Resolution 1998-3

IWC Resolution 1998-3
Resolution On The Southern Ocean Sanctuary
RECALLING that the Commission at its 46th Annual Meeting adopted paragraph 7(b) of the Schedule, which
established the Southern Ocean Sanctuary;
NOTING that this provision is to be reviewed ten years after initial adoption and at succeeding ten-year
intervals;
AWARE of the Scientific Committee’s request for advice from the Commission with respect to commonly
agreed objectives for the Southern Ocean Sanctuary (Chairman’s Report of the 49th Annual Meeting, p.29);
FURTHER AWARE of the Scientific Committee’s desire to prepare in advance for the anticipated review in
2004 (IWC/50/4);
RECOGNISING the progress made in this area by the Standing Working Group on Environmental Concerns
(SWGEC);
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
AFFIRMS that the agreed objectives of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary are to provide for:
1. The recovery of whale stocks, including the undertaking of appropriate research upon and monitoring of
depleted populations;
2. The continuation of the Comprehensive Assessment of the effects of setting zero catch limits on whale
stocks; and
3. The undertaking of research on the effects of environmental change on whale stocks;
DIRECTS the Scientific Committee to give high priority to implementing the recommendations of the Norfolk
Island Intersessional Meeting of the Working Group on a Sanctuary in the Southern Ocean (Rep. Int. Whal.
Commn 45, 1995); and in the context of those recommendations specifically to:
INCREASE cooperation with governmental, regional and other international organisations working on related
issues in the Southern Ocean;
FURTHER develop and support existing international and national non-lethal cetacean research in the
Sanctuary which will contribute to the conservation objectives of the Sanctuary;
PROVIDE the Commission with a long term framework for non-lethal research, including multidisciplinary
research, on environmental changes and their impact on cetaceans in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary, so that the
Commission is able to make appropriate decisions to ensure effective conservation of whale stocks in that
region;
ENSURE that this work conforms with the provisions relating to sanctuaries, and that it will clearly contribute
to the review of the Sanctuary in 2004;
GIVE priority to those proposals for non-lethal research which will address conservation and management
objectives for the Sanctuary in a time frame consistent with contributing to the review in 2004 and beyond.