Amendments to the Schedule to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, Brighton, 1980

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International Whaling Commission The Red House, Station Road, Histon, Cambridge CB4 4NP Telephone: 022023 3971 Telegrams: Interwhale Cambridge Telex: 817960

Chairman Thordur Asgeirsson (Iceland) Vice-Chairman M.C. Mercer (Canada) Secretary Dr Ray Gambell

27 August 1980

RG/CAB/3540

CIRCULAR COMMUNICATION TO CONTRACTING GOVERNMENTS International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, 1946 Amendments to the Schedule

At its 32nd Annual Meeting held in Brighton, 21 - 26 July 1980, the Commission agreed to the following amendments to the Schedule.

A.

Substantive amendments [changes and new wording underlined]

1.

New paragraph to precede the present paragraph 5 in Chapter III Capture, all succeeding paragraphs to be renumbered:

‘The killing for commercial purposes of whales, except minke whales, using the cold grenade harpoon shall be forbidden from the beginning of the 1980/81 pelagic and 1981 coastal seasons.’

2.

New sub-paragraph (e) to be added to [old] paragraph 8:

‘ (e) Geographical boundaries for Bryde's whale stocks in the Southern Hemisphere and Northern Indian Ocean.

Indian Ocean

20°E to the Australian coast 40°S to the coast north of the Equator

Solomon Islands

Western South Pacific

Australian coast to 150°W. 40°S to the Equator (excluding the Solomon Islands stock area)

Peruvian

Eastern South Pacific

150° W to the South American coast 40°S to the Equator (excluding the Peruvian stock area)’

3.

New sentence to be added to [old] sub-paragraph 9(d):

‘This moratorium applies to sperm whales, killer whales and baleen whales, excluding minke whales.’

4.

Amend Schedule Tables 1 and 2 and reorganise into three tables as shown in Appendix 1 of this document.

5.

Replace [old] sub-paragraph 12(a) with the following:

‘For the years 1981 through 1983, inclusive, the total number of whales landed shall not exceed 45 and the total number of whales struck shall not exceed 65, provided, however, that in any one year the number of whales landed shall not exceed 17.’

6.

Revise Schedule Appendix A as shown in Appendix 2 of this document by amending Table 1 and adding Table 2. B.

Legal Revision of the Schedule

The revision and re-organisation of the Schedule proposed by the Technical Committee Working Group as circulated by the Secretary in a Communication dated 26 October 1979 (ref: RG/CAB/2752) was adopted with two changes. Together with the insertion of a date in [old] paragraph 5, the addition of a sentence to [old] paragraph 12, and certain consequential changes resulting from the decisions detailed in section A above, the revisions adopted are as follows:

CHAPTER I. INTERPRETATION (paragraph 1)

Divide the listing into three parts: baleen whales, toothed whales, and general. Under the first two parts, the various whale species are listed alphabetically. Under the third part the following terms are included, in this order:

‘strike’ means to penetrate with a weapon used for whaling.

‘take’ means to flag, buoy or make fast to a whale catcher.

‘land’ means to retrieve to a factory ship, land station, or other place where a whale can be treated.

‘lose’ means to either strike or take but not land.

‘dauhval’ [definition unchanged].

‘lactating whale’ [definition unchanged].

‘small-type whaling’ [definition unchanged].

The terms ‘lost whale’ and ‘whales taken’ are deleted from the list of definitions.

Re-arrange in following order:

‘Factory Ship Operations

2. (a) (b) (with consequential changes) (c) (d) 4.

(to be renumbered as ‘3’ and to read ‘. . . as provided in paragraphs 12 and 17. . .’)

Land Station Operations

3.

(a) (to be renumbered as ‘4. (a)’) (b) (c) (d) (e) (with consequential change from deletion of [old] Paragraph 7) Other Operations

2.

(e) (to be renumbered as ‘5’)’

Insert a date in the last sentence of [old] paragraph 5:

‘This prohibition will apply for 10 years from 24 October 1979 with the provision for a general review after 5 years, unless the Commission decides otherwise.’

Delete paragraph 7 and revise [old] paragraph 8 as follows:

‘9. (a) Classification of Areas

Areas relating to Southern Hemisphere baleen whales are those waters between the ice-edge and the equator and between the meridians of longitude listed in Table 1. (b) Classification of Divisions

Divisions relating to Southern Hemisphere sperm whales are those waters between the ice-edge and the equator and between the meridians of longitude listed in Table 3. (c) Geographical Boundaries in the North Atlantic

The geographical boundaries for the fin, minke and sei whale stocks in the North Atlantic are: . . . ’

Delete the numbering of the individual stocks and divisions in [old] paragraphs 8(c) and (d), and amend [old] paragraph 8(d) Sperm Whale Stocks, Eastern Division to read:

‘East of the line described above.’

Amend the fourth paragraph in [old] paragraph 9(a) to read:

‘10. (a) . . .

For stocks at or above the MSY stock level, the permitted catch shall not exceed 90 percent of the MSY. For stocks between the MSY stock level and 10 percent below that level, the permitted catch shall not exceed . . . falls short of the MSY stock level.’

Amend [old] paragraph 9(c) to read:

‘10. (c) A Protection Stock . . . below MSY stock level.

There shall be no commercial whaling on Protection Stocks.

Stocks so classified are listed in Tables 1, 2 and 3 of this Schedule

Amend [old] paragraph 10 to read:

‘11. The number of baleen whales taken in the Southern Hemisphere in the 1980/81 pelagic season and the 1981 coastal season shall not exceed the limits shown in Tables 1 and 2. However, in no circumstances shall the sum of the Area catches exceed the total catch limit for each species.’

Revise [old] paragraph 12 to read:

‘13. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 10

(i) the taking of 10 humpback whales . . . less than 50 gross register tonnage are used for this purpose;

(ii) the taking of bowhead whales from the Bering Sea stock by aborigines is permitted, but only when the meat and products . . . consumption by the aborigines, and further provided that:

(1) [as set out in section A5 of this document]

(2) it is forbidden to strike, take or kill calves or any bowhead whale accompanied by a calf.

(b) The taking of gray whales from the Eastern stock in the North Pacific is permitted, but only by aborigines or a Contracting Government on behalf of aborigines, and then only when the meat and products of such whales are to be used exclusively for local consumption by the aborigines. The number of gray whales taken in accordance with this sub-paragraph in 1981 shall not exceed the limit shown in Table 1.

Amend footnote 5 in Table 1 to read:

‘5 Available to be taken by aborigines or a Contracting Government on behalf of aborigines pursuant to paragraph 13(b).’

Amend [old] paragraph 14(b) to read:

‘15 (b) It is forbidden . . . Northern Hemisphere; except that fin whales of not less than 55 feet (16.8 metres) may be taken in the Southern Hemisphere for delivery to land stations and fin whales of not less than 50 feet (15.2 metres) may be taken in the Northern Hemisphere for delivery to land stations . . .

Amend [old] paragraph 15 to read:

‘16. The number of sperm whales taken in the Southern Hemisphere in the 1980/81 pelagic season and the 1981 coastal season shall not exceed the limits shown in Table 3.’

Revise [old] paragraph 19(a) to read:

‘20. (a) It is forbidden to use a factory ship or a land station for the purpose of treating any whales which are classified as Protection Stocks in paragraph 10 or are taken in contravention of paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 16 and 17 of this Schedule, whether or not taken by whale catchers under the jurisdiction of a Contracting Government.’

Revise the beginning of [old] paragraph 19(b) to read:

‘20. (b) All other whales taken, except minke whales, shall . . .’

Amend [old] paragraphs 25, 26, 28 and 29 as follows:

‘26. (a) All Contracting Governments shall report to the Commission for all whale catchers operating in conjunction with factory ships and land stations, the following information:

(i) Methods used to kill each whale, other than a harpoon, and in particular compressed air.

(ii) Number of whales struck but lost.

(b) A record similar . . . shall be entered therein as soon as available, and forwarded by Contracting Governments to the Commission.’

‘27. (a) Notification shall be given . . . of data on the number of baleen whales by species taken in any waters . . .’

‘29. (a) Notification shall be given in accordance with the provisions of Article VII of the Convention with regard to all factory ships and catcher ships of the following statistical information:

(b) If it appears ‘. . . permitted by paragraph 11 . . .’

(1) The name and gross tonnage of each factory ship.

(2) For each catcher ship attached to a factory ship or land station:

(i) the dates on which each is commissioned and ceases whaling for the season,

(ii) the number of days on which each is at sea on the whaling grounds each season,

(iii) the gross tonnage, horsepower, length and other characteristics of each; vessels used only as tow boats should be specified.

(3) A list of the land stations which were in operation during the period concerned, and the number of miles searched per day by aircraft, if any.

(b) The information required under paragraph (a) (2) (iii) should also be recorded together with the following information, in the log book format in Appendix A, and forwarded to the Commission:

(1)

Where possible the time spent each day on different components of the catching operation,

(2)

Any modifications of the measures in paragraphs (a)(2)(i) - (iii) or (b)(1) or data from other suitable indicators of fishing effort for ‘small-type’ whaling operations.’

‘30. (d) Contracting Governments shall . . . and report to the Commission on the results of such analyses.’

C. Other Consequential Amendments

1. Amend [new] paragraph 9(b) to read:

‘. . . listed in Table 3.’

2. Amend [new] paragraph 9(c) to reflect the changes in North Atlantic minke whale stock names:

for ‘East Greenland-Iceland-Jan Mayen’ read Central

for ‘Svalbard-Norway-British Isles’ read Northeastern

3. The recognition of the Eastern North Atlantic Stock of sei whales in Table 1 should be reflected by designation of its geographical boundaries in [new] paragraph 9 (c) sei whale stocks:

’Eastern

East of a line through:

20°N 18°W, 60°N 18°W, 68°N 3°E, 74°N 3°E,

and North of a line through:

74°N 3°E, 74°N 22°W.’

4. Amend the last lines of [new] paragraph 10(a) third paragraph and 10(b) second paragraph to read:

‘ . . . listed in Tables 1, 2 and 3 of this Schedule.’

5. Amend [new] paragraph 10(d) to read:

‘Notwithstanding the other provisions of paragraph 10 . . .’

6. Amend [new] paragraph 12 to read:

‘The number of baleen whales taken in the North Pacific Ocean and dependent waters in 1981 and in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1981 shall not exceed the limits shown in Tables 1 and 2.’

7. Amend [new] paragraph 17 to read:

‘The number of sperm whales taken in the North Pacific Ocean and dependent waters in 1981 and in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1981 shall not exceed the limits shown in Table 3.’

8. Amend [new] paragraph 25(a)(iii) to read:

‘ . . . pursuant to sub-paragraph 21(b).’

9. An end [new] paragraph 25(b)(ii) to read:

‘ . . . pursuant to paragraph 24.’

These amendments become effective with respect to each Contracting Government ninety days following the date of this letter, in accordance with Article V of the Convention, unless any Contracting Government lodges an objection, in which case the procedure under Article V, paragraph 3 of the Convention will be followed.

The ninety days period will expire on 25 November 1980. In the absence of objections by that date the amendments will become effective. Contracting Governments will be notified accordingly.

Contracting Governments are reminded that Article V paragraph 3 of the Convention requires them to acknowledge receipt of this notification of amendments, a copy of which is being sent to each Commissioner.

Dr. R. Gambell Secretary to the Commission

Comments by the Secretary

1. The geographical boundaries for the Bryde's whale stocks now recognised in the Southern Hemisphere and Northern Indian Ocean will require some clarification in the future:

(a) The South Atlantic stock area is not defined.

(b) The Australian coast(s) mentioned in the Indian Ocean and Western South Pacific Stock areas is/are not clearly identified.

2. The North Pacific minke whale stock areas are not defined at present.

3. Since the Commission at its 31st Annual Meeting adopted a moratorium on factory ship whaling except for minke whales [new] paragraph 9(d), reference to sperm whales in paragraph 2(b) and the whole of paragraph (c) appear to be redundant. Similarly, the provisions of paragraph 2(a) are also superfluous at the present time. The Commission may wish to delete all these together with the reference in paragraph 2(a)(ii). The consequential deletion of references in paragraph 2(b) and the fact that the existing reference to paragraph 2(e) [now renumbered 5] is proposed for identification under ‘small-type whaling’ suggests that only paragraph 2(d) needs to be retained in the section on factory ship operations.

4. The Commission may wish to revise the style of [new] paragraph 7 to bring the designation of the latitudinal and longitudinal limits into conformity with the remainder of the Schedule.

5. [New] sub-paragraph 10(d) includes the words ‘excluding minke whales’, whereas the term used in similar contexts (2(a), 4(b), 3) is ‘except’. The Commission may wish to be consistent in its phraseology.

6. The Legal Working Group noted that the revision of [new] paragraph 20 does not deal with the policy question of whether or not, for example, a protected whale which is taken by accident should be treated and then reported as an infraction, rather than left unutilised and perhaps a hazard to navigation.

7. The Legal Working Group also recommended that the Commission review the description of whale processing contained in [new] paragraph 20(b) to reflect current practice and to encourage complete utilisation of the whales landed.

TABLE 1

BALEEN WHALE STOCK CLASSIFICATIONS AND CATCH LIMITS (excluding Bryde's whales)

(changes shown in bold type)

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE - 1980/81 pelagic season and 1981 coastal season

¹ The total catch of minke whales shall not exceed 1678 in the five years 1980 to 1984 inclusive.

² Provisionally listed as SMS for 1981.

³ The total catch of minke whales shall not exceed 3634 in the five years 1980 to 1984 inclusive.

⁴ Pending a satisfactory estimate of stock size.

⁵ Available to be taken by aborigines or a Contracting Government on behalf of aborigines pursuant to paragraph 13(b).

⁶ The total catch of minke whales shall not exceed 1778 in the five years 1981 to 1985 inclusive.

⁷ Pending submission of data leading to an adequate assessment.

⁸ The total catch of fin whales shall not exceed 1524 in the six years 1977 to 1982 inclusive.

⁹ The total catch of sei whales shall not exceed 504 in the six years 1980 to 1985 inclusive.

¹⁰ The total catch of fin whales shall not exceed 440 in the two years 1980 and 1981.

APPENDIX 1

TABLE 2

BRYDE'S WHALE STOCK CLASSIFICATION AND CATCH LIMITS

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE AND NORTHERN INDIAN OCEAN

1980/81 pelagic season and 1981 coastal season

¹ Pending a satisfactory estimate of stock size.

² Provisionally listed as SMS for 1981.

TABLE 3

TOOTHED WHALE STOCK CLASSIFICATION AND CATCH LIMITS

Southern Hemisphere 1980/81 pelagic season and 1981 coastal season

Northern Hemisphere - 1981 season

¹ The catch in 1982 shall be zero.

² Included within this figure where may be a by-catch of females not to exceed 11.5% and all whaling operations for this species are to cease when the by-catch is reached.

³ It is forbidden to take or kill any sperm whale from this stock over 45 feet (13.7 metres) in length in the 1981 season.

⁴ Provisionally listed as PS for 1981 pending the accumulation of sufficient information for classification.

24 November 1980

RG/EE/3682

CIRCULAR COMMUNICATION TO CONTRACTING GOVERNMENTS Result of Postal Vote to Amend the Schedule

The Secretary has been instructed by the Chairman of the Commission to announce the result of the postal vote proposed by the Government of the United States of America to amend the Schedule Table of Toothed Whale Stock Classifications and Catch Limits for the 1980/81 pelagic season and 1981 coastal season so that Division 1 - 8 stocks of sperm whales in the Southern Hemisphere Shall be unclassified and that catch limits for each of these stocks of sperm whales shall be zero (see Circular Communication dated 10 October 1980, ref: RG/CAB/3616).

There were received 18 votes in favour of the proposal and 2 abstentions.

In voting for the proposal, the Commissioner for Brazil stated that:

‘It is the understanding of the Brazilian Government that the USA amendment to the Schedule, which is justified by the inability of the Scientific Committee to recommend an appropriate quota for sperm whales, is solely applicable to the 1981 whaling season’.

Japan asked that the reason for its abstention be recorded as follows:

‘The Government of Japan cannot accept the idea of this proposal to set up a zero quota for sperm whales in Divisions 1 - 8 of the Southern Hemisphere without any appropriate discussion on a scientific basis in the IWC, even if the sperm whales concerned are not caught by any country’.

An amendment to the Schedule requires a three-quarters majority for it to become effective, and Rule C.3 of the Commission' s Rules of Procedure states that:

‘Between meetings of the Commission or in the case of emergency, a vote of the Commissioners may be taken by post, or other means of communication in which case the necessary simple, or where required three-fourths majority, shall be of the total number of Commissioners’.

The proposal therefore received a sufficient number of votes to achieve the required majority of the 24 members of the Commission.

This amendment becomes effective with respect to each Contracting Government ninety days following the date of this letter, in accordance with Article V paragraph 3 of the Convention, unless any Contracting Government lodges an objection, in which case the procedure under Article V paragraph 3 of the Convention will be followed.

The ninety days period will expire on 22 February 1981. In the absence of objections by that date the amendments will become effective. Contracting Governments will be notified accordingly.

Contracting Governments are reminded that Article V paragraph 3 of the Convention requires them to acknowledge receipt of this notification of amendment, a copy of which is being sent to each Commissioner.

Dr. R. Gambell Secretary to the Commission

23 February 1981

RG/EE/3790

CIRCULAR COMMUNICATION TO CONTRACTING GOVERNMENTS International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, 1946 Amendments to the Schedule

The Secretary refers to his Circular Communications dated 24 November 1980 and 26 November 1980 (refs: RG/EE/3682 and 3693).

No objections have been lodged to the amendment to the Schedule concerning the Table of Toothed Whale Stock Classifications and Catch Limits for the 1980/81 pelagic season and 1981 coastal season for the sperm whale stocks in Divisions 1 - 8 of the Southern Hemisphere as adopted by postal vote (Unclassified with zero catch limits). This amendment therefore becomes binding on all Contracting Governments from 23 February 1981. No further objections have been received following the notice from the Government of the Republic of Korea of an objection to the new paragraph to precede the previous paragraph 5:

‘The killing for commercial purposes of whales, except minke whales, using the cold grenade harpoon shall be forbidden from the beginning of the 1980/81 pelagic and 1981 coastal seasons’.

This paragraph therefore becomes binding on all Contracting Governments other than the Republic of Korea from 23 February 1981. A revised edition of the Schedule to the Convention will now be printed to replace the issue dated February 1980 and will be distributed as soon as it is available.

The Secretary requests an acknowledgement of this Communication, a copy of which is also being sent to all Commissioners.

Dr. R. Gambell Secretary to the Commission