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In 1983 the International Whaling Convention declared a global moratorium on whaling, but included a clause allowing for countries to issue whaling licenses for scientific research. Using this loophole, Japan implemented a whaling research program that takes an average of 500 Minke whales per year. In 2000 Japan extended it’s whaling research program, which was previously limited to Minke whales, to include Bryde’s and Sperm whales. In the paper Japans Whaling Program Carries Heavy Baggage, Dennis Normile questions the contribution of Japan’s research and their motives. (Normile, 2000) The research program is trying to develop a resource management plan for Minke whaling. It records 100 data points including size, weight, sex, stomach contents, and age. To discover stomach contents the research team insists they must remove the whale’s stomachs, though alternative non-lethal means of investigation have been suggested, such as are used for elephants. The most reliable way to determine a whale’s age is by examining the buildup of protein in its ears,