Amendments to the Schedule to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, London, 1970

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28TH OCTOBER 1970

Circular Communication to all Contracting Governments International Whaling Convention Amendments to the Schedule

With reference to the Secretary's circular of 9 July, 1970, notifying Contracting Governments of the amendments to the Schedule to the Convention agreed at the Commission's Twenty-Second Annual Meeting, no objections have been received to these amendments and they therefore become binding on all Contracting Governments as from 8 October, 1970, in accordance with Article V of the Convention. The amendments are as follows:

Paragraph 4(1) (b) Delete ‘1966’ and substitute ‘1971’

Paragraph 4(2) Delete the first two lines and substitute ‘It is forbidden to use a factory ship or whale catcher attached thereto for the purpose of taking or treating baleen whales except minke whales in any of the following areas:’

Paragraph 5

Delete the first two lines and substitute ‘It is forbidden to use a factory ship or whale catcher attached thereto for the purpose of taking or treating baleen whales in the waters south of 40° South Latitude’

Paragraph 6(4) Delete ‘1968’ and substitute ‘1971’.

Paragraph 6(5) Delete the sub-paragraph and substitute the following: ‘It is forbidden to use a factory ship or whale catcher attached thereto for the purpose of taking or treating sperm whales in the waters between 40° South Latitude and 40° North Latitude*’

Paragraph 7 (a) Delete first two lines and substitute ‘It is forbidden to use a factory ship or whale catcher attached thereto for the purpose of taking or treating baleen whales (excluding minke whales) in’

Paragraph 7 (b) Delete all words in second line before ‘sperm’ and substitute ‘It is forbidden to use a factory ship or whale catcher attached thereto for the purpose of taking or treating’

Paragraph 8(a) (i) Delete ‘whale catchers attached to factory ships’ in second line and substitute ‘factory ships or whale catchers attached thereto’

(ii) Delete ‘1969/70’ in last line and substitute ‘1970/71’

Paragraph 8(b)(3) After ‘sei’ add ‘or Bryde's’

Paragraph 8 (c) Delete fourth line and substitute ‘all factory ships or whale catchers attached thereto under the jurisdiction of each Contracting’

Paragraph 8 (d) Delete last sentence and substitute ‘The taking or attempting to take baleen whales by factory ships or whale catchers attached thereto shall be illegal in any waters south of 40° South Latitude after midnight of the date so determined’

Paragraph 8

Add three new sub-paragraphs as follows:

‘ (f) Subject to sub-paragraph (h), the number of fin whales taken in the North Pacific Ocean and dependent waters excluding the catch in the East China Sea shall not exceed 1,308 whales in 1971’

(g) Subject to sub-paragraph (h), the number of sei and Bryde's whales combined taken in the North Pacific Ocean and dependent waters shall not exceed 4,710 whales, in 1971. The numbers taken in the succeeding few years shall be further adjusted on the basis of the latest scientific assessment so that within a few years the catch shall be less than the estimate of the sustainable yield.

(h) The catch specified in either sub-paragraph (f) or (g) may be exceeded by not more than 10% provided that an appropriate reduction is made in the catch specified in the other sub-paragraph’.

Paragraph 9 (a) First line, add ‘Bryde's’ after ‘sei’, Fourth and sixth lines, add ‘and Bryde's’ after ‘sei’ Ninth line, delete ‘1968’ and substitute ‘1971’

Paragraph 9 (b) Second, Third and Fourth lines, delete ‘for delivery to factory ships or land stations’ Eighth line, delete ‘1968’ and substitute ‘1971’

Paragraph 11

Second line, after ‘baleen whales’ add ‘apart from minke whales’ Third line, after ‘area’ add ‘except the North Pacific Ocean and its dependent waters north of the Equator’ Fourth line, after ‘season’ add ‘provided that catch limits in the North Pacific Ocean and dependent waters are established as provided in paragraph 8(f), (g) and (h)’

Paragraph 13 (a) First line, delete ‘delivery to’ and substitute ‘treatment by’

Paragraph 13 (d) Delete up to and including ‘immediately’ in the second line and substitute ‘The information specified in sub-paragraph (c) of this paragraph shall be entered immediately by a factory ship’

Paragraph 18(1) (i) Between sixth and seventh lines add `‘Bryde's whale’ (Balaenoptera edeni or brydei) means any whale known by the name of ‘Bryde's whale’

(ii) Delete ‘and shall be taken to include Bryde's whale (B. brydei)’ from last two lines at foot of page 7

A revised Schedule incorporating these amendments will be circulated in due course.

A copy of this circular is being sent to each Commissioner.