the ban. A coalition of anti-whaling nations offered a compromise plan that would allow these countries to continue whaling, but with smaller catches and under close supervision. Their plan would also completely ban whaling in the Southern Ocean. More than 200 scientists and experts opposed the compromise proposal for lifting the ban, and also opposed allowing whaling in the Southern Ocean, which was declared a whale sanctuary in 1994 (Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary). Post-ICJ ruling Following the temporary cessation of its activities in the Southern Ocean during 2014, Japan announced a research plan for the "New Scientific Whale Research Program in the Antarctic Ocean" in late November 2014, as a replacement of previous programs. In March 2014, the ICJ ruled that the new program's predecessor was "not for the purposes of scientific research". The replacement "NEWREP-A" plan, scheduled to commence in December 2015, covered a larger area of the Southern Ocean around the Antarctic, and 3,996 whales were to be targeted over 12 years, which is fewer than in previous seasons. The plan was submitted to the IWC and its scientific commission, but approval was not required from either for Japan to proceed. The ICJ ruling did not prevent Japan from undertaking further whale research activities in the Antarctic region, but, in accordance with the ICJ's decision, NEWREP-A needed to sufficiently meet two objectives: Improvement of both biological and ecological data on Antarctic minke whales. Investigation of the structure and dynamics of the Antarctic marine ecosystem through the development of ecosystem models. Japan stipulated that it will only kill whales if non-lethal methods of data collection and biopsy sampling fail to meet the plan's objectives. Furthermore, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has declared that information on the number of Antarctic minke whale "data deficient". In early October 2015, Japan's ambassador to the UN, Motohide Yoshikawa, announced that Japan does not accept the court's jurisdiction over research, conservation, or exploitation of marine life and would proceed with NEWREP-A, without waiting for the court's approval. On December 1, 2015, Japan sent a fleet to the Antarctic Ocean with the aim of hunting 330 minke whales. The fleet included the ship the Nisshin Maru and three smaller boats. The move was met with objections from the Australian and New Zealand governments. 2018 Florianopolis Declaration On September 13, 2018, IWC members gathered in Florianópolis, Brazil, where they discussed