Aboriginal whaling -- As discussed in previous Annual 

 Reports, the IWC has reflected increasing concern over the 

 past several years about the status and trends of the Bering 

 Sea population of bowhead whales as well as some other 

 stocks affected by aboriginal whaling and the need to 

 establish management principles governing such whaling which 

 recognize the distinction between commercial and aboriginal 

 whaling and provide a basis for setting allowable catch 

 limits. For this purpose, the IWC established an ad hoc 

 Working Group at its July 1980 meeting to develop proposed 

 management principles and guidelines for subsistence 

 catches of whales by aboriginal peoples. The United States 

 participated in the meeting of that Working Group prior to 

 the IWC's July 1981 meeting and again prior to the July 

 1982 meeting. The IWC considered the Report of the Working 

 Group at its July 1982 meeting and adopted a resolution 

 setting forth management objectives and establishing a 

 standing subcommittee of the Technical Committee to consider 

 information and make recommendations on aboriginal 

 subsistence needs for consideration by the Commission. 

 In addition, the IWC adopted amendments to its Schedule 

 of regulations setting forth an aboriginal whaling 

 management scheme and procedures for setting catch limits 

 for such whaling in 1984 and thereafter. The text of the 

 Schedule amendment is as follows: 



Paragraph 13(a): 



Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 10, catch 

 limits for aboriginal subsistence whaling to satisfy 

 aboriginal subsistence need for the 1984 whaling 

 season and each whaling season thereafter shall be 

 established in accordance with the following 

 principles : 



(1) For stocks at or above the MSY level, aboriginal 

 subsistence catches shall be permitted so long as 

 total removals do not exceed 90 percent of MSY. 



(2) For stocks below the MSY level but above a 

 certain minimum level, aboriginal subsistence 

 catches shall be permitted so long as they are 

 set at levels which will allow whale stocks to 

 move to the MSY level.* 



(3) The above provisions will be kept under review, 

 based upon the best scientific advice, and by 

 1990 at the latest the Commission will undertake 

 a comprehensive assessment of the effects of 

 these provisions on whale stocks and consider 

 modification. 



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