20. INFRACTIONS AND REPORTS FROM INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS 1978 AND 1978/79 SEASONS

(from "Chairman's Report of the Thirty-First Annual Meeting")


The Technical Committee set up an Infractions sub-committee made up of representatives, from Australia, Iceland, Japan and the USA. Its report included a number of recommendations which the Commission agreed should be acted on as indicated (Appendix 7). The Commission was pleased to note that no violations of commercial quotas were reported and no whales from Protection Stocks were taken by commercial operations.

There was a decrease in the total percentage of infractions from last year and the level of infractions has been about the same for the last four years.

The Commission noted that the data contained in the Observer's Reports conforms with the data in the Infractions Reports suggesting the accuracy of the information. Nearly every observer commented upon the full cooperation received from the host Governments and the Commission in noting this fact hoped that such cooperation will continue.

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