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

11.2 Southern Hemisphere baleen whales
11.2.1 Report of the Scientific Committee
HUMPBACK WHALES
The Scientific Committee reviewed its progress on short-term assessment work on humpback whales and recommended that the acquisition and entry of revised Soviet catch data should be given highest priority for the coding and validation of data before the next Scientific Committee meeting. In the meantime, sources of new or revised catch or marking data should be sought. In particular, it was recommended that the Secretariat should enquire about the availability of the original marking data for the Soviet marking scheme.

Photo-identification is an important tool in studies of this species and there is value in documenting the existence and growth of catalogues. To this end, the Scientific Committee recommended that the IWC Secretariat create and maintain a centralised directory of Southern Hemisphere humpback whale catalogues.

Progress on long-term assessment work included discussion of stock identity from catches, sightings and genetic data. Abundance estimates from shore-based and Antarctic cruises were reported, and it was recommended that IDCR data should be re-analysed, together with a number of other identified tasks before considering the holding of a special meeting.

BLUE WHALES
The 1996/97 blue whale cruise, the second to be undertaken as part of the IWC's research programme on Southern Hemisphere blue whales, was the first to take place under the new Southern Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research Programme (SOWER). As in the first cruise, its principal objective was to investigate development of a reliable shipboard method to distinguish between 'true' blue whales and pygmy blue whales. The research area south of Madagascar was chosen as one where many blue whales had been sighted in the past by Japanese scouting vessels and caught by Soviet whalers. The techniques used were acoustics, biopsy sampling, photography (still and video) and photogrammetry. Dive time and other respiratory data were also collected.

The Scientific Committee recognised that the SOWER Antarctic cruise was primarily a minke whale assessment cruise designed for abundance estimation and that blue whale work was done as a result of chance encounters with groups of blue whales. It strongly endorsed the efforts made on the cruise to increase the amount of blue whale work and to follow the protocols used during the blue whale cruise.

It also recommended that further attempts be made to obtain known tissue samples from both sub-species.

RIGHT WHALES
A striking aspect of current understanding of right whales is the increase in Southern Hemisphere stocks since the cessation of whaling and a corresponding lack of detectable increase currently in Northern Hemisphere stocks. An attempt to explain this contrast should be a major focus of a worldwide right whale assessment.

The Scientific Committee proposed a meeting in March 1998 in Cape Town, South Africa, to include public keynote lectures followed by an invitation-only workshop. The Committee recommended that the Commission co-sponsor the proposed meeting. Funding requirements are estimated at 5,000.

11.3 North Pacific minke whales
11.3.1 Report of the Scientific Committee
The Scientific Committee noted that its work in specifying trials would be enhanced if it could receive reliable information on Korean incidental catches. It requested the Commission to urge the Government of the Republic of Korea to provide this information.

The Committee also strongly recommended that a proposed feasibility study by Japan for sighting surveys of North Pacific minke whales should include waters within the Russian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in order to provide necessary coverage. It recommended that the Commission requests the relevant authorities of the Russian Federation to grant permission for the vessels to operate in their EEZ.

11.4 North Atlantic minke whales
11.4.1 Report of the Scientific Committee
The Scientific Committee noted that progress had been made intersessionally by a Steering Group on three questions posed last year concerning estimation of the abundance of northeast Atlantic minke whales, and some additional work had been conducted during the present meeting. Nonetheless, definitive answers had not yet been reached. The Committee recommended that the Steering Group continue its work intersessionally.

New estimates of the abundance of the Central stock of minke whales based on the NASS-95 and on the NILS-95 surveys are included in the report of the Scientific Committee of NAMMCO. A re-analysis of 1987 Icelandic minke whale aerial survey data yielded a much larger estimate than that obtained previously.

The question of data availability and the requirements with respect to the ownership and use of data collected by nations which have either left the Commission or have never been members was discussed. The Scientific Committee's present guidelines on availability of data do not comment on how long they should be available, nor on any restrictions which may be applied. It recognised that these are important issues, particularly in the context of the RMP and associated guidelines. It drew the Commission's attention to this general issue and agreed that it should be examined fully at next year's meeting.

11.5 Southern Hemisphere minke whales
11.5.1 Report of the Scientific Committee
In addition to the discussions reported under Agenda Item 14, the Scientific Committee received the report of the 19th Antarctic minke whale sightings cruise carried out in 1996/97 in Area IIE, 0° - 30°W, and the JARPA cruise in Area V and Area IVW, as well as an analysis of the 1995/96 IWC sighting survey.

11.6 North Pacific Brydes whales
11.6.1 Report of the Scientific Committee
The Scientific Committee considered the questions of stock identity, uncertainty regarding historic catches and abundance estimates in preparing for RMP Implementation Simulation Trials. It specified work which should be carried out in the future, and in particular strongly recommended that surveys are conducted in the relevant EEZ in order to ensure the necessary coverage of the stocks. The Scientific Committee therefore recommended that the Commission requests the relevant authorities of the Russian Federation, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Indonesia, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands grant permission for the survey vessels to operate in their EEZs.

11.7 Other stocks
11.7.1 Report of the Scientific Committee
BOWHEAD WHALES
A bowhead whale was harvested from the Hudson Bay stock by Canadian aboriginal hunters in August 1996. The Scientific Committee recommended that no additional whales be removed from this stock until it can be shown that any proposed level of harvest will have no more than a negligible impact.

GRAY WHALES
A sighting of two gray whales from the southern end of the range of the western stock was reported. A joint Russian-US research effort was expanded in 1997 and several groups of whales were approached. Chinese scientists are asked to report any information about gray whale presence in this area, and the Commission is recommended to bring together scientists from countries with an interest in or within the range of this endangered baleen whale stock.

SPERM WHALES
There is remarkable genetic and morphological uniformity of sperm whales worldwide and very different social groupings and movement patterns of males and females; these factors create large difficulties in determining stock structure and abundance. The Scientific Committee agreed that sperm whales should be discussed at the 1998 Committee meeting. An intersessional steering group will examine the current state of knowledge of sperm whales in preparation for a future Comprehensive Assessment and report on progress next year.

NORTH PACIFIC HUMPBACK WHALES
An analysis of nuclear and mtDNA variation from 205 humpback whales from eight regions of the North Pacific supported the hypothesis of at least two stocks. These are a central stock, including the Hawaiian wintering ground and Alaskan feeding grounds, and an eastern stock, including the coastal Mexican wintering grounds and the California feeding grounds. The Scientific Committee noted the relevance of this work to management, and that relatively few studies have been carried out in the western North Pacific feeding grounds. Available information suggests that the Scientific Committee is still some distance away from being able to undertake a Comprehensive Assessment. However, there has been a major effort by North Pacific photo-identification researchers to look at population structure, abundance and behaviour. The Committee urges those responsible to present results to the 1998 meeting.

11.8 Future work plans
11.8.1 Report of the Scientific Committee
The plans for the 1997/98 SOWER cruises for blue whales and in the Antarctic were outlined to the Commission, and plans to determine the future direction of these cruises were described.

11.8.2 Action arising
The Commission took note of all the material presented by the Scientific Committee, and endorsed the recommendations made.

A Resolution on northeastern Atlantic minke whales (inter alia requesting Norway to cease whaling) sponsored by Australia, Brazil, Chile, Finland, France, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, UK and the USA was deplored by Norway. It stated that it was acting within its legal rights and that the scientific basis for the national catch limit was not challenged. In its opinion this was an attack on sustainable use, and it wondered if asking Norway to leave the Commission was compatible with the Irish initiative to resolve the RMS issue. There was an impasse with respect to reaching any compromise. It reiterated that it believed that trade issues are the concern of WTO and CITES. Norway regarded the Resolution as provocative and stated it would be absent for the rest of the Item. Norway then withdrew from the meeting.

The USA explained that the Resolution was not an attack but an expression of concern. It believed Norwegian whaling affected the credibility of the Commission. The Norwegian initiative to establish a minke whale DNA database was welcome but is not available to the IWC. Sweden regretted that Norway appeared to be side-stepping the IWC and the RMS, but it would abstain.

Japan expressed sympathy with the Norwegian position. It viewed the Resolution as an attack on a legal activity. It believed the basis for it was unscientific and that it was not supported outside the IWC since 57 countries had supported the downlisting of this stock at CITES. It strongly opposed the Resolution and thought it should be reconsidered. The Russian Federation commented that such Resolutions bring confrontation and never lead to positive results.

The Resolution shown in Appendix 3 was then adopted by 17 votes in favour to 10 against, with 3 abstentions.

_