1), suggesting distribution of local bycatch. Ishikawa lies on the Sea of Japan/East Sea
coast, Osaka lies on the Inland Sea, and Wakayama and Miyagi lie on the Pacific coast. In some cases, shops in Japan
from which previous purchases were identified as derived from protected species were revisited. In South Korea,
products were purchased in southeastern coastal cities during two synoptic surveys in December 2003 and February
2004. Products obviously derived from small cetaceans were avoided where possible in surveys of both markets, except
where specifically noted (see Dalebout et al. SC/56/BC5).

Field Amplification and Isolation of DNA. As in all previous surveys of commercials markets, DNA extractions from
cetacean tissue and subsequent amplification via the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) were conducted on site. The
field analyses in the current surveys were performed using a Biometra thermocycler. Tissue from each product was
prepared for amplification using Chelex resin (BioRad Laboratories) using the methods of Walsh et al. (1991), as
described in Baker et al. (1996b). By using biotin-labelled primers and streptavidin-coated plates (see below), all
amplified (synthetic) products were isolated and washed free of the original DNA template before transport to our home
laboratory for direct DNA sequence analysis. This is in accordance with the regulations of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES 1973; Bowen and Avise 1994; Jones 1994).

Portions of two mitochondrial (mt) DNA loci, the control region (~ 800 base pairs, bp) and cytochrome b gene (~ 500
bp), were amplified in the field for primary species identification. Control region amplifications were performed using
the primers Dlp1.5-L (modified by a 5’- M13 forward primer extension to facilitate initiation of the subsequent
sequencing reaction) and Dlp8G-H (see Lento et al. 1997, Figure 1). Cytochrome b amplifications used the primers
GLUDG-L and CB2-H (Palumbi 1996). Species-specific primers (Lento et al. 1997) were also used to identify
Antarctic minke whale and North Pacific minke whale products in the field. To enable purification of the amplified
DNA, the Dlp1.5-L and CB2 primers used in the field were labelled with biotin. PCR amplifications were transferred
to tubes coated with streptavidin (Nunc or ABgene streptavidin-coated 96-well plates), and incubated overnight to
allow binding of the biotin-labelled synthetic DNA. Native template DNA (which lacks the biotin label) was removed
by repeated high-stringency washing in the field. Re-amplification of the control region fragment in the laboratory was
performed using the primer, M13Dlp1.5-L and internal primers, Dlp5-H or Dlp4-H (resulting in a re-amplified
fragment ~ 450 - 550 bp in length). Re-amplification of the cytochrome b fragment used the original primers.
Reactions were prepared for cycle sequencing using either DNA-binding columns
(Concert–LifeTechnologies/Invitrogen, or QiaQuick-Qiagen) or simple SAP/ExoI treatment (incubation with shrimp
alkaline phosphatase and exonuclease I; Werle et al. 1994). Cycle sequencing reactions used an ABI Prism Big-Dye
Terminator Ready Reaction Kit (v3, Perkin-Elmer, Inc.) and DNA sequencing was performed on an ABI 377 or ABI
3100 Automated DNA Sequencer (Applied Biosystems, Inc).

Phylogenetic identification of species. Species identification analysis was performed using the phylogenetic methods
described by Baker and Palumbi (1994) and Baker et al. (1996a) as reviewed by Dizon et al (2000), Briefly,
identification of ‘test’ sequences was performed using phylogenetic reconstruction methods based on maximum
parsimony (MP) and neighbour-joining (NJ) genetic distance algorithms available in the computer program PAUP*
(Swofford 1999). Each test sequence was compared with a suite of ‘type’ or ‘reference’ sequences to make an initial
assignment to family, and in some cases, genus. Test sequences identified to the same family were then grouped for
secondary phylogenetic comparison to additional type sequences of the same or related species and appropriate
outgroups. The consistency of species identification was estimated using 1,000 bootstrap simulations for both primary
and secondary phylogenetic analyses.

The phylogenetic methods of species identification used in this and previous surveys have been implemented in a new
web-based programme, DNA Surveillance, accessible to the public (www.DNA-surveillance.auckland.ac.nz; Ross et al.
2003). This website hosts a suite of analytical programs in a user-friendly interface that leads the user through the
DNA-based species identification procedure. The reference sequences themselves are not yet accessible via this
proprietary website. Instead the site returns a phylogenetic tree from which the species identity of the user-submitted
test sequence can be determined (see Dalebout et al. SC/55/SD8 for details). Version 3.1 of the reference datasets
implanted on www.DNA-surveillance provides nearly complete coverage of the taxonomic diversity of cetaceans and
comprise a total of 450 sequences from 87 species in 14 families (Dalebout et al. SC/55/SD8); mtDNA control region,
285 sequences representing 78 species, and mtDNA cytochrome b, 165 sequences representing 83 species. In most
cases, species are represented by several reference sequences obtained from different populations, allowing potential
assignment of user test sequences to geographic origin. To further investigate stock structure among the sei and
Bryde’s whales, maximum parsimony (MP), as implemented in PAUP* was also used to reconstruct relationships
among taxa.
Baker et al. SC/56/BC3, Page 3 of 8

RESULTS: SPECIES IDENTIFICATION

Amplification of the two mtDNA fragments was attempted from total of 148 products (82 from Japan and 56 from
Korea). Of these, all (100%) subsequently produced reliable nucleotide sequences of either the mtDNA control region
or cytochrome b gene, or both, for identification to the species level, or the family level for some odontocetes (some
species in the family Delphinidae). The species origins of these products as identified through phylogenetic
comparisons with cetacean reference sequences, are shown in Table 1. All identifications to species or subfamily-genus
(in the case of the Stenella/Tursiops/Delphinus complex of species) were made with high statistical confidence (>95%)
as measured by bootstrap simulations.

Sei whales
Japan: 16 products (19.5%) purchased in Japan were identified as sei whale (14 females and 2 males). This brings the
total number of sei whale products found on the Japanese market to 32, of which 13 were purchased from 1998-2002
prior to the release of sei whale products killed in the North Pacific by the Japanese JARPNII scientific whaling
programme. Based only on the number of unique mtDNA haplotypes, this total of 32 products represents at least 20
individual sei whales, purchased since 1998.
Korea: Sei whales have not been found on the Korean market to date.

Bryde’s whales
Japan: 4 products purchased in Japan were identified as standard-form Bryde’s whales (B. brydei following Wada et al.
2003).
Korea: No Bryde’s whale products were purchased in Korea during the December 2003 or February 2004 surveys.

Humpback whales
Japan: One product from Japan was identified as a humpback whale (female).
Korea: No humpback whale products were purchased in Korea during the December 2003 or February 2004 surveys.

Fin whales
Japan: Two products from Japan were identified as fin whales. This brings the total number of fin whale products
found on the Japanese market to date to 37. The last legal import of fin whales was in 1991 from the Icelandic
scientific hunt that ended in 1989.
Korea: Fin whales have not been found on the Korean market to date.

North Pacific minke whales

Japan: 40 products purchased in Japan were identified as North Pacific minke whales. This brings the total number of
North Pacific minke whale products found on the Japanese markets to date to 271 since surveys began in 1993. Using
the informative nucleotide sequence-based system of stock identification (allowing rapid identification of haplotypes
characteristic to J- and O- stock animals - “haplogroups”) developed in previous surveys (Baker et al 2000; Congdon et
al. 1999; Goto and Pastene, 1997; Goto and Pastene, 1998), 20 of the products (50%) were identified as having
originated from the ‘J’ stock animals from the East Sea / Sea of Japan and perhaps in other coastal waters of Japan.
This is a slight decrease from the 65% J-stock proportion found among North Pacific minke whale products in the
2002-03 surveys (Lavery et al. SC/55/BC1), but an increase from the 31% estimated by Baker et al. (2000). This
could reflect a greater proportion of ‘J’ stock whales and products on the market due to the modified by-catch
regulations that came into effect in April 2001 (Anonymous 2001b), a directed hunt of one or more coastal stocks, or
changes in our market survey design to include Ishikawa prefecture (Sea of Japan coast) and focus on the prefectures of
Osaka, Miyagi and Wakayama, where products are sometimes labelled ‘local’ and often sold raw.
Korea: 45 products purchased in Korea were identified as North Pacific minke whales. This brings the total number of
North Pacific minke whale products found in the Korean market in our surveys to date to 325, representing more than
200 individuals since 1999 (Lavery SC/56/BC4). Of the new products, 40 (89%) were identified as having originated
from the J stock and the remainder from the O stock. An increase in O-stock products in Korea and a significant
change in overall haplogroup frequencies across the 1999-2003 market surveys raises concerns of a serial depletion of
multiple stocks in the coastal waters of Korea as well as Japan, and the potential expansion of ‘takes’ into more distant
waters (see also Lavery et al. SC/56/BC4).

Odontocetes
Japan: 9 products purchased in Japan were identified as odontocetes. Beaked whales were represented in this survey by
one Baird’s beaked whale and one Hubbs’ beaked whale. This is the fifth Hubbs’ beaked whale found since 1995
(Dalebout et al.SC/56/BC5). Other species identified included two short-finned pilot whales and four products
identified as belonging to theStenella/Tursiops/Delphinus complex (not yet identified to species).
Korea: 11 products purchased in Korea were identified as odontocetes. A densebeaked whale was found for the first
time on the market of either country. Two products were identified as short-finned pilot whales and three as finless
porpoise. Five products identified as dolphins belonging to Stenella/Tursiops/Delphinus complex of species (not yet
identified to species).
Baker et al. SC/56/BC3, Page 4 of 8

RESULTS: GEOGRAPHIC ORIGINS OF SEI WHALE PRODUCTS

Reference sequences representing sei whales of known origin (n=23) were assembled to investigate the potential
geographic source of the 32 sei whale products purchased on Japanese markets, particularly those purchased before the
release of products from the recent scientific hunt of this species by Japan (the JARPNII programme). This is the
largest collection of mtDNA sequences of sei whales assembled anywhere to date. The 23 reference sequences
represented the North Atlantic (n=4), the North Pacific (n=8; from Hawaii) and the Southern Hemisphere (n=11)
including the South Atlantic, the South Pacific (n=2; from New Zealand) and the Antarctic. The sei whale sequences
were aligned with reference sequences from the closely related Bryde’s whale, as well as appropriate fin and Antarctic
minke whale outgroups. Initial comparison showed that the 23 reference sequences represented 20 unique haplotypes: 1
animal from New Zealand shared the same haplotype as an animal from the Antarctic, and 3 of the Hawaii shared the
same haplotype. Among the Bryde’s whale reference sequences, 11 New Zealand Bryde’s whales represented the same
haplotype as Yoshida-haplotype 5 (Yoshida and Kato, 1999) and 4 other New Zealand Bryde’s whales also shared the
same haplotype. .

Phylogenetic reconstruction of relationships among the sei and Bryde’s whale reference sequences showed strong
support for species-specific monophyly assuming four species occur within this complex (Fig. 1). Further, the sei
whale haplotypes, unlike those of the common- form Bryde’s whales, fell into three clades concordant with three
oceanic basins (Fig. 1). The four North Atlantic sei whales formed a clade with strong bootstrap support (>95%). The
North Pacific and Southern Hemisphere sei whales consistently formed two clades in both parsimony and distance-
based reconstructions but did not receive strong bootstrap support (<50%). One Southern Hemisphere sei whale was
basal to both the North Pacific and Southern Hemisphere clades, perhaps due to a slightly shorter sequence length.

Phylogenetic reconstruction of the relationships among the sei/Bryde’s reference sequences and the 20 haplotypes found
among the 32 sei whale market products, showed market products grouping within each of the three ocean basin-
specific clades (Fig. 2). We note that all 13 products purchased between 1998-2002, prior to the release of products
from the JARPNII sei whale hunt, grouped with either the North Atlantic (n=3) or Southern Hemisphere (n=10)
reference sequences. Of the 19 products purchased after the release of the JARPNII sei whale hunt, all except one
grouped with the North Pacific (Hawaiian) reference sequences. The product excluded from the North Pacific clade
(J03.10) grouped with the Southern Hemisphere reference sequences. As further evidence of potential geographic origin,
we note a number of ‘exact matches’ among reference sequences and market haplotypes: four products from the 1998-
2002 surveys were an exact match to three Southern Hemisphere sequences, one from the Antarctic, one from New
Zealand and one from the South Atlantic; two products from the 1998-2002 surveys were exact matches to a sei whale
from the North Atlantic; and five products from the 2003-2004 surveys were an exact match to a sei whale from
Hawaii.

CONCLUSIONS
Market survey results reported here and previously have raised important concerns for the stocks of at least five species:
sei, Bryde’s, humpback, gray and North Pacific minke whales. Further evidence of unregulated and undocumented
takes from multiple stocks of North Pacific minke whales along the coast of Japan and Korea are presented in detail by
Lavery et al. SC/56/BC4. Here, we have focused on improving our understanding of stock structure and the origin of
market products for the sei whale.

The availability of an expanded reference sequence dataset for sei whales provides evidence of genetic structure among
the three ocean basins, with a particularly strong phylogenetic partition for the North Atlantic (although further samples
are required for a conclusive analysis). The three ocean-specific clades provide the opportunity to estimate the likely
geographic origins of market products and test the assumption that all of these products were derived from legitimate
sources. These legitimate sources include: 1) coastal bycatch; 2) the recent JARPNII hunt of sei whales in the North
Pacific; or 3) long-term storage of sei whales killed in the North Atlantic or the Southern Hemisphere before the 1986
moratorium. For 18 of the 19 products purchased in 2003-2004, the close grouping with reference sequences from sei
whales in Hawaii waters (tissue samples obtained by biopsy darting) is consistent with the JARPNII (North Pacific)
hunt as a source. Coastal bycatch would also be consistent with this grouping but sei whales are rarely reported as
bycatch or strandings in Japanese government progress report (none for SC51-55). For the three North Atlantic
products purchased in 1998-99 which group within the North Atlantic clade, a plausible source is long-term frozen
storage of sei whales taken in the Icelandic whaling programme up to 1988 and imported into Japan up to 1991. For
the remaining 10 market products, which group with southern hemisphere sei whales, however, long-term storage of
legally hunted animals does not seem plausible. The last recorded hunting in the Southern Hemisphere was prior to
1980. This is beyond the 10-12 years generally claimed for viable long-term storage of whale products. Further, a
survey of frozen whale products conducted by the Japan Whaling Association in 1999 (announced in July 2000;
Cyprian SC/54/BC5) showed 0.10 tons of sei whales still in storage, but a second survey in November 2000
(announced in May 2001) showed none remaining.

As available evidence in not consistent with these sei whale market products originating from any of the three legal
sources, we consider it necessary to consider the possibility of illegal hunting as the most likely source of most of the
products purchased from1998-2002. The increasing availability of products from the JARPNII hunt is likely to make
identification of these illegitimate products more difficult unless the genetic characteristics of these legitimate products
are made available to the IWC Scientific Committee.
Baker et al. SC/56/BC3, Page 5 of 8

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank the following for assistance with market surveys or access to reference sequences: the Korean Federation for the Environment
Movement (KFEM) for logistic support in collection of whale meat products from retail markets in South Korea; Kelly Robertson and Rick LeDuc
of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center for assistance in accessing reference sequences of sei whales; M.A. Meyer, Marine and Coastal
Management, Cape Town, South Africa for access to sei whale sample from South Africa; and NZ Department of Conservation for collection of
sei whale and other reference samples from beachcast animals in New Zealand. MLD is supported by a Dalhousie University Killam postdoctoral
fellowship. Funding for the collection surveys in Korea was provided to KFEM by J. Frizell, Greenpeace International. Funding for market
surveys in Japan and all genetic analysis was provided by the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

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Baker et al. SC/56/BC3, Page 6 of 8

Table 1: Species origins of whale, dolphin and porpoise products purchased in commercial markets of Japan and the
Republic of (South) Korea from market surveys between 1993 and 2004, as determined by phylogenetic reconstruction
of sequences from the mtDNA control region (Baker et al. 1996b; Baker et al. 1999; Baker and Palumbi 1994;
Cipriano and Palumbi 1999a; Cipriano and Palumbi 1999b; Lento et al. 1997; Lento et al. 1998; Lento et al. 2000;
Lento et al. 2001; Lavery et al 2002). All identifications of species or family were supported by high bootstrap values
>95% using the methods described previously (Baker et al. 1996b; Baker and Palumbi 1994). Sample sizes indicate
number of products identified to species, not necessarily the number of unique individuals represented by the products
(see text for discussion).

Species Japan Japan Korea Korea Last legal source or year of

1993 2003/04 1994 2003/04 international protection
–2003 -2001
Mysticeti
Northern Pacific minke, 231 40 280 45 Japanese scientific whaling,
Balaenoptera acutorostrata ongoing since 1994
Antarctic minke, 466 20 2 - Japanese scientific whaling,
B. bonaerensis ongoing since 1987/88
Common-form Bryde's whale, 23 4 3 - 1986 moratorium, or 1987 by
B. brydei following Wada et al. Japan under objection. Also
2003 Japanese scientific whaling
(JARPNII) since 2000.
coastal-form Bryde's whale 0 - 2 - Species not formally recognised
B.edeni following Wada et al. until 2003 but presumably
2003; see also Baker et al. protected since 1986
1996b, Yoshida and Kato, moratorium, or 1987 by Japan
1999) under objection
Sei, B. borealis 16 16 - - 1986 moratorium, 1977/78 for
Antarctic; 1977, Brazil; 1978,
Peru; 1979, Chile, 1979; 1980,
Spain; 1988 Iceland; 2002 for
Japan (JARPNII)
Fin, B. physalus 35 2 - - 1986 moratorium, or 1989 for
Iceland scientific whaling
Blue, B. musculus or Blue/Fin 1 - - - 1966 for blue; 1989 Iceland
hybrid scientific whaling for hybrid
Blue/Fin hybrid 1 - - - 1989, Iceland scientific whaling
(Cipriano & Palumbi 1999a)
Humpback, Megaptera 7 1 1 - 1966
novaeangliae
Gray, Eschrichtius robustus 7 - - - 1937
Odontoceti
Sperm whale, Physeter 6 - - - 1986 moratorium, or 1988 by
macrocephalus Japan under objection. Also
Japanese scientific whaling
(JARPNII) since 2000.
Dwarf Sperm, Kogia simus 1 - - - No international protection
Beaked whales, Berardius 56 3 4 1 No international protection
bairdii, Ziphius cavirostris,
Mesoplodon carlhubbsi, M.
densirostrus
Killer whales, Orcinus orca 1 - 7 - No international protection
False killer whale, Pseudorca 1 - - - No international protection
crassidens
Dolphins – including pilot 119 6 34 7 No international protection
whales and members of the
Stenella-Tursiops-Delphinus
complex etc (>6 species)
Finless porpoise, Neophocaena 0 - 2 3 No international protection
phocoenoides
Dall’s porpoise, Phocoenoides 14 - - - No international protection
dalli
Other mammals
Sheep 2 - - - n/a
Horse 3 - - - n/a
Total 990 92 335 56 1473 (Grand Total)
Baker et al. SC/56/BC3, Page 7 of 8

Bbor.NA5.UA
96% SWFSC2515.Florida North Atlantic
Bbor.WNA.CSB
Sei SWFSC3996.Baltimore
Bbor.SAfrica
whales Bbor.NZ02 Southern Hemisphere
SWFSC3998.Antarctic
SWFSC4002nz.South Pacific+Antarctic
100% SWFSC.3992ant.South Atlantic
SWFSC3994ant.South Atlantic
SWFSC3999nz.South Pacific
SWFSC3995.Antarctic
SWFSC3993.Antarctic
SWFSC30493.Hawaii
SWFSC30479.Hawaii+2 Hawaii
SWFSC30489.Hawaii
SWFSC-b3049.Hawaii North Pacific
SWFSC30494.Hawaii
92% SWFSC30490.Hawaii
Bbor.NZ01
Bed.Yoshida-hap07
Bed.Yoshida-hap09
Bryde's Bed.Yoshida-hap04
Bed.Yoshida-hap05+11 New Zealand
whales Bed.Yoshida-hap06
Bed.NZ08 B. brydei
100% (Yoshida and Kato 1999;
Bed.Yoshida-hap08
76%
Bed.Yoshida-hap11 Wada et al. 2003)
Bed.NZ09+3 New Zealand
98%
Bed.Yoshida-hap10
Bed.Mexico.LM
Bed.SAfrica06.UA X72196
Bed.Yoshida-hap01(edeni)
100%
Bed.Yoshida-hap03(edeni) B. edeni
Bed.Yoshida-hap02(edeni)
100% Bed.Yoshida-hap12(omurai)
B. omurai
Bed.China.AF398372
100% Bph.Md05.CSB
Bph.Ice.UA Fin whale
Bph.X61145
Bac.bonaerensis.X72006
5 changes

Fig. 1. Phylogenetic relationships among sei whale reference specimens only, based on mtDNA control region
sequences (380 – 440 bp). Specimen codes of animals sharing the same haplotype are linked with a ‘+’.
‘Bed.Yoshida#’ are Bryde’s whale haplotypes as presented by Yoshida & Kato (1999) and evaluated against taxonomic
revisions proposed by Wada et al. 2003.
Baker et al. SC/56/BC3, Page 8 of 8

Bbor.WNAtlantic.CSB
North Atlantic
96% SWFSC3996.Baltimore references
Bbor.NA5.UA
and n = 3
SWFSC2515.Florida+J98C.10+J99.18
J98.117
Bbor.SouthAfrica
Bbor.NZ02
SWFSC3998.Antarctic
J99.94 +J00.29
J03.77
SWFSC.3992.SAtlantic+J02.048+J03.10
Sei SWFSC3994.SAtlantic
J98C.06
whales J02.126 Southern
SWFSC4002nz.SPacific+J99.96
SWFSC3999nz.SPacific
Hemisphere
100% SWFSC3995.Antarctic+J98C.05 references
J02.049
and n =11
SWFSC3993.Antarctic
J98.53
SWFSC30479.Hawaii+J03.31+J03.52 +J04.01+J04.17+J04.34
J03.66+J04.39+J04.42
SWFSC30489.Hawaii
J03.63
SWFSC-b3049.Hawaii
SWFSC30494.Hawaii
J03.60+J03.71+J04.45
J03.80
SWFSC30490.Hawaii
95% J03.12 North Pacific
J03.25 references
J04.04+J04.10
J04.43
and n = 18
SWFSC30493.Hawaii
Bbor.NZ01
Bed.Yoshida-hap4
Bed.Yoshida-hap5
Bed.Yoshida-hap6
Bed.Yoshida-hap8
B. brydei
Bed.Yoshida-hap7
Bed.Yoshida-hap9
98% Bed.Yoshida-hap10 Bryde's whales
Bed.Yoshida-hap11 (Yoshida and Kato 1999;
Bed.SAfrica6.UA X72196 Wada et al. 2003)
98% Bed.Yoshida-hap1
Bed.Yoshida-hap3 B. edeni
Bed.Yoshida-hap2
Bed.Yoshida-hap12
B. omurai

Bph.X61145 Fin whale

1 change

Fig. 2. Phylogenetic relationships among sei whale reference specimens and market products based on mtDNA control
region sequences (380 – 440 bp). Specimen codes of animals/products sharing the same haplotype are linked with a
‘+’. Codes starting with ‘J’ indicate products purchased on the Japanese market. The tree represents one of many
equally parsimonious constructions found in a heuristic search. Numbers above internodes indicate % bootstrap scores
based on 1,000 simulations and neighbour-joining algorithm.