(from "Report of the Scientific Committee", 1961 meeting)

(1)

The essential types of data for the desired estimates probably have been collected in varying quantities but have not been generally tabulated in a form suitable for a population assessment and there is also need for a much higher degree of collation of them between the various national groups.

(2)

To obtain the data in the necessary form standardized tabulations covering all the essential points are required. The Committee has discussed these with the Ad Hoc Committee and fully supports the recommendations of that Committee in this respect.

(3)

Until these tabulations have been prepared, it will not be possible to assess the amount and reliability of the data now available on a number of points. Tills applies particularly to the biological data. It will also not be possible until trial analyses have been made to determine whether it will be necessary to obtain additional data beyond that already being collected. Consequently, the essential first step in obtaining the desired assessment is the compilation of the recommended standard tabulations.

(4)

If the Special Committee is to report even on a preliminary basis in time for the 1962 meeting of the Commission it will be necessary for the data to be available for a meeting to be held not later than the end of 1961 and it should be in the hands of members for preliminary study at least a month before this. If national groups are likely to experience difficulty in meeting this time table it is recommended that the Commission should consider what special steps are required to enable the work to be expedited.

(5)

In general, the Special Committee will not work independently of the Ad Hoc Committee since it is members of the latter who are in possession of the basic data and are aware of its biological and practical limitations. Furthermore, it is the Ad Hoc Committee which will in the future need to maintain an up-to-date assessment of whale stocks once the techniques have been established. The function of the Special Committee should be to co-operate with the Ad Hoc Committee by guiding the preparation of existing data in an appropriate form, recommending what additional data are required, devising appropriate methods of analysis to determine optimum yield and assisting in the preparation of an estimate by these methods and to supply to the Commission an independent opinion as to the nature and reliability of the results.

(6)

It is possible that assistance will be needed with the computations involved in the population estimates and hence it may be necessary for the Commission to consider special arrangements for this.

(7)

Although the marking data are not fully analysed, it appears that if useful information on population dynamics is to be obtained by this method, operations must be greatly expanded. If this is not practicable, marking operations should be planned to yield maximum information on whale movements and migrations and data on the other aspects should be regarded as secondary.

While the first assessment of the stocks and the catch that can be sustained must deal with numbers of animals, close consideration must be given to assessing the stock levels in units more clearly related to economic needs taking into account both the yield of economically valuable products and the relative cost of production which is obviously related to the catch per unit effort.

Recommendations
(1) That every effort should be made by the Commission to ensure the completion of the standardized tabulations of existing data at the earliest possible date.

(2) That when this process has been completed copies of the data should be circulated to all organizations concerned and that shortly afterwards a further joint meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee and the Special Committee should be held. The purpose of this meeting should be to examine the data with special reference to any deficiencies disclosed by trial analysis, and to plan the next stage of the assessment with a view of considering its results at a further meeting prior to the 1962 meeting of the Commission.

(3) That the Commission should consider what financial provision can be made for handling the considerable number of computations which will be necessary to obtain the desired estimates from the collated data.

(4) That the scale of marking operations should be substantially increased so that the results will be more useful for stock assessments but if this is not practicable the marking work should be directed primarily towards obtaining data on movements and migrations.

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