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

Sei whales
The stock in Area III is protected. For the other Areas the Commission accepted the recommendation of the Technical Committee based on the Scientific Committee's assessments of a catch limit for the Southern Hemisphere for the 1975-76 pelagic and 1976 coastal seasons of 2,230 sei and Bryde's whales combined, the catches in the Areas not to exceed the following limits and the total catch not to exceed 2,230.

The Scientific Committee drew attention to the lack of information on Bryde's whales and urged that the number taken should be the minimum necessary and coastal catches should not be increased beyond the current level. It suggested that additional data should be obtained wherever possible so that the Commission can consider managing the species separatelty as the required information becomes available.

Minke whales
The Technical Committee recommended a catch limit of 6,710 Minke whales for the Southern Hemisphere for the 1975-76 pelagic and 1976 coastal seasons based on the assessments made by the Scientific Committee. The Commissioner for the Soviet Union moved an amendment to increase the limit to 7,000, the increase of 290 to be in Area II. This was defeated as were a number of other amendments designed to increase the limit in Area II. Reference was made to the uncertainties expressed in the Scientific Committee's report as to whether the pelagic and land station catches are taken from the same stock and it was suggested that some coastal catches were not included in the assessments. It was suggested that the catch limit in Area II could be safely increased to 1,800 and that the Scientific Committee should re-examine the catches of earlier years and report to the next meeting. The limit recommended by the Technical Committee was increased to 6,810, the catches in the Areas not to exceed the following limits and the total catch not to exceed that figure:

Sperm whales
The Scientific Committee's proposals for catch limits in nine Divisions of the Southern Hemisphere within total limits of 5,870 males and 4,870 females for the 1975-76 pelagic and 1976 coastal seasons were recommended to the Commission by the Technical Committee by a majority vote. An amendment to increase the limits for males in Divisions 5 and 8 was defeated but the Commission agreed to divide the catch into six areas instead of the nine Divisions by combining the catches in Divisions 9, 1 and 2 and Divisions 3 and 4 and approved the following catch limits, the total catch not to exceed 5,870 males and 4,870 females:

Length of Antarctic Season
The Commission agreed that there should be no change in the opening and closing dates.

North Pacific
Fin and Sei whales
These species having been classirled as Protection Stocks in this area, no catches were approved.

Bryde's whales
The Scientific Committee reported that there is little information on the distribution of the stock of this species and suggested that the pelagic catches should be restricted to not more than the 1974 catches until more information is available. The Commission accepted the Technical Committee's recommendation that the catch limit for the 1976 season should be 1,363.

Minke whales
No catch figures are available for this species in the North Pacific and the Scientific Committee recommended that catches do not increase above the present level. The Commission accepted this, the Japanese Commissioner undertaking to provide the available data for the Scientific Committee so that the position could be reviewed next year.

Sperm whales
The Technical Committee recommended that the Scientific Committee's proposed catch lilnits of 5,200 males and 3,100 females for 1976 be adopted. These were approved by the Commission after an amendment to increase the limits to 5,600 males and 3,550 females had been defeated.

North Atlantic
Fin whales
The Commission accepted the Technical Committee's recommendation that the catches for 1976 should be 275 in Iceland waters and 90 in Newfoundland waters. It was agreed that the Scientific Committee should examine the possibility of using effort limitation for the purpose of setting the catches in time for the Commission's next meeting.

Minke whales
The Scientific Committee recommended that in the absence of more detailed information the catches should be held no higher than recently and the Technical Committee proposed that the suggested catches of 2,000 in the Eastern North Atlantic and 550 in the Western North Atlantic should be adopted for 1976. This was approved. The Canadian Commissioner pointed out that the minke whale situation in the North Atlantic was not a stable one and recognising that there had been an increase in the catches in the area, Canada, while not taking a catch this time, wished to make a reservation concerning the figure of 550.

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