6. REVISION OF THE PRESENT MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES (1981)

6. REVISION OF THE PRESENT MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES

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

The Technical Committee Working Group on Revised Management Procedures had held two sessions during the year in Tokyo and Rome, which resulted in the presentation of four proposals for consideration by the Commission. These represented alternative recommendations due to the failure of the meetings to reach agreement. In Technical Committee the Seychelles withdrew its proposal, since this had failed as an attempt to reach a compromise during the Rome session.

The Technical Committee discussed the US proposal at length. This was designed to overcome recognised uncertainties in the present procedures. These include problems of stock identification, with assessment models, the insufficiency of data, the inter-relationships in the marine ecosystem and delays in recognising declines in stocks often due to problems associated with CPUE analyses. The Special Working Group of Scientists had put forward a number of recommendations for a revised management procedure which were embodied in the US proposal, including a key provision that for whale stocks in a stable environment and for which sufficient information is available, a target level is identified and management measures are aimed at bringing the stocks to that level in a set period of years.

Denmark received confirmation that this proposal applied only to commercial whaling, and Japan noted that the Scientific Committee had not finished discussing the questions raised and believed that it is premature to make hasty Schedule amendments. It still saw problems in the applications of the scheme and was concerned over its discriminatory nature concerning commercial and subsistence whaling. It commented on the difficulties of assessing initial population levels particularly when only part of a population is available for study by a coastal state, and was concerned that whaling was required to stop after five years if the initial population, size was not established.

Norway commented on the central role of management procedures in the work of the IWC. It noted that the Working Group had agreed on certain procedures and objectives but believed there was a need for further developments and improvements in the management schemes because of certain difficulties in their practical application.

Iceland and Spain expressed support for the positions adopted by Japan and Norway, and several delegations spoke of the need to try and bridge the differences between the proposals rather than to engage in confrontation between them. The USSR stressed the need for a new reliable replacement for the old procedures.

The Technical Committee recommended the US proposal by a majority vote, although a number of delegations believed further discussion was desirable.

In the Plenary Session, after two adjournments of the subject to allow time for informal consultations hosted by the USA, the Commission adopted a Resolution (Appendix 2) put forward by the USA and seconded by Norway which outlines a procedure for future work by consultations between interested governments so that agreed proposals can be considered at the next Annual Meeting.