15. Size Limits for Sperm Whales
(from "Chairman's Report of the Thirteenth Meeting")
The views expressed by the Japanese delegation in their explanatory memorandum
(IWC/13/18) were noted by the Commission.
This doubted the advisability of the continued application of the present
regulation on size-limits for sperm whales, both for the practical reason that
there are a number of countries outside the Convention catching sperm whales
without such a limitation on size and for the scientific reason that the
present size-limit might be higher than was necessary for protection purposes.
In the view of the Scientific Committee, the minimum size-limit was virtually
the only safeguard for the conservation of the stock and it would be
undesirable to make any alteration in the present size-limit without further
knowledge of the general biology of the species.
The Committee observed, however, that Japan was undertaking an extensive
biological investigation of the sperm whale and did not consider that a
decision by the Commission was necessary at this meeting.
They therefore recommended that the Ad Hoc Scientific Committee should
be asked to undertake further scientific studies on sperm whales so that the
Commission could consider the problem at the Fourteenth Meeting.
The Commission agreed to this recommendation.
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