13. SECOND INTERNATIONAL DECADE OF CETACEAN RESEARCH

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


13.1 Report of the Scientific Committee
The Scientific Committee reviewed the results from two programmes in 1989/90, on (a) the IWC/IDCR Southern Hemisphere minke whale cruise 1989/90, and (b) Computer assisted matching for right and blue whales.

The latter was a pilot study part funded by the IWC. The Scientific Committee welcomed the report and noted that the authors would continue to develop the procedure. Interested members were invited to contact the authors for details of the software.

In reviewing proposals for 1990/91 all the proposals recommended for support will be subject to the Scientific Committee's guidelines on data availability agreed in 1988.


(a) IWC/IDCR Southern Hemisphere minke whale cruise 1990/91
The Scientific Committee recommended that this cruise, to survey Area VI (120°W - 170°W), be funded as a contribution to the Comprehensive Assessment. The Scientific Committee noted with appreciation that the Government of Japan has allocated 05,000 to provide vessels, labour and other logistics required for this cruise.


(b) Unsolicited research proposals
(i) 'GENETIC VARIABILITY AND STOCK IDENTITY OF HUMPBACK WHALES, WORLDWIDE'
The Scientific Committee recommended this be funded in full, but noted that for the project to be completed in its proposed time-frame, funds will need to made available in early July 1990.
(ii) 'A PROPOSAL TO STUDY HUMPBACKS OFF WESTERN AUSTRALIA IN THE AUSTRAL WINTER OF 1990'
The Scientific Committee recommended that a reduced programme be funded as a photo-identification analysis.


13.2 Action arising
The Technical Committee endorsed these recommendations which were then adopted by the plenary.

In the plenary session Japan explained that it had given unqualified support to the IWC Scientific Committee to conduct the IDCR sightings surveys in the Southern Hemisphere since 1978. It was pleased to note that there is now a good idea of the population conditions of the whale stocks south of 60°S. It sought the understanding of the Commission that the national programme by the Institute of Cetacean Research, which included the research take of minke whales, is integrated with the systematic surveys, so that if one fails the other would also collapse.

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