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

New Zealand noted that while the Commission had taken some action in recent years its discussion of the problem of non-IWC whaling had been superficial. It proposed the inclusion in the Schedule of prohibitions on importation of whales and whale products, transfer of vessels, equipment, expertise and any kind of assistance to non-member nations and a requirement for Contracting Governments to institute enforcement measures and punish infractions.

South Africa, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK, Japan and the Republic of Korea presented reports of the measures they had taken in the last year to combat the problem of non-IWC whaling, including enforcement procedures, and expressed confidence that these steps would be an effective addition to those measures already in operation. In addition the UK and the Netherlands noted that the Council of Ministers of the European Community had agreed in principle a regulation to prohibit the importation of whale products in the EEC from January 1982. Japan drew attention to the difficulty of controlling the subsequent conversion of vessels sold originally as fishing boats but stressed that no licence is issued if any evidence exists that a vessel may be used for whaling.

Despite support for the general principles of the proposed schedule amendments several members indicated that their Governments would face difficulties because of possible conflicts with other international treaty obligations or the need to enact national legislation which might be superfluous.

Subsequently the Technical Committee adopted a Resolution (Appendix 6) with the same intent as the original proposal, which was endorsed by the Commission. Japan reserved its position on the last clause because of its interpretation of Article V of the Convention.

New Zealand also put forward a proposal in the form of a draft Resolution to establish a Working Group of the Technical Committee to examine all aspects of the problem of non-IWC whaling and to submit recommendations for action by the IWC at its 33rd Annual Meeting. There was strong support for the establishment of such a Working Group. Denmark noted that half the Commission's members are also members of the CITES, and New Zealand added that it expected that the Working Group would co-operate fully with that body.

The Commission agreed to adopt the Resolution shown in Appendix 7 as recommended by the Technical Committee, and also instructed the Secretary to communicate with the People's Republic of China, Bequia, Indonesia, Portugal and Tonga to provide information about the work of the Commission, procedures for adhering to the 1946 Convention and to request catch and biological data.

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