MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1998 



moratorium. The quota adopted unilaterally by 

 Norway for 1998 was 671 minke whales. Of these 

 624 were taken. In November 1998 Norway estab- 

 lished a quota for 1999 of 753 minke whales, which 

 included 140 unharvested whales carried over from 

 previous years. As it has at the previous three 

 meetings, the IWC adopted a resolution at the 1998 

 meeting calling on Norway to refrain from further 

 whaling unless authorized by the IWC. 



The Revised Management Scheme — Prior to 

 adoption of the moratorium on commercial whaling, 

 excessive catch quotas authorized by the IWC contrib- 

 uted to the overexploitation and depletion of whale 

 stocks. At its 1986 meeting the IWC asked its Scien- 

 tific Committee to develop a scientifically based 

 method for determining commercial whaling catch 

 quotas that would have a low probability of adversely 

 affecting harvested whale stocks. 



The committee subsequently did so, and the recom- 

 mended revised management procedure was accepted 

 in principle at the 1994 IWC meeting as part of a 

 Revised Management Scheme to regulate commercial 

 whaling. Determining catch limits with a low proba- 

 bility of adversely affecting exploited stocks, howev- 

 er, is only a part of an effective management pro- 

 gram. Work is ongoing to develop other essential 

 management components, including mechanisms for 

 compliance monitoring and enforcement and require- 

 ments for conducting whale surveys and data analyses. 



Before the 1998 IWC meeting, the Working Group 

 on the Revised Management Scheme held a one-day 

 meeting to discuss issues related to possible observer 

 and inspection requirements. Some countries believe 

 that DNA testing of whale meat and maintaining 

 records of landings and transshipments are integral 

 parts of an adequate monitoring and enforcement 

 program. Other members argue that such matters 

 relate to trade and are outside the competence of the 

 IWC. Working group participants also discussed 

 whether international observers are needed on all 

 vessels engaged in whaling operations, but they did 

 not reach a consensus. There were also divergent 

 views as to whether the costs of an international 

 observer program should be borne by the IWC or by 

 the countries engaging in whaling. 



The IWC at its meeting adopted one resolution 

 pertaining to the Revised Management Scheme. The 

 United States and nine other members proposed that 

 catch limits established under the revised management 

 procedure be reduced to account for other human- 

 induced mortalities, such as those resulting from 

 entanglement in fishing gear or ship strikes. This 

 measure was adopted by a vote of 21 to 10. 



The Future of the IWC - At the 1997 IWC 

 meeting Ireland expressed the view that, unless 

 progress was made to complete the Revised Manage- 

 ment Scheme, there was a risk that the IWC could 

 break up, with the result being that commercial 

 whaling would take place outside its control. Noting 

 that the revised management procedure had been 

 adopted and that work was proceeding on the inspec- 

 tion and control schemes, Ireland offered a proposal 

 to break the impasse that has developed between those 

 nations that support a resumption of commercial 

 whaling and those that oppose it. Under the Irish 

 proposal, the IWC would complete and adopt the 

 Revised Management Scheme and issue quotas for 

 certain coastal whaling activities, such as those 

 conducted by Norway and proposed by Japan. All 

 other waters would be declared a global whale sanctu- 

 ary. Products from the authorized whaling could be 

 used only for local consumption, with no international 

 trade allowed. In addition, lethal scientific research 

 whaling would be phased out. 



Discussions of the Irish proposal continued at the 

 1998 meeting, but with little progress. Although 

 reaching consensus on this compromise measure is 

 proving very difficult, several delegations expressed 

 interest in continuing discussions and keeping this 

 item on the agenda for the next IWC meeting. 



Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling — The IWC 



Schedule of Regulations includes catch limits for 

 aboriginal subsistence whaling. At its 1997 meeting 

 the IWC adopted new quotas for subsistence whaling 

 by Natives in the United States, Russia, and Green- 

 land. Subsistence taking by U.S. and Russian Natives 

 under these quotas is discussed in the sections on 

 bowhead whales and gray whales in Chapter II. 



The IWC took no action at its 1998 meeting to 

 revise any of the existing catch limits for aboriginal 



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