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

A.1.

The Workshop on Catch Per Unit Effort dealt with the relationship between CPUE and stock abundance.

A.2.

The Workshop on Management developed a two-stage process for evaluating possible management procedures, and identified three general aims

(a)

stability of catch limits;

(b)

acceptable risk level that a stock not be depleted below some chosen level;

(c)

making possible the highest continuing yield for the stock.

It was noted that these aims cannot be simultaneously satisfied.

B.1.

The review of biochemical genetics dealt with recent developments in DNA techniques which may help in stock identification.

B.2.

The review of census techniques encompassed shipborne and land based surveys and it was noted that the recommended procedures are used in current IWC supported activities.

B.3.

The review of mark-recapture techniques gave a broad survey of methods which may be applicable to whales.

The Scientific Committee had received data inventories from only twelve member governments, of which five were still not considered to be a complete set of information requested. It was recognised that preparation of these inventories represents a substantial amount of work.

However, in the light of the urgent need of the requested information for the conduct of the Comprehensive Assessment, the Technical Committee endorsed the recommendation of the Scientific Committee that the Commission urges all member governments to return the completed inventory forms to the Secretariat by 1 January 1988.

10.2 Report of the Joint Working Group
Dr L. Fleischer (Mexico), Vice Chairman of the Technical Committee, reported that the Joint Working Group of the Technical and Scientific Committees (which he chaired) had reviewed the Scientific Committee report and endorsed all its recommendations for further work. These were further endorsed by the Technical Committee as follows:

(1)

the Secretariat computing facility should be used for carrying out second stage testing of management procedures;

(2)

the new techniques of DNA analysis should be further developed for stock identity studies.

Iceland sounded a note of caution in emphasising that these techniques have not yet been tested on all whale species, or shown to be of practical value for determining stock identity. In particular, use of these techniques may require substantial effort and cost in collecting samples. The Chairman of the Scientific Committee explained that the proposed contract study of these techniques was specifically designed to further investigate their applicability, and that the issue of collection of samples would be addressed.

(3)

monitoring studies such as the Antarctic IDCR surveys, and those on eastern North Pacific gray whales, South African right whales, and Bering Sea bowhead whales should be continued;

(4)

a contract study be carried out to analyse Southern Hemisphere minke whale marking data;

(5)

a workshop should be held to address the question of the use of natural markings to identify whales in order to estimate population parameters;

(6)

those nations who have exploited minke whales in the North Atlantic (i.e. Norway, Iceland, Denmark (Greenland), and a non-member nation, Canada) be requested to supply a detailed description of the methods and strategies of these operations.

The Scientific Committee had noted several categories of populations/regions which might warrant priority in its work. Japan commented that it regarded the Comprehensive Assessment as the most important task before the Commission. In view of the objectives of the Convention, which are the conservation and rational utilization of whale resources, it proposed that the Scientific Committee should give priority to those stocks on which there was substantial whaling activity before the moratorium, and where much information has been accumulated and substantial scientific work is under way. This was agreed by the Technical Committee.

In discussing management objectives and alternative management procedures the Joint Working Group found that the general management objectives outlined by the Scientific Committee for comparing the effects of various management procedures were adequate for the Committee's present purposes. It was also noted that this could not prejudge subsequent consideration by the Commission of revised management procedures. The Technical Committee noted the need for possible management procedures to be simple enough in application and independent from complex models requiring parameters which are difficult to determine; and that the objective of making possible the highest continuing yield from a stock might not be compatible with the need to accommodate eventual multispecies management requirements.

With respect to specific proposals to facilitate the work of the Scientific Committee, the Technical Committee agreed to defer consideration of setting aboriginal subsistence whaling catch limits for more than one year until it considered Item 16 of the plenary agenda, and of the need for the Scientific Committee to review scientific permits annually until this matter had been discussed and resolved by the Commission. It did agree, however, to recommend that an extra day should be added to the Scientific Committee meeting to allow the second last day to be spent in completion of report writing and for members to read those sections already written and distributed. In response to an enquiry from the USA, the Chairman of the Scientific Committee indicated that he thought he could develop an appropriate list of priority stocks for the next meeting of the Scientific Committee.

The Technical Committee noted the views of some members that it might be necessary for the Commission to reconsider the timetable for the Comprehensive Assessment of whale stocks. It also noted another view that it is necessary for the Scientific Committee to conform with the time limit laid down in Schedule paragraph 10(e).

It endorsed the recommendation that the Joint Working Group of the Technical and Scientific Committees on Comprehensive Assessment remain a standing committee as long as the Scientific Committee is working on the Comprehensive Assessment.

The Technical Committee also noted the forthcoming international North Atlantic sightings survey this summer, and the importance of cooperation between member nations in such research projects. Finally, it was agreed that the Secretary be asked to prepare a factual document concerning the chronology of the Comprehensive Assessment for circulation to Commissioners and members of the Scientific Committee.

10.3 Action arising
The Commission received the report of the Technical Committee on this item and noted the various comments. In particular it endorsed the recommendations regarding data inventories; the priorities and work plan of the Scientific Committee and the need for an extra day to be added to the latter's Annual Meeting; and the continuation of the Joint Working Group.

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