16. Co-Operation with FAO
(from "Chairman's Report of the Twenty-Sixth Meeting")
The setting up of the FAO/ACMRR Working Party on Marine Mammals was reported
to the last meeting of the Commission.
A report on its activities prepared by Dr S. Holt, in charge of FAO Marine
Mammals Project, was circulated as a Commission paper.
It recorded the establishment of four groups of consultants.
Group I is concerned with large whales and includes members of the
Commission's Scientific Committee.
The report was based on the discussion on the evidence of the population of
large whales during the first meeting of the group held in May 1974.
Dr Holt briefly summarised the paper before the Commission which he explained
had been prepared hurriedly in order that it could be available for the
Commission's meeting and was not an agreed report of the working group.
He expected that a substantive report would be available to the Commission at
its next meeting.
The paper was discussed by the Scientific Committee and a sub-committee was
appointed to consider the questions raised and to make suggestions on studies
that appear to be needed as a result of it in time for the Committee's next
meeting.
The Commissioner for the United States raised the question of the observers
from FAO and the United Nations Environment Programme being allowed to
participate in the discussions in the Commission.
He pointed out that FAO was associated with the scientific work of the
Commission and the relationship of both FAO and UNEP with the Commission was
of a different character from that of the other organisations who were
invited to send observers to the meetings.
Following a short discussion the Chairman summed up the general feeling that
it should be left to the discretion of the Chairman to invite comments from
FAO and UNEP when that would be appropriate.
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