MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1991 



sound principles of resource management, it did not 

 identify those principles. In addition, the Commission 

 noted that the draft failed to recognize the findings of 

 the North Pacific regional review recently held in 

 Sidney in June. 



The National Marine Fisheries Service, in coopera- 

 tion with the Commission, the Department of State, 

 and other agencies, worked to develop an acceptable 

 document for submission to the United Nations. The 

 paper was substantially revised and improved and, on 

 26 August 1991, the report, entided "U.S. Policy 

 Concerning Large Scale Pelagic Driftnets and Com- 

 ments on the North Pacific Scientific Driftnet Review 

 Meeting Held in Sidney, British Columbia, Canada on 

 June 11-14, 1991," was submitted to the United 

 Nations. In the report, the United States stressed that 

 the use of living marine resources carries with it a 

 responsibility to protect the integrity of the ecosystem 

 such that: (a) the risk of irreversible or long-term 

 adverse effects on target, non-target, or associated 

 species, or the ecosystem as a result of use is mini- 

 mized; (b) the maximum possible range of manage- 

 ment options for present and future generations is 

 preserved; and (c) consumptive and non-consumptive 

 values can be optimized on a continuing basis. 



The report also expressed the view that available 

 data clearly demonstrate die wastefulness and potential 

 ecosystem-level impacts of large-scale driftnet fisher- 

 ies in the North Pacific. It also noted that existing 

 scientific monitoring and enforcement programs do 

 not constitute acceptable conservation and manage- 

 ment programs. The report therefore concluded that 

 a moratorium must be imposed in the North Pacific 

 Ocean without delay. It further noted that, because 

 comparable data on the catch of target and non-target 

 species in other areas do not exist and because agree- 

 ment on acceptable conservation and management 

 measures will therefore be impossible, the global 

 moratorium on large-scale pelagic driftnet fishing is 

 entirely justified and must go into effect by 30 June 

 1992 as called for in the United Nations General 

 Assembly Resolution 44/225. 



New Zealand, Canada, and the South Pacific 

 Forum also submitted statements to the United Na- 

 tions on the results of the Sidney meeting. Their 

 submissions supported the U.S. view. Japan, howev- 



er, stated in its 26 September 1991 submission that, in 

 its view, the results of the Sidney meeting did not 

 support the assertions that these fisheries have unac- 

 ceptable impacts on stocks of marine species, that 

 effective management measures cannot be established, 

 or that a driftnet moratorium should be implemented. 

 The Japanese report further noted that an upcoming 

 meeting sponsored by the International North Pacific 

 Fisheries Commission would include a symposium on 

 high seas driftnet fishing, to be held 4-6 November 

 1991 in Tokyo, Japan, and that presentations at the 

 meeting would provide further information. 



Representatives of the Marine Mammal Commis- 

 sion attended the Tokyo meeting, and information 

 presented provided additional support for the view that 

 the effects of driftnet fisheries on marine resources are 

 unacceptable. Among other things, an analysis by 

 U.S. scientists of observer data from the Japanese, 

 Taiwanese, and Korean driftnet fisheries confirmed 

 for the first time that these fisheries take large whales 

 as well as dolphins and other marine mammals. 



In addition to the above actions to prepare for 

 driftnet-related deliberations at the 1991 session of the 

 United Nations, the Department of State initiated 

 efforts through the ad hoc interagency working group 

 on driftnets to draft a new resolution. A draft was 

 completed in the fall and, on 11 October 1991, it was 

 tabled by the United States for consideration at the 

 46th session of the United Nations General Assembly. 

 Among other things, the proposed resolution called 

 upon all members of the international community to 

 end all large-scale pelagic driftnet fishing on the high 

 seas of the world's oceans and seas by 30 June 1992. 



The resolution proposed by the United States was 

 discussed with representatives of the Government of 

 Japan and other driftnet fishing nations at that time. In 

 response, Japan submitted an alternative proposal on 

 the same day. The Japanese proposal called on 

 "specialized agencies and other appropriate organs, 

 organizations and programs of the United Nations 

 system, as well as the various global, regional and 

 sub-regional organizations, to study all aspects of 

 large-scale pelagic driftnet fishing operations on the 

 high seas and their impact on living marine resourc- 

 es." In further efforts to reach agreement with Japan 

 on the driftnet issue. State Department representatives 



124 



