 During the 2010/2011 whaling season, the ICR was forced to halt its whaling operations due to the actions of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, having harvested 172 whales (a fifth of their season quota).The ICR dispatched its whaling fleet as usual to the Northwest Pacific survey (JARPN II), with a quota for 260 whales, including 100 Minkes.Japan has argued that the establishment of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was in contravention of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) on which the IWC is based and is therefore illegal.