MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1991 



members of the U.S. delegation to the Scientific Com- 

 mittee (including members of the Marine Mammal 

 Commission's Committee of Scientific Advisors) 

 participated in intercessional workshops. In preparing 

 for the 1991 meeting of the Scientific Committee, they 

 also reviewed the results of the simulation studies 

 conducted at the Tokyo workshop. 



Comprehensive Assessment of North Atlantic 

 Fm Whales — As noted above, the 1982 moratorium 

 provision called upon the IWC to undertake a compre- 

 hensive assessment of the effects of the moratorium 

 decision on whale stocks, the purpose being to deter- 

 mine if catch limits should be set at levels other than 

 zero. At its 1986 meeting, the IWC Scientific Com- 

 mittee agreed that the comprehensive assessment 

 would include an in-depth evaluation of the status of 

 all whale stocks. For each stock, this would include 

 examination of current stock size, recent population 

 trends, carrying capacity, productivity, and other 

 relevant biological information. The Scientific Com- 

 mittee identified three work components of the com- 

 prehensive assessment: (1) a review of current 

 knowledge concerning methodology, stock identity, 

 and data availability; (2) identification and collection 

 of data required for the comprehensive assessment; 

 and (3) examination of possible alternative manage- 

 ment regimes. 



At its 1990 meeting, the IWC Scientific Committee 

 agreed to convene a special intercessional meeting on 

 26 February-3 March 1991 in Reykjavik, Iceland, to 

 conduct a comprehensive assessment of North Atlantic 

 fin whales. During the meeting, participants consid- 

 ered stock definition, abundance estimates, population 

 models, ecological interactions, and additional re- 

 search needs. The meeting was generally unsuccess- 

 ful. Information proved insufficient to allow a 

 determination as to whether there were two or more 

 discrete fin whale stocks in the North Atlantic, and no 

 conclusions were reached regarding population size. 

 The workshop participants therefore recommended, 

 among other things, that additional data from DNA 

 and/or photographic identification studies be collected 

 to answer questions regarding stock structure and to 

 complete other aspects of the assessment of North 

 Atlantic fin whales. 



1991 Meeting of the IWC 

 and its Scientiflc Committee 



Membership and Participation — The 43rd 

 meeting of the Scientific Committee of the IWC was 

 held 10-20 May 1991 in Reykjavik, Iceland. Follow- 

 ing the Scientific Committee meeting, representatives 

 of 30 of the 37 member nations participated in the 

 43rd annual meeting of the IWC on 27-31 May in 

 Reykjavik. 



At its 1990 meeting, the IWC deferred consider- 

 ation of lifting the 1982 moratorium on commercial 

 whaling pending development of a revised manage- 

 ment procedure by its Scientific Committee. As 

 described below, die Scientific Conmiittee put forward 

 its best candidate for such a procedure in 1991 and its 

 adoption by the IWC has set the stage for future 

 consideration of commercial catch limits other than 

 zero. The implications for such a decision on the 

 conservation of whale stocks and for the United States 

 are discussed below. 



Comprehensive Assessments — As noted above, 

 the 1982 moratorium called upon the IWC to under- 

 take, by 1990 at the latest, a comprehensive assess- 

 ment of the effects of the moratorium decision on 

 whale stocks and to consider establishing catch limits 

 other than zero. To date, the Scientific Conmiittee 

 has completed or attempted to complete compre- 

 hensive assessments for eastern North Pacific gray 

 whales (April 1990); Southern Hemisphere minke and 

 North Atlantic minke whales (June 1990); North \ 

 Atlantic fin whales (February 1991); North Pacific 

 minke whales (May 1991); and Bering-Chukchi- 

 Beaufort Seas bowhead whales (May 1991). 



The comprehensive assessments have been difficult 

 to carry out, largely because of uncertainties concern- 

 ing key issues, such as stock discreteness and mixing 

 rates, interpretation of abundance trends, appropriate 

 maximum sustainable yield rates and levels, and the 

 integration of biological information into assessment 

 models. At its 1991 meeting, the Scientific Commit- 

 tee noted that these were the same difficulties that 

 resulted in the failure of the previously used manage- 

 ment procedure, and that they continued to prevent 

 the Committee from reaching agreement on stock 



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