Chapter V — International 
conservation likely would be best served in the 
foreseeable future by maintaining the IWC, both the 
1946 International Convention for the Regulation of 
Whaling and the IWC’s Conservation Program were 
outdated and in need of fundamental revision. With 
regard to the last point, the Commission pointed out 
that the Whaling Convention fails to recognize that 
whales have non-consumptive (e.g., aesthetic) values, 
that exploited whale populations may be affected by 
activities other than whaling (e.g., by environmental 
pollution and incidental take in driftnet fisheries), or 
that the exploitation of whales may affect other 
components of the ecosystem of which they are a part. 
The Commission also pointed out that the Revised 
Management Procedure, adopted in principle by the 
IWC in 1991, is based upon traditional single-species, 
maximum sustainable yield concepts, and by itself 
provides no assurance that commercial whaling, if 
allowed, would not result in serious over-exploitation 
and depletion of whale stocks as has occurred under 
all previous management procedures employed by the 
IWC. For example, while the Revised Management 
Procedure would provide a means of estimating 
biologically acceptable catch levels, additional mea- 
sures would be needed to ensure that authorized catch 
levels are not exceeded and to verify that the affected 
stocks are not reduced or maintained below their 
maximum net productivity level. 
The Commission urged that no consideration be 
given to lifting the moratorium on commercial whal- 
ing begun in 1986 until, at a minimum, (1) ongoing 
or planned research and monitoring programs are ade- 
quate to verify that exploited populations remain 
within their optimum sustainable ranges; (2) it is 
agreed that no take will be allowed from depleted 
stocks; (3) authorized catch levels, by themselves and 
in conjunction with other human activities or natural 
events, do not result in declines that, in turn, may 
cause population depletions before they can be detect- 
ed by existing monitoring programs; (4) reporting, 
enforcement, and monitoring programs necessary to 
verify compliance with and effectiveness of the 
conservation program have received the full support 
and participation of all countries whose nationals 
engage in commercial whaling; and (5) authorized 
catch levels, in conjunction with other human activi- 
ties, will not cause changes in the structure or func- 
119 
tioning of the ecosystems of which the exploited 
species are a part. 
The Commission recommended, among other 
things, that the United States (1) take the position that 
the non-consumptive values of whales may be equal to 
if not greater than their consumptive values and that 
science alone should not dictate the resumption of 
commercial whaling; (2) oppose the resumption of 
commercial whaling on the basis of previous failures 
to effectively conserve exploited stocks and to consid- 
er non-consumptive as well as consumptive values; 
(3) recognize that resumption of commercial whaling 
under a conservative management program (e.g., 
appropriately conservative quotas, reliable reporting 
and effective inspection and enforcement, and effec- 
tive population monitoring) would not jeopardize the 
affected whale stocks or the ecosystems of which they 
are a part; and (4) advise other members that if a 
three-fourths majority of the IWC members agree to 
resumption of commercial whaling under an appropri- 
ately conservative and effectively enforced manage- 
ment regime, the United States would not view such 
a resumption as “diminishing the effectiveness” of the 
IWC conservation program and would not apply or 
seek to have other nations apply sanctions against the 
countries that resume whaling. 
The Commission also recommended that the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
develop and propose revisions to the International 
Whaling Convention and to the IWC Schedule of 
Regulations to formally establish the IWC’s compe- 
tence to regulate directed catches of small as well as 
large cetaceans. 
Assessment of the Revised Management Proce- 
dure — At its 1991 meeting, the IWC adopted in 
principle a procedure recommended by its Scientific 
Committee for estimating single-stock catch levels. 
Under most circumstances, the procedure would 
(1) prevent the exploited stock from being reduced 
below 72 percent of its carrying capacity or pre- 
exploitation size; (2) reduce allowable catch levels to 
permit rebuilding if an exploited stock falls below 72 
percent of its carrying capacity size; and (3) establish 
zero catch levels for stocks below 54 percent of their 
carrying capacity size. During consideration of the 
procedure, several uncertainties were noted. It was 
