9. Provision for a World Wide Moratorium on Commercial Whaling

(from "Chairman's Report of the Twenty-Sixth Meeting")


A resolution proposing a ten-year moratorium on all commercial whaling beginning not later than the 27th meeting of the Commission was considered by the Technical Committee. It was submitted by the United States and seconded by Mexico and was in similar terms to the resolution presented to the 25th meeting which was approved by the Technical Committee but failed to obtain a sufficient majority in the meeting of the Commission. The Scientific Committee reported that it had reviewed its statement made in its report to the 25th meeting that there was no biological requirement for the imposition of a blanket moratorium on all commercial whaling and agreed that the statement was still appropriate. It drew attention to the suggestion of possible competition between species whereby rebuilding of severely depleted stocks may not necessarily be maximised by a moratorium.

An amending resolution was moved by Australia seconded by Denmark. It referred to the need to preserve and enhance whale stocks as a resource for future use and taking into consideration the interests of consumers of whale products and the whaling industry as required by the International Convention on Whaling, and recognising that the management of whale stocks should be based not only on the concepts of maximum sustainable yield in number by species, but should also include such considerations as total weight of whales and interactions between species in the marine ecosystem, proposed that all stocks of whales should be classified into one of the following three categories according to the advice of the Scientific Committee:

(i)
Initial Management Stocks which may be reduced in a controlled manner to achieve MSY levels or optimum levels as these are determined.

(ii)
Sustained Management Stocks which should be maintained at or near MSY levels and then at optimum levels as these are determined.

(iii)
Protection Stocks which are below the level of Sustained Management Stocks and should be fully protected.

The Committee would define stocks for this purpose as the units which can be most effectively managed individually. The resolution further proposed that

(a)
Commercial whaling shall be permitted on Initial Management Stocks subject to the advice of the Scientific Committee as to measures necessary to bring the stocks to the MSY level and then optimum level in an efficient manner and without risk of reducing them below this level.

(b)
Commercial whaling shall be permitted on Sustained Management Stocks subject to the advice of the Scientific Committee.

(c)
There shall be no commercial whaling on species or stocks classified as Protection Stocks, including those species listed for full protection in the current schedule.

The resolution provided that it would be implemented by the Scientific Committee providing advice, to be up-dated annually, on the criteria to be used in defining the above categories of whale stocks to be incorporated in the Schedule as soon as possible, and by making the necessary amendments not later than the 27th meeting of the Commission.

The question of the Scientific Committee participating in the way proposed in the resolution was referred to that Committee. It reported that it considered that the advice it would be required to provide came within its terms of reference and was similar to advice now being given. The Committee would provide advice on criteria and a stock levels relative to criteria and the Commission would make the classifications and allocations to management regimes. It understood that the adoption of the proposals would in no way limit its advice to the Commission within its terms of reference. An amendment providing an alternative definition of Sustained Management Stocks was not accepted and the amending resolution was approved on a majority vote for submission to the Commission.

In plenary Session the Commission by a majority adopted the resolution with the addition of the words "present and" before "future" in the reference in the preamble to the use of the whale stocks as a resource. The United States Commissioner stated that his Government still supported a ten-year moratorium but had voted for the resolution because it felt it represented a significant step forward in the management of the world's whales. A number of other Commissioners expressed their agreement with this view. Advice to assist the Commission in defining the categories of stocks will be determined at a meeting of the Scientific Committee which is to be held by the end of 1974.

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