Norwegian expedition conducted exploratory sealing in the 

 western Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean to determine 

 whether crabeater seals could be profitably exploited. At 

 about the same time, Canadian scientists recommended that the 

 Canadian and Norwegian long-distance sealing fleets be diverted 

 to the Antarctic to reduce exploitation of depleted harp seal 

 stocks in the western North Atlantic. 



Recognizing the need to provide a mechanism for regu- 

 lating commercial sealing, should it resume, the Antarctic 

 Treaty Consultative Parties, in 1972, concluded the Conven- 

 tion for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals. The Convention 

 entered into force in March 1978 and, to date, has been ratified 

 by 13 countries — Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, 

 France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Japan, Norway, Poland, 

 the Republic of South Africa, the Union of Soviet Socialist 

 Republics, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The 

 Convention prohibits commercial exploitation of fur seals, 

 elephant seals, and Ross seals. Permissible catch levels, 

 sealing areas, and sealing seasons for crabeater, leopard, 

 and Weddell seals are specified in an Annex. The Convention 

 provides for the establishment of a regulatory body and a 

 scientific advisory committee, when and if commercial sealing 

 is resumed, and requires that each Party annually provide 

 information to the other Parties and to the Scientific Committee 

 on Antarctic Research (SCAR) on seals taken for scientific or 

 commercial purposes. It also requires that the Contracting 

 Parties and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research be 

 notified at least thirty days in advance of the initiation of 

 proposed sealing expeditions and that the Parties meet at 

 least every five years to review the operation of the 

 Convention. 



Since the Convention was concluded in 1972, several 

 hundred seals have been killed each year for research purposes 

 and food for sled dogs. As noted in the Commission's previous 

 Report, the Soviet Union sent two sealing vessels to the 

 Antarctic during the 1986-1987 austral summer and, in a 

 diplomatic note dated 4 November 1987, advised the United 

 States and other Convention Parties that the two sealing 

 vessels had conducted experimental sealing in the Balleny 

 Island area from 9 December 1986 to 2 February 1987 and that, 

 during this period, they had taken 4,014 crabeater seals, 649 

 leopard seals, 107 Weddell seals, 30 Ross seals, and 2 elephant 

 seals. 



The experimental sealing conducted by the Soviet Union 

 raised questions about whether a commercial sealing industry 

 was being developed in the Antarctic, and whether a regulatory 

 body and scientific advisory committee should be constituted 

 to govern the industry, as provided by the Convention. These 

 and other related questions were addressed at a meeting of 



86 



