Right now the population is being steduid and there is no sufficient data. A note to Kirsty. Japan doesn't determine how many they kill the international whaling commission (IWC) determines that. This is the same organization that set up the whaling ban in 1986. Japan hasn't been hunting Humpbacks for a couple years until more information on there population is gathered. The IWC determines the hunt numbers by the population size, and how fast they reproduce and mature. That is why before the hunt stopped only 50 per year were allowed to be hunted. Don't listen to the terrorist organization known as Sea shepherd they have never told the truth.
Arsala, actually the IWC is not setting the quotas that Japan employs. The hunts are authorised by the Japanese Government themselves based on their own targets