17. RESEARCH ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND WHALE STOCKS

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


17.1 Report of the Scientific Committee
Last year the Commission passed a Resolution on the environment and whale stocks, and decided among other things that the Scientific Committee should give priority to research on this topic, that a special workshop should be convened before the 47th Annual Meeting, and that the Scientific Committee and Contracting Governments consider inviting participants to this year's Annual Meeting with expertise in these matters. The Chairman of the Scientific Committee drew attention to the fact that two invited participants were funded by the IWC specifically for this item and were joined by a number of specialists from member governments.

Responses to the request for information circulated by the Secretary indicated that a number of organisations have considerable expertise, data and research programmes related to monitoring the marine environment. These include IOC, ICSU/SCOR/SCAR, WMO, UNEP, FAO and CCAMLR. A major task will be to develop a framework that will enable the Scientific Committee to take advantage of this accumulated information and relate it to cetaceans - a project now also being investigated by the UK.

The Scientific Committee briefly considered a number of papers dealing with threats to cetaceans, climatic changes and ozone depletion, modelling and pollutants. It agreed that the focus of a workshop on the effects of environmental changes on cetaceans should be to identify research activities that might enable the eventual prediction of the effects of such factors, both direct and indirect, on cetaceans and incorporate such knowledge into conservation and management programmes.

Because of the number and range of factors that might be considered, it was neither feasible nor desirable to cover them all at a single workshop. The Scientific Committee proposed holding a workshop on issues related to chemical pollutants and cetaceans in the intersessional period, and established a Steering Committee. It believed a workshop on the potential ecological effects of climate change and ozone depletion on cetaceans should be delayed until autumn 1995. This would allow consultation with other international organisations; a Steering Group for this activity was also appointed.


17.2 Action arising
Grenada spoke of the need for whale/fisheries interaction studies, referring to the increased consumption of fish by marine mammals as the numbers of the latter increased. This has led to plans for controlling the cull of fur seals off South Africa and grey seals by the UK. The growth of whale stocks could affect fish resources which are important for human nutrition. It suggested that the IWC Scientific Committee should cooperate with FAO and other agencies to mount a study to develop a framework to look into the effect of a sanctuary in the Southern Ocean.

Support for such an approach was expressed by St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines and Spain. Norway recalled that this problem is addressed in its research programme while Australia questioned the recovery rates of depleted cetaceans.

The USA stated it was prepared to host both workshops and Norway offered to host the one on pollution. Japan spoke of the necessity to determine what practical aspects should be considered and the relationships with FAO and CCAMLR in the context of whales and fish stocks. Further exchanges led to agreement to endorse the approach proposed by Grenada and to accept the offers to hold the pollution workshop in Norway in the coming year and the environment workshop in the USA in autumn 1995. The Scientific Committee's outline of topics and experts to be invited were noted.

The USA subsequently introduced a Resolution submitted together with Austria, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand and the UK on research on the environment and whale stocks. This recalled the development of the Commission's interest in this subject and encouraged further activity by the Scientific Committee and Contracting Governments. Australia expressed some concerns before the Resolution (Appendix 14) was adopted.

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