Amendments to the Schedule to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, London, 1978

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International Whaling Commission The Red House, Station Road, Histon, Cambridge CB4 4NP Telephone: 022023 3971 Telegrams: Interwhale Cambridge

Chairman Thordur Asgeirsson (Iceland) Vice-Chairman M.C. Mercer (Canada) Secretary Dr. Ray Gambell

21 July 1978

RG/PRP/1938

CIRCULAR COMMUNICATION TO CONTRACTING GOVERNMENTS International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, 1946 Amendments to the Schedule

1. At its 30th Annual Meeting held in London, 26-30 June 1978, the Commission agreed to the following amendments to the Schedule:

A. Substantive amendments (changes and new wording underlined) Paragraph 1. Amend to read as shown in the Appendix

Paragraph 7 (d) Amend to read:

‘Geographical boundaries in the North Pacific The geographical boundaries for the sperm and Bryde's whale stocks in the North Pacific are:

Sperm whale stocks

1. Western Division

West of a line from the ice edge south along the 180° meridian of longitude to 180°, 50°N, then east along the 50°N parallel of latitude to 160°W, 50°N, then south along the 160°W meridian of longitude to 160°W, 40°N, then east along the 40°N parallel of latitude to 150°W, 40°N, then south along the 150°W meridian of longitude to the equator.

2. Eastern Division

East of the line described in 1. Bryde's whale stocks

1. Western Stock

West of the 160°W meridian of longitude

2. Eastern Stock

East of the 160°W meridian of longitude’

Paragraph 9. Amend to read:

‘The number of baleen whales taken during the open season in the Southern Hemisphere by factory ships, land stations or whale catchers attached thereto under the jurisdiction of the Contracting Governments shall not exceed 6,221 minke whales and 0 Bryde's whales (pending a satisfactory estimate of stock size), in the 1978/79 pelagic season and the 1979 coastal season. The total catches taken in any of the Areas I to VI shall not exceed the limits shown in Table 1. However, in no circumstances shall the sum of the Area catches exceed the total quotas for each species.’

Paragraph 10. Amend to read:

‘The number of baleen whales taken in the North Pacific Ocean and dependent waters in 1979 and in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1979 shall not exceed the limits shown in Table 1.’

Table 1. Amend to read as shown. [appended]

Paragraph 11. Amend to read:

‘..... with respect to the Bering Sea stock of bowhead whales that:

(a) in 1978, hunting shall cease when either 20 have been struck or 14 landed,*

(b) in 1979, hunting shall cease when either 27 have been struck or 18 landed,

(c)

it is forbidden to strike, take or kill calves or any bowhead whale accompanied by a calf.’

*

subject to legal advice

Paragraph 14. Amend to read:

‘The number of sperm whales taken in the Southern Hemisphere in the 1978/79 pelagic season and the 1979 coastal season shall not exceed 4,222 males and 1,214 females. The total catch in any of the Divisions 1 to 9 shall not exceed the limits shown in Table 2.’

Paragraph 15. Amend to read:

‘The number of sperm whales taken in the North Pacific Ocean and dependent waters in 1979 and in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1979 shall not exceed the limits shown in Table 2.’

Table 2. Amend to read as shown. [appended]

New paragraph to follow the present paragraph 23, all subsequent paragraphs to be renumbered.

‘24 (a) All whale catchers operating in conjunction with factory ships and land stations shall report the following information on each whale taken:

(1) Methods used to kill a whale, other than a harpoon, and in particular compressed air.

(2) Number of whales struck but lost.

(b) A record similar to that described in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph shall be maintained by vessels engaged in ‘small-type whaling’ operations and by native peoples taking species listed in paragraph 1, and all the information mentioned in the said sub-paragraph shall be entered therein as soon as available.’

Paragraph 26(a)(1) [old numbering, new paragraph 27(a)(1) ]

Amend to read: ‘both ovaries or the combined weight of both testes’

B. Consequential changes

Paragraph 8 (a) Amend the fourth paragraph to read:

‘For the 1978/79 pelagic season and the 1979 coastal season in the Southern Hemisphere and for the 1979 season in all other areas ...’

Paragraph 24(a) [old numbering, new paragraph 25(a)]

Amend third line to read:

‘... of data on the number of Bryde's and minke whales taken ...’

[Note that the Schedule dated April 1978 contains a misprint in this line the word `fin' should have been deleted following the 29th Annual Meeting. ]

2. These amendments become effective with respect to each Contracting Government ninety days following the date of this letter, in accordance with Article V of the Convention, unless any Contracting Government lodges an objection, in which case the procedure under Article V, paragraph 3 of the Convention will be followed.

3. The ninety days period will expire on 19 October 1978. In the absence of objections by that date the amendments will become effective. Contracting Governments will be notified accordingly.

4. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter, a copy of which is being sent to each Commissioner.

Dr. R. Gambell Secretary to the Commission

Revised paragraph 1 of the Schedule (new wording underlined) 1. The following expressions have the meanings respectively assigned to them, that is to say:

‘baleen whale’ means any whale which has baleen or whale bone in the mouth, ie. any whale other than a toothed whale.

‘beaked whale’ means any whale belonging to the genus Mesoplodon, or any whale known as Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris), or Shepherd's beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi).

‘blue whale’ (Balaenoptera musculus) means any whale known as blue whale, Sibbald's rorqual, or sulphur bottom, and including pygmy blue whale.

‘bottlenose whale’ means any whale known as Baird's beaked whale (Berardius bairdii), Arnoux's whale (Berardius arnuxii), southern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon planifrons), or northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus).

‘bowhead’ (Balaena mysticetus) means any whale known as bowhead, Arctic right whale, great polar whale, Greenland right whale, Greenland whale.

‘Bryde's whale’ (Balaenoptera edeni, B. brydei) means any whale known as Bryde's whale.

‘dauhval’ means any unclaimed dead whale found floating.

‘fin whale’ (Balaenoptera physalus) means any whale known as common finback, common rorqual, fin whale, herring whale, or true fin whale.

‘gray whale’ (Eschrichtius robustus) means any whale known as gray whale, California gray, devil fish, hard head, mussel digger, gray back, or rip sack.

‘humpback whale’ (Megaptera novaeangliae) means any whale known as bunch, humpback, humpback whale, humpbacked whale, hump whale or hunchbacked whale.

‘killer whale’ (Orcinus orca) means any whale known as killer whale or orca.

‘minke whale’ (Balaenoptera acutorostrata, B. bonaerensis) means any whale known as lesser rorqual, little piked whale, minke whale, pike-headed whale or sharp headed finner.

‘pilot whale’ means any whale known as long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melaena) or short-finned pilot whale (G. macrorhynchus).

‘right whale’ (Eubalaena glacialis, E. australis) means any whale known as Atlantic right whale, Biscayan right whale, Nordkaper, North Atlantic right whale, North Cape whale, Pacific right whale, Southern right whale.

‘pygmy right whale’ (Caperea marginata) means any whale known as southern pygmy right whale, pygmy right whale.

‘sei whale’ (Balaenoptera borealis) means any whale known as sei whale, Rudolphi's rorqual, pollack whale, or coalfish whale.

‘sperm whale’ (Physeter macrocephalus) means any whale known as sperm whale, spermacet whale, cachalot or pot whale.

‘toothed whale’ means any whale which has teeth in the jaws.

‘lost whale’ means any whale that has been taken but not delivered to the factory ship or land station.

‘whales taken’ means whales that have been killed and either flagged or made fast to catchers.

‘lactating whale’ means (a) with respect to baleen whales a female which has any milk present in a mammary gland, (b) with respect to sperm whales a female which has milk present in a mammary gland the maximum thickness (depth) of which is 10cm or more. This measurement shall be at the mid ventral point of the mammary gland perpendicular to the body axis, and shall be logged to the nearest centimetre: that is to say, any gland between 9.5cm and 10.5cm shall be logged as 10cm. The measurement of any gland which falls on an exact 0.5 centimetre shall be logged at the next 0.5 centimetre, e.g. 10.5cm shall be logged as 11.0cm.

However, notwithstanding these criteria, a whale shall not be considered a lactating whale if scientific (histological or other biological) evidence is presented to the appropriate national authority establishing that the whale could not at that point in its physical cycle have had a calf dependent on it for milk.

‘small-type whaling’ means catching operations using powered vessels with mounted harpoon guns hunting exclusively for minke, bottlenose, beaked, pilot or killer whales.

TABLE 1

BALEEN WHALE STOCK CLASSIFICATIONS AND CATCH LIMITS

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE - 1978/79 pelagic season and 1979 coastal season

* Pending a satisfactory estimate of stock size.

** The total catch of fin whales shall not exceed 1,524 in the six years 1977 to 1982 inclusive.

*** Provisionally listed as SMS for 1979, pending the accumulation of sufficient information for classification.

[dagger] Provisionally listed as SMS for 1979, catches not to exceed present catch levels.

[daggerdbl] Provisionally listed as PS for 1979, pending the accumulation of sufficient information for classification.

[daggerdbl][daggerdbl] Available to be taken by aborigines or a Contracting Government on behalf of aborigines pursuant to paragraph 11, but not for commercial purposes.

¹ The combined catch limit of fin and humpback whales in West Greenland waters shall not exceed 15 whales.

TABLE 2

SPERM WHALE STOCK CLASSIFICATIONS AND CATCH LIMITS

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE - 1978/79 pelagic season and 1979 coastal season

² Catch limits for 1979 are to be set later by decision of the Commission before operations start.

International Whaling Commission The Red House, Station Road, Histon, Cambridge CB4 4NP Telephone: 022023 3971 Telegrams: Interwhale Cambridge

Chairman Thordur Asgeirsson (Iceland) Vice-Chairman M.C. Mercer (Canada) Secretary Dr. Ray Gambell

20 October 1975

RG/PRP/2074

CIRCULAR COMMUNICATION TO CONTRACTING GOVERNMENTS International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, 1946 Amendments to the Schedule

The Secretary refers to his letter of 21 July 1978 (ref: RG/PRP/1938) notifying Contracting Governments of the amendments to the Schedule of the Convention agreed at the Commission's 30th Annual Meeting held in London, 26-30 June 1978. No objections have been received to the amendments which therefore become binding on all Contracting Governments from 20 October 1978. Further copies of the amendments adopted may be obtained from this office on request. A revised edition of the schedule incorporating these changes is being printed and will be circulated shortly.

The secretary requests an acknowledgement of this Communication, a copy of which is also being sent to all Commissioners.

Dr. R. Gambell Secretary to the Commission