11. The Blue Whale Season
(from "Chairman's Report of the Twelfth Meeting")
The Commission were concerned at the continued long-term decline of the
Antarctic blue whale stocks as shown by the further fall in the proportion of
the catch of blue whales to the combined catch of blue whales and fin whales,
by the continued fall in average length and by the increase to 50 per cent of
the proportion of immature animals in the blue whale catch.
An amendment proposed by the United Kingdom Commissioner substituted "February
14th" for "February 1st" in Paragraph 7(a) of the Schedule, thus reducing the
open season for the taking of blue whales by a fortnight.
This amendment was carried by a majority of eleven against none, with two
abstentions.
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