27. CO-OPERATION WITH OTHER ORGANISATIONS

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


27.1 Co-operation with the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
The Commission received the report of its observers at the preliminary and first meeting of this new Commission. The Scientific Committee noted that the CCAMLR Executive Secretary has been authorised to discuss possible co-operative arrangements with the IWC, and recommended that the IWC Secretary be authorised to explore the form and content of an agreement between the two Commissions. The USA looked forward to the development of more detailed working relationships, and the Commission endorsed the recommendations.

The Commission noted that the Secretariat, through its Senior Analyst/Programmer, has played an active role in the analyses of the FIBEX cruise results, and this co-operation is continuing.

Australia spoke of its belief that liaison and co-operation between the IWC and other organisations concerned either directly or indirectly with whales is necessary for their long term conservation. It made the proposal, which the Commission strongly supported, that the Secretary should write to a number of international organisations concerning the possibility of holding a jointly sponsored scientific workshop, as recommended by the IWC Working Group on the Implications for Whales of Management Regimes for Other Marine Resources in 1980.


27.2 Observer's reports from other meetings
The Commission received reports from its observers at meetings of ICES, ICCAT, IATTC, CITES and AEWC.

There was considerable discussion within the Scientific Committee as to how it could best fulfil its role as adviser to CITES on cetacean matters for the April 1983 meeting. The Committee agreed to modify slightly the procedure it had adopted two years ago and recommended that the Commission responds to requests for advice from CITES for this Meeting in the following manner: the Secretary, in conjunction with the Chairman of the Committee and the relevant sub-committee Chairman, will forward relevant information from the Reports of the Scientific Committee Meetings which have taken place since the last CITES meeting. The Scientific Committee will discuss in detail at its next meeting how it might best give advice to CITES meetings in the future.

Some members of the Scientific Committee did not agree with the proposed procedure as they felt the questions being asked and the criteria being used by CITES for the listing of organisms on their Appendices I and II were quite different from those being used by the IWC in classifying whale stocks. Consequently if meaningful advice was to be given to CITES they felt that the Scientific Committee, if possible, should provide specific advice vis a vis appropriateness of listing certain species on CITES Appendices relative to CITES' own biological criteria.

Denmark spoke in favour of the latter position, but the Commission agreed to approve the recommendation, noting the reservation of Denmark.

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