MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1995 



killing of whales be permitted only in exceptional 

 circumstances. 



The Japanese research whaling program in the 

 Antarctic is a 16-year program of which eight years 

 have been completed. The Scientific Committee 

 proposed that an intersessional meeting be held before 

 the regular 1996 meeting to review Japan's research 

 program, but, for financial reasons, the intersessional 

 meeting had to be delayed to at least 1997. 



Small-Type Coastal Whaling — Since 1986 

 Japan has argued that many of its small coastal 

 communities depend on whales and whaling in ways 

 that differ little from aboriginal subsistence whaling, 

 which is not prohibited under the IWC's moratorium 

 on commercial whaling. At the 1995 IWC meeting 

 Japan again requested an interim allocation of 50 

 minke whales for its small coastal whaling commu- 

 nities, pending steps necessary to lift the IWC's 

 whaling moratorium. In support of its request, Japan 

 submitted a three-part plan describing actions it would 

 take to regulate the catch and processing of whales 

 and the distribution and sale of whale meat. As in 

 past years, Japan was unable to satisfy concerns that 

 meat and other products from whales taken by coastal 

 villages would not be sold commercially in contraven- 

 tion of the moratorium on commercial whaling. 

 Consequently, the request did not receive the level of 

 support necessary for approval (i.e., three-quarters of 

 IWC members). 



Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling — The IWC 



Schedule of Regulations includes catch limits for 

 aboriginal subsistence whaling. As noted in the 

 previous report, the IWC amended its schedule in 

 1994 to allow Alaska Natives to land up to 51 bow- 

 head whales annually in 1995-1998; to allow the 

 Russian Government to take up to 140 gray whales in 

 each of the years 1995-1997 for Native use; and to 

 allow Greenland Natives to take up to 19 whales from 

 the West Greenland fin whale stock, up to 12 whales 

 from the central North Atlantic minke whale stock, 

 and up to 165 whales from the East Greenland minke 

 whale stock in each of the years 1995-1997. (Addi- 

 tional information concerning the taking of bowhead 

 whales by Alaska Natives for subsistence and cultural 

 purposes is provided in Chapter III.) 



The IWC also adopted a resolution at its 1994 

 meeting calling for the Scientific Committee to 

 undertake a review of the procedures used to manage 

 aboriginal subsistence whaling. During its 1995 

 meeting the Scientific Committee reviewed the exist- 

 ing scheme and recommended that a steering group be 

 established to examine related issues, such as data and 

 information needs, generic versus case-specific 

 approaches, the criteria for evaluating the risks and 

 performance of whaling operations, and analyses of 

 subsistence needs. The Scientific Committee recom- 

 mended and the IWC agreed that a three-day work- 

 shop should be held immediately prior to the 1996 

 annual meeting to review and make recommendations 

 on necessary changes in the existing scheme. 



The United States also advised the IWC that the 

 Makah Indian Tribe in the State of Washington had 

 expressed an interest in taking up to five gray whales 

 annually for ceremonial and subsistence purposes and 

 that the United States could request authorization of 

 this requested take at a future date. The Russian 

 Federation also indicated that it would request an 

 annual aboriginal subsistence quota of five bowhead 

 whales at the 1996 IWC meeting. 



Humane Killing — A workshop on whale killing 

 methods was held on 23-25 May 1995. The main 

 focus of the workshop was evaluating an electric lance 

 used by Japanese whalers to kill whales that do not 

 die instantaneously when harpooned. Based on their 

 tests of the lance on carcasses of stranded animals, 

 representatives from New Zealand concluded that the 

 electric lance, as presently used, was not capable of 

 immediate suspension of consciousness nor could it 

 cause cardiac fibrillation, except in a small minority 

 of cases. 



The delegations from Norway and Japan argued 

 that the New Zealand studies were invalid because the 

 conductivity of a carcass decreases rapidly after death. 

 The workshop noted that alternative secondary killing 

 methods are available, such as using a second harpoon 

 or a rifle. Japan informed the workshop that the use 

 of a rifle to kill whales was prohibited by its domestic 

 laws. No conclusion could be reached as to the best 

 alternative to assure a humane kill in all cases. 



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