The smaller and abundant minke whale was a major component of the coastal catch prior to the moratorium. Requests to the IWC for an interim relief allocation of 50 minke whales to alleviate the distress suffered by these communities have been repeatedly rejected. However, at the IWC 1993 Annual Meeting, a consensus resolution (IWC/45/51) called for expeditious work to alleviate the distress suffered.

The Action Plan represents work over the past two years to develop a comprehensive and enforceable management program under which an interim relief allocation of 50 minke whales can be taken to alleviate the distress as recognized in the resolution. The management program is designed to conform to Japanese administrative practices and procedures to ensure effective implementation in Japan. It is basically divided into three parts: (1) regulation of operation and processing; (2) regulation of the distribution; and (3) enforcement. This summary explains the key operative provisions of the program.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
The four coastal communities of Abashiri, Ayukawa, Wadaura and Taiji have historically relied upon various whale species for their nutritional and socio-economic well-being. But this Action Plan provides an interim relief allocation of only one species, the minke whale, which was the major species taken prior to the moratorium. The minke whale population in the North Pacific is considered healthy and is estimated by the IWC Scientific Committee to be at least 25,000 animals. The interim relief allocation is set conservatively at 50.

Entry into Japanese fisheries is strictly limited by the Japanese government through a licensing system. Only nine vessels are licensed to engage in small-type coastal whaling within Japan's 200-mile exclusive economic zone. Each vessel is licensed in one of the four communities and will operate under this Action Plan for the benefit of the community in accordance with a vessel allocation from the total quota of 50 minke whales.

A vessel allocation does not vest in the vessel owner or vessel crew any legal property right to the whale or processed whale products. Rather, legal title is vested in the Council located in the coastal whaling community where the vessel is licensed. The vessel, although privately owned, is culturally viewed as an integral part of the Japanese coastal whaling community. In this capacity, under this Action Plan, the vessel functions as an agent of the Council for taking the vessel allocation. This effectively prevents the sale of the whale or any parts through customary and ordinary commercial channels.

Because the licensed vessels for small-type coastal whaling are so small, processing cannot be done on the vessel after capture. The whale is secured to the side of the vessel and landed at the nearest designated port of landing for processing. Three ports of landing have been designated in the Action Plan. Two of the designated ports of landing are located in two of the coastal whaling communities, Abashiri and Ayukawa, which are both situated near fishing grounds for minke whales. Only licensed vessels from these two communities will land in their own ports.

The third designated port of landing, Hamanaka-cho, is a very small coastal village in Hokkaido facing the major fishing ground for minke whales. Vessels licensed in Taiji, Wada and Ayukawa will operate in this fishing ground. Therefore, these vessels will land their catches in Hamanaka-cho for processing. Once a whale has been processed, all the processed products will be immediately transferred to the Council located in the community where the landing vessel is licensed.

DISTRIBUTION
The distribution of the whale meat under this Action Plan is managed by a Management Council located in each of the coastal whaling communities. The Councils function as a nonprofit government entity for distribution of the processed whale products. They will be vested with the legal title to captured whales and processed whale products as trustees for the benefit of its constituent communities. The direct and indirect costs incurred from the harvesting, processing and distribution of the whale products are to be reimbursed by the Councils from levies assessed against the local consumers of the final product.

Maximum participation by community members in the management process is an important component of the Action Plan. The small village community in Japan is traditionally a very strong bonding agent for the people, more so than kinship units. Although the traditional identity of most rural villages in Japan has been partially lost to larger administrative units, these four coastal whaling communities have not lost their traditional identity because they are located in remote areas of Japan where larger, modern-day administrative units do not exist. But more importantly, it is because the cultural, economic, social, religious, dietary and historical significance of these communities is still entirely dependent upon whaling.

Therefore, the importance of maximum participation by community members on Councils is that it serves to bind the entire community to the distribution program. The Council decision-making process will be by consensus as is customary in Japan, and Council members will ensure approval by their constituencies before reaching a consensus. Therefore, decisions by the Councils will he made with full community understanding and support. This process has been a means for maintaining social order in Japan for centuries and is still effective in the smaller communities of modern Japan, such as whaling communities.

OBSERVATION AND ENFORCEMENT
The information needed to adequately monitor the whaling operation and manage the fishery can be assured through the provisions of the Action Plan. Prior to each trip, the vessel must report for a boarding inspection by a national inspector at the designated port of landing. The inspector will check the logs of the vessel and make an accounting of expendable supplies used in the taking of a whale. A similar inspection will be performed upon return to the port. All expendable supplies used during the trip must be accounted for in the vessel logs. Questions arising from an inspection will be fully examined for possible violations.

The provisions of the Action Plan will be enforced through the Japanese administrative process as opposed to the judicial process. The Japanese administrative process is far less burdensome than the judicial process and far more effective for enforcing regulatory programs in Japan. Nonjudicial penalties can be imposed expeditiously as the result of an administrative hearing.

For this regulatory program, the most effective deterrent is the penalty to exclude a person from the distribution process. This penalty is consistent with tradition practice in Japan. It is paid directly to the community for the breach of community trust which has been committed. In Japan, where one's identity with a small community is more important than with kinship, this penalty represents a serious loss of face and standing within the community. The sanction of one's peer group still remains a powerful means of social order within Japan.

CONCLUSION
This Action Plan is designed to provide interim relief to four coastal communities in Japan whose well-being has been historically dependent upon coastal whaling. The interim relief provided by this Action Plan is consistent with the principle of sustainable use and gives full recognition to maintaining the diversity of food cultures around the world. We hope that judgment on this Action Plan will be based upon objective scientific information rather than political and emotional values.

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