Having undertaken such an exercise (Judgment, paragraphs 199 to 211), the Court again
asserts that the discrepancy noted between sample sizes and the actual take of whales “cast[s]
further doubt on the characterization of JARPA II as a programme for purposes of scientific
research” (Judgment, paragraph 212). Thus, the Judgment, having again noted this discrepancy in
the case of minke whales, goes on to state that “[t]his adds force to Australia’s contention that the
target sample size for minke whales was set for non-scientific reasons” (Judgment, paragraph 209).
In other words, if Japan had taken all the whales provided for in the sample, that wou ld have
sufficed to make the programme a credible one “for purposes of scientific research”. Such a
finding would, moreover, contradict the previous emphasis on the priority of non-lethal methods
over lethal methods.