8. Pelagic Catch Limit in the Antarctic
(from "Chairman's Report of the Twenty-Third Meeting")
The Scientific Committee reported that it had discussed at length four papers
bearing on the status and yield of the Antarctic fin whale stock, and had
considered particularly those aspects having to do with the rate of
recruitment and those that have raised doubts concerning the analysis of
this stock.
It had however been unable to reach a single estimate for the sustainable
yield in 1971/72.
Most members of the Committee believed that the best estimate was 2,200
whales (1,100 blue-whale-units), while the Japanese scientists estimated a
yield of 4,250 (2,125 blue-whale-units) with which the USSR scientists agreed.
For sei whales the Committee estimated that the sustainable yield was about
5,000 (833 blue-whale-units).
The Technical Committee by a majority decision recommended that the catch
limit for 1971/72 should be 2,300 blue-whale-units representing a reduction
of 400 units on the 1970/71 limit.
The USA Commissioner considered this figure too high and proposed a limit of
2,140 blue-whale-units which, assuming the catch of sei whales would be at
about the same level as in the last two seasons, would hold the fin whale
stock at about its present level.
The proposal did not obtain the three-fourths majority required by the
Commission's Rules of Procedure for amendments to the Schedule and the
Commission accepted the Technical Committee's recommendation that the catch
limit for 1971/72 should be 2,300 blue-whale-units, seven countries voting in
favour, two against and three abstaining.
It decided to amend paragraph 8(a) of the Schedule accordingly.
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