Chapter V — International 



The IWC adopted a resolution recognizing that 

 information presented to the workshop indicates that 

 the electric lance does not cause instantaneous uncon- 

 sciousness. It agreed to consider banning the electric 

 lance at the 1996 meeting and urged Japan to suspend 

 use of the electric lance as a secondary killing meth- 

 od. Concern also was expressed about the humane- 

 ness of the pilot whale drive fishery in the Faeroe 

 Islands, and a resolution was passed encouraging the 

 Faeroe Islands home-rule government to continue 

 efforts to train Faeroese whalers in humane killing 

 techniques and to develop more humane alternatives 

 to the sharp-pointed gaff now used to tow whales to 

 shore. 



The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary — At its 



1994 meeting the IWC designated much of the South- 

 ern Ocean, the seas surrounding Antarctica, as a 

 sanctuary in which commercial whaling is prohibited. 

 On 12 August 1994 Japan lodged a formal objection 

 and is therefore not obligated to comply with the 

 sanctuary provisions. No other county lodged an 

 objection, and the sanctuary entered into force in De- 

 cember 1994. 



During the 1995 IWC meeting representatives of 

 Japan and Norway questioned whether the sanctuary 

 was justified legally or scientifically. Japanese 

 participants questioned the official status of the 

 unreported catches by Soviet whalers in the Antarctic 

 and suggested that, if these data were used as part of 

 the sanctuary justification, the sanctuary may not have 

 been justified on scientific grounds. Japan also 

 introduced a resolution calling for "relevant interna- 

 tional legal institutions" to be consulted regarding the 

 legality of the sanctuary designation. Further discus- 

 sion of this matter was deferred until the next meeting 

 because of time constraints. As noted earlier, howev- 

 er, a resolution was adopted urging members not to 

 conduct lethal research in sanctuaries established by 

 the IWC. 



Small Cetaceans — Many species and populations 

 of small cetaceans (dolphins and porpoises) have been 

 seriously depleted by directed taking and other human 

 activities. Whether the IWC has authority to set catch 

 limits for small cetaceans has been a subject of 

 contention since the late 1970s. Although the IWC 

 has been unable to reach agreement on the issue of 



authority, it has recognized that many species and 

 populations of small cetaceans have been and are 

 being affected adversely by directed taking, incidental 

 take in commercial fisheries, and habitat degradation. 



Notwithstanding the questions of IWC authority 

 over small cetaceans, the IWC's Scientific Committee 

 has constituted a Subcommittee on Small Cetaceans to 

 identify measures that could be taken by member 

 nations to more effectively conserve small cetacean 

 populations worldwide. Harbor porpoise populations 

 in the North Atlantic were the major topic of consid- 

 eration in 1995. The subcommittee recommended 

 actions that should be taken by both coastal states and 

 the Scientific Committee to more effectively conserve 

 North Atlantic harbor porpoise populations. It also 

 recommended topic areas that should be afforded 

 priority over the next three years. The IWC did not 

 endorse the committee's recommended three-year 

 work plan, but it did agree that the Scientific Commit- 

 tee should continue its work on North Atlantic harbor 

 porpoises next year. 



Post-Meeting Activities 



Japanese Research Whaling — As noted earlier, 

 Japan announced at the 1995 IWC meeting that it 

 intended to issue permits to authorize the lethal take 

 of up to 100 minke whales in the North Pacific and up 

 to 440 minke whales in the Antarctic later in 1995 and 

 in 1996 for purposes of scientific research. Among 

 other things, the research does not meet IWC criteria 

 for information necessary to conduct comprehensive 

 assessments of whale stocks. By proceeding with its 

 plans, the Government of Japan is therefore diminish- 

 ing the effectiveness of the IWC's conservation 

 program. 



Under the Pelly Amendment to the Fishermen's 

 Protective Act, the Secretary of Commerce is required 

 to certify to the President whenever it is determined 

 that a foreign country is acting in a manner that 

 diminishes the effectiveness of an international fishery 

 conservation program. The IWC's conservation 

 program falls within the scope of this provision, and 

 on 11 December 1995 the Secretary of Commerce 

 certified to the President that the Government of 

 Japan's actions to authorize the proposed research 

 whaling program was diminishing the effectiveness of 



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