IWC Resolution 2000-1
RESOLUTION ON COMMUNITY-BASED WHALING IN JAPAN
RECALLING that the International Whaling Commission
has recognised (IWC/45/51) the socio-economic and cultural
needs of the four community-based whaling communities
in Japan and the ongoing distress to these communities
which has resulted from the whaling moratorium, and
resolved to work expeditiously to alleviate the distress
to these communities which has resulted from the cessation
of minke whaling,
NOTING the widespread recognition in various UN covenants,
conventions, and other documents, of the importance
for communities to continue customary resource use practices
on a sustainable basis,
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
REAFFIRMS the Commission’s commitment to work expeditiously
to alleviate the distress caused by the cessation of
minke whaling to the communities of Abashiri, Ayukawa,
Wadaura and Taiji.
IWC Resolution 2000-2
RESOLUTION ON WHALING OF HIGHLY ENDANGERED BOWHEAD
WHALES IN THE EASTERN CANADIAN ARCTIC
WHEREAS the 52nd meeting of the Scientific Committee
concluded that the Davis Strait and the Hudson Bay-Foxe
Basin bowhead whale stocks are two distinct and separate
populations, both of which number in the low hundreds;
CONSIDERING THAT the Government of Canada withdrew
from the IWC in 1982 but continues to allow the taking
of bowhead whales in the Eastern Canadian Arctic;
CONCERNED THAT the Government of Canada has agreed
to grant one license if requested from the Nunavut Wildlife
Management Board to take one bowhead whale from the
Hudson Bay-Foxe Basin stock in 2000-2001;
WHEREAS the IWC is concerned about whaling not conducted
under the International Convention for the Regulation
of Whaling (1946);
NOTING THAT the Government of Canada has been notified
of IWC Resolutions 1996-9, 1998-13 and 1999-7, each
of which calls for refraining from issuing permits to
hunt either highly endangered bowhead whale stocks in
the Eastern Canadian Arctic;
FURTHER NOTING THAT Canada is signatory to the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982) which
under Article 65 (Marine Mammals) requires that States
co-operate through the appropriate international organizations
for the conservation, management and study of cetaceans;
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
REAFFIRMS its opposition to whaling conducted on
highly endangered stocks of whales;
EXPRESSES particular concern that whaling activities
in the Eastern Canadian Arctic are ongoing outside the
control of the IWC;
URGES the Government of Canada to refrain from issuing
a license for the taking of one bowhead whale from the
Hudson Bay-Foxe Basin population;
INVITES the Government of Canada to rejoin the IWC
and, in the meantime, not to issue further whaling permits;
REQUESTS THAT the Secretariat transmit the text of
this Resolution to the Government of Canada.
IWC Resolution 2000-3
RESOLUTION ON THE REVISED MANAGEMENT SCHEME
WHEREAS the concept of the Revised Management Scheme
and its main elements were identified by the Commission
in a Resolution adopted by the Commission in 1992 (RIWC
43:40);
WHEREAS the structure of the RMS was specified in
Commission Resolution 1994-5 (RIWC 45:43-44);
WHEREAS the Commission identified in Resolution 1996-6
the three remaining elements of the RMS still to be
completed, namely:
- an effective observation and inspection scheme;
- arrangements to ensure that total catches over
time are within the limits set under the Revised
Management Scheme;
- incorporation into the Schedule the specification
of the Revised Management Procedure and all other
elements of the Revised Management Scheme.
WHEREAS the Working Group on the RMS has prepared
a draft text (IWC/52/14 Appendix 4), which is not yet
finalized, for a revision of Chapter V of the Schedule
(“Supervision and Control”);
WHEREAS the Scientific Committee has provided, and
the Working Group on the RMS has amended, a recommendation
for arrangements on total catches over time;
WHEREAS the process of development of the RMS has
already taken several years;
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
CONSIDERS that it is important for the future of
the Commission that the process of completion of the
RMS proceed expeditiously;
REAFFIRMS that the Revised Management Scheme shall
be structured as agreed in Resolution 1994-5, and shall
include, but not be limited to, the elements identified
in the 1992 and subsequent Resolutions of the Commission
on the RMS;
INSTRUCTS the Secretary, in consultation with the
Chairman, and taking such independent legal advice as
is necessary, to prepare a draft for a Schedule amendment
that would incorporate the structure and elements
of the RMS, including the RMP, into the Schedule;
FURTHER INSTRUCTS the Secretary to circulate the
draft text to Commissioners and Contracting Governments
for consideration and comment before the 30 November
2000;
AGREES to re-convene the Working Group on the RMS
before the end of February 2001 for the purposes of:
- making further progress on the draft text in
IWC/52/14 Appendix 4 for a revision of Chapter V
of the Schedule;
- developing a text, based on the draft to be
prepared by the Secretary, for the incorporation
of the structure and elements of the RMS, including
the RMP, into the Schedule;
FURTHER INSTRUCTS the Secretary to circulate the
report from the above meeting and the resulting suggested
Schedule texts to Commissioners and Contracting Governments
for consideration and comment at least 60 days before
the 53rd annual meeting;
NOTES that this Resolution cannot and does not commit
the Commission to amend the Schedule now or at any future
time;
CONFIRMS that this Resolution does not prejudge the
positions of Contracting Governments with respect to
the status of paragraphs 10(d) and 10(e) of the Schedule.
IWC Resolution 2000-4
RESOLUTION ON WHALING UNDER SPECIAL PERMIT IN
THE SOUTHERN OCEAN SANCTUARY
NOTING that since the 51st meeting in May 1999, the
Government of Japan has issued special permits, under
the provisions of Article VIII of the Convention, for
lethal scientific research on minke whales in the Southern
Ocean Sanctuary.
NOTING also that the Scientific Committee this year
considered all estimates of Southern Hemisphere minke
whale population sizes which have been made available
since 1990, and concluded that these estimates were
“appreciably lower” than the estimate of 760,000 accepted
by the Scientific Committee in 1990.
NOTING further that the Scientific Committee this
year recommends that “minke whale” should be listed
as two species in Section 1 of the Schedule to the Convention.
RECOGNISING that the Commission has agreed on the
urgent need for the Scientific Committee to proceed
with the planned review of the estimates of population
sizes of minke whales, including development of agreed
estimates, prior to seeking advice from the Commission
on how to assess the impacts of JARPA on these stocks
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION REQUESTS that the Government
of Japan refrains from issuing any Special Permits for
the 2000/2001 season for the take of minke whales in
the Southern Ocean Sanctuary.
IWC Resolution 2000-5
RESOLUTION ON WHALING UNDER SPECIAL PERMIT IN
THE NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN
WHEREAS Paragraph 1 of Article VIII of the International
Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (Convention)
provides that, notwithstanding anything contained in
the Convention, any Contracting Government may grant
to any of its nationals a Special Permit (Special Permit)
authorising that national to kill, take and treat whales
for the purposes of scientific research, subject to
such other conditions as the Government thinks fit;
RECALLING previous IWC Resolutions on whaling under
Special Permit adopted by the Commission (1996-7, 1997-5,
1998-4, and 1999-3) and in particular Resolution 1995-9,
in which the Commission recommended that scientific
research involving the killing of cetaceans should only
be permitted in exceptional circumstances where the
questions address critically important issues which
cannot be answered by the analysis of existing data
and/or use of non-lethal research techniques
RECALLING also that in 1997 the Commission affirmed
that the JARPN programme did not address critically
important research needs for the management of whaling
in the North Pacific Ocean;
WHEREAS Paragraph 30 of the Schedule to the Convention
provides that all proposed Special Permits be reviewed
by the Scientific Committee, and that IWC Resolution
1999-2 specifically requested the Scientific Committee
to provide advice on this to the Commission;
NOTING the Government of Japan’s proposal to instigate
in 2000 the JARPN II programme, under which takes of
minke whales, and, for the first time, takes of sperm
and Bryde's whales, would be authorized;
FURTHER NOTING the many major concerns expressed
and not allayed during the 52nd meeting of the Scientific
Committee, including (among others) concerns that the
proposal did not address questions of high priority
relevant to management, did not make full use of existing
data, and revealed many methodological problems;
NOTING, in particular, that the Scientific Committee
did not endorse the JARPN II proposal;
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
AFFIRMS that gathering information on interactions
between whales and prey species is not a critically
important issue which justifies the killing of whales
for research purposes;
PROPOSES that information on stock structure, which
may be relevant to management, be obtained using non-lethal
means;
STRONGLY URGES the Government of Japan to refrain
from issuing special permits for whaling under JARPN
II.
IWC Resolution 2000-6
RESOLUTION ON PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS (POPS)
AND HEAVY METALS
RECALLING the two protocols on International Actions
on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Heavy Metals
under the Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air
Pollution which were signed in Aarhus, Denmark on 24
June 1998 by the European Union and 35 countries;
NOTING that the International Whaling Commission
with its specific responsibility in management and conservation
of whale stocks may have a mutual interests in supporting
the process of ratification of the protocols;
NOTING that most IWC countries have signed the protocols
but that only a few member states have ratified the
protocols;
WHEREAS the Commission several times has expressed
concerns about the negative effects of degradation of
the environment;
WHEREAS organic contaminants and heavy metals are
seriously polluting the environment and its living resources
including whales, and may have a significant negative
health effect on consumers of marine mammal products;
NOW THEREFORE the Commission:
ENCOURAGE Contracting Governments, who has signed
the protocols but not yet ratified these, to do so as
soon as possible;
FURTHER ENCOURAGES Contracting Governments who has
not yet signed the protocols, to consider doing so.
IWC Resolution 2000-7
RESOLUTION ON ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND CETACEANS
NOTING that the study of the effects of environmental
changes on cetaceans is an integral part of their conservation
and management;
RECALLING that, at the 49th Annual Meeting, the Commission
requested the Scientific Committee to develop appropriate
research in the priority areas identified by the Standing
Working Group on Environmental Concerns (SWGEC), namely
climate/environmental change, ozone depletion and UV-B
radiation, chemical pollution, impact of noise, physical
and biological habitat degradation, effects of fisheries,
Arctic issues, disease and mortality events;
RECALLING that, at the 51st Annual Meeting, the Commission
endorsed the SOWER 2000 and POLLUTION 2000+ research
programmes, and provided core funding for these projects;
NOTING that the first research collaboration of IWC
and CCAMLR under the SOWER 2000 programme, which took
place during the 1999/2000 Antarctic season, was highly
successful;
NOTING that the Scientific Committee has endorsed
the further development of an IWC workshop on physical
and biological habitat degradation;
NOTING that the Scientific Committee has endorsed
the development of a symposium on competition between
cetaceans and fisheries;
APPRECIATING the financial and in-kind contributions
from several countries to these projects;
NOTING however that the funding available to the
Scientific Committee for these environmental initiatives
is currently insufficient to allow them to be fully
implemented or developed;
NOW THEREFORE the Commission:
REITERATES its strong support for the research programmes
SOWER 2000 and POLLUTION 2000+ and other investigations
on the impact of environmental change on cetaceans;
CONGRATULATES the Scientific Committee for its success
in conducting the first IWC-CCAMLR research collaboration
in the Southern Ocean;
ENDORSES the further development of an IWC workshop
on habitat degradation and a symposium on cetaceans
and fisheries interactions;
WELCOMES the production by the Scientific Committee
of the first State of the Cetacean Environment Report
and requests the annual submission of this report to
the Commission; and
URGENTLY REQUESTS contracting governments and other
interested parties to continue financial and other support
for these research priorities.
IWC Resolution 2000-8
RESOLUTION ON WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALES
RECALLING that the Commission passed a Resolution
on Small Populations of Highly Endangered Whales at
its 51st meeting, noting with concern the status of
all stocks of northern right whale, including those
in the North Atlantic;
ALARMED that the Western North Atlantic right whale
numbers only around 300 throughout the North Atlantic,
and, despite having been protected from whaling since
the 1930’s, appears to be decreasing and is projected
to become extinct if trends continue;
CONCERNED that the two major causes of human-induced
mortality for this species are ship strikes and entanglement
in fishing nets and gear;
WELCOMING the recommendations from IWC Northern Right
Whale Workshops in 1998, 1999, and 2000, and the consequent
actions taken to date by the United States and Canada
of investing in relevant research and taking measures
to reduce human- induced mortality;
COMMENDING the United States for submitting, and
the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for adopting,
a Mandatory Ship Reporting System (MSR) for ships entering
two areas off the eastern United States where right
whales and high ship traffic both occur, to reduce the
threat of ship strikes;
FURTHER COMMENDING the Canadian government for the
real time radio advisories to shipping as to the location
of whales in the Bay of Fundy;
NOTING the management recommendations of the 2000
Scientific Committee which stress the urgency of making
every effort to eliminate anthropogenic mortality in
the population, and further state that “There is no
need to wait for further research before implementing
any currently available management actions that can
reduce anthropogenic mortalities.”
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
CALLS UPON the United States and Canada to continue
to pursue actively, practicable actions to reduce as
far as possible ship strikes on right whales, in particular
by using the information from the Mandatory Ship Reporting
System to assess further mitigation steps, including
adjustment of traffic;
URGES range states to consider appropriate fishery
measures to reduce right whale mortality and injury,
including fixed gear modifications and restrictions
on usage;
ENCOURAGES the United States and Canada, as well
as other countries whose ships transit through northern
right whale habitat, to continue and expand educational
programs to help mariners actively avoid collisions
with right whales;
ENDORSES the research and management recommendations
of the Scientific Committee at IWC 52 and the recommendations
endorsed by the Scientific Committee from the Workshop
on Status and Trends and from the Workshop on Causes
of Reproductive Failure;
REQUESTS that the Secretariat transmit the text of
this Resolution to the IMO for distribution at its Maritime
Safety Committee and Marine Environment Protection Committee;
FURTHER REQUESTS range states for this species to
report back to IWC 53, and annually thereafter, on progress
made on the management recommendations.
IWC Resolution 2000-9
RESOLUTION ON THE CONSERVATION OF FRESHWATER CETACEANS
NOTING that freshwater dolphins and porpoises are
among the world’s most threatened mammal species;
NOTING further that river cetaceans in Asia are particularly
threatened, and the Yangtze river dolphin (Baiji) is
Critically Endangered;
NOTING that habitat degradation and alteration is
the primary threat to the survival of freshwater cetaceans;
CONCERNED that many populations of freshwater cetaceans
have been fragmented by water developments such as dams
and barrages, and that these projects have many other
adverse ecological effects;
CONCERNED that by-catches of freshwater dolphins
and porpoises in gill nets and other fishing gear have
caused population declines, and that fishing effort
is increasing rapidly in many areas where freshwater
cetaceans occur;
WELCOMING the establishment of committees in Asia
which facilitate regular exchange of information and
planning of conservation strategies for Asian river
cetaceans;
RECOGNISING the value of protected areas in conserving
populations of freshwater cetaceans, but noting that
many offer little protection due to insufficient size,
inadequacy of regulatory measures and failures in enforcement;
NOTING with appreciation the recommendations resulting
from this year’s review of freshwater cetaceans in the
small cetacean sub-committee of the Scientific Committee;
NOW THEREFORE the Commission:
ENCOURAGES all governments to continue and expand
efforts to monitor the status of freshwater cetaceans
and implement strategies for their conservation;
ENCOURAGES thorough evaluation of the impact of development
projects on freshwater cetacean populations, and the
implementation of measures to ensure that ongoing and
future projects do not threaten these populations;
RECOMMENDS that efforts are made to assess the relative
magnitude of incidental catches of freshwater cetaceans
among different areas and fishing techniques, and that
appropriate mitigation strategies be developed to reduce
by-catch to levels known to be sustainable;
RECOMMENDS that future protected areas be of appropriate
size and location to encompass the range of seasonal
movements and life history stages of the cetacean populations
they are intended to protect, and that threats to freshwater
cetaceans be eliminated or greatly reduced in these
areas;
ENCOURAGES support for existing fora in Asia and
the fostering of new opportunities for dialogue in other
regions to facilitate the exchange of information on
freshwater cetaceans;
CALLS UPON all contracting governments to submit
information on all known direct and incidental takes
of freshwater cetaceans and measures taken to conserve
these cetaceans in their annual progress reports to
the Scientific Committee.
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