After considering and failing to adopt the moratorium 
proposals, the members of the IWC considered and set commercial 
whaling quotas for individual stocks of whales that resulted 
in a reduction from the total limit of approximately 15,650 
set at the IWC's 3lst meeting to approximately 14,500 of 
which no more than 13,851 are likely to be taken because of 
the ban on taking some of those whales with a factory ship, 
because of prohibitions on whaling within the Indian Ocean 
Sanctuary, and as a result of statements by member nations 
of their intention to refrain from taking all of the permissible 
quotas. The reduction in quotas for sperm whales to a total 
of 1,320 compared to 2,203 set last year and 13,037 set at 
the 29th meeting in 1977 was especially significant. In 
particular, the quota for North Pacific sperm whales was 
reduced from 1,350 last year to 890, a level below the 900 
sperm whales that Japan has claimed to be necessary to 
sustain its commercial sperm whaling operations. The quota 
for sperm whales in the southern hemisphere was reduced from 
580 to 300 for the coming season and zero for the 1982 
season. Quotas for minke whales, believed to be the most 
abundant of the whales subject to IWC regulation, were 
reduced from 8,102 to 7,072 for the southern hemisphere 
while remaining constant at 1,361 in the North Pacific and 
at 2,554 in the North Atlantic. Quotas for fin whales in 
the North Atlantic were increased from 661 to 701. This 
figure includes the quota for the Spain-Portugal-British 
Isles stock of fin whales for which the IWC set a combined 
quota of 440 for 1980 and 1981 with a maximum annual limit 
of 240, thereby obviating the need for Spain's objection to 
the previously established 1980 quota of 143 which was 
discussed in the Commission's previous Annual Report. 
Quotas of 179 gray whales and 10 humpback whales for aboriginal/ 
subsistence whaling were continued and the IWC set a three- 
year quota for bowhead whales of 45 landed or 65 struck with 
a Maximum annual limit of 17 landed. 
In addition to the establishment of the quotas described 
above, the IWC adopted several measures designed to improve 
various aspects of its management regime. In response to a 
U.S. proposal, the members resolved an ambiguity in the 
language of the factory ship moratorium to make it clear 
that killer whales may not be taken with factory ships. The 
USSR took 916 killer whales with factory ships last year and 
this measure will prevent a recurrence of such activities. 
The members also adopted a ban on the use of cold grenade 
(non-explosive) harpoons to kill for commercial purposes any 
whales except minke whales beginning in the 1980/81 pelagic 
and 1981 coastal seasons. The members also passed resolutions 
supporting the Scientific Committee's continuing review of 
and recommendations concerning the status of all whales, 
including small cetaceans, established working groups on 
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