JARPA set forth four research objectives, on the basis of scientific considerations:
o Objective 1 (Estimation of the biological parameters required for the stock management of the Southern Hemisphere minke whale) was the primary objective of JARPA, because the failure to estimate the natural mortality rate, a key parameter for models calculating maximum sustainable yield (MSY), was the main reason that the IWC was unable in 1980s to recommend an agreed commercial catch limit for the Antarctic minke whale stock
o Objective 2 (Elucidation of the role of whales in the Antarctic marine ecosystem) was in line with the growing scientific interest in the Antarctic ecosystem, and JARPA was designed to reveal the prey composition and prey consumption rates
o Objective 3 (Elucidation of the effect of environmental change on cetaceans) was a response to the IWC’s increasing interest in the effects of environmental changes on cetaceans
Objective 4 (Elucidation of the stock structure of Southern Hemisphere minke whales to improve stock management) was originally implicit in Objective 1 but was separated during the research period