Resolution 2001-8

Decisions Document Number
2001-8
Long Title
Resolution on Expansion of Jarpn Ii Whaling in North Pacific
Body

Resolution 2001-8
Resolution on Expansion of Jarpn Ii Whaling in North Pacific
Proposed by U.S.A., Australia, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and U.K.
WHEREAS Article VIII of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling provided that any
Contracting Government may grant special permits authorising their nationals to kill whales for scientific purposes;

RECALLING that the Government of Japan started research whaling on minke whales in the North Pacific in 1994
and then expanded the program last year to include Bryde’s and sperm whales, despite numerous concerns raised by
the Scientific Committee and the Commission;

WHEREAS because of the timing of the Scientific Committee in 2002, the Committee will not be able to review and
comment on any new JARPNII proposal before the start of scientific whaling next year;

NOTING the concern of many members of the Scientific Committee that the lack of any quantifiable objectives in
JARPNII effectively means that no reasonable performance standard has been set with which to judge the success or
failure of the feasibility phase of the research programme;

NOTING also that more than 600 whales have been killed in the North Pacific since the start of the program;
FURTHER NOTING that the data collected by lethal sampling of sperm, minke and Bryde’s whales in JARPN II are
not essential in the context of the RMP.

NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
AFFIRMS that data gathered under JARPN II on interactions between whales and prey species are not sufficient to
justify the killing of these whales for research purposes;

PROPOSES that any information needed on stock structure can and should be obtained using non-lethal means;
STRONGLY URGES the Government of Japan for the reasons given above to refrain from issuing any special
scientific permit for whaling under JARPN II. If the Government of Japan nevertheless considers issuing a permit in
2002, the Commission STRONGLY URGES that it not be issued until the end of July 2002, to give the Government
of Japan adequate time to take into account the views of the Scientific Committee and the Commission.

Status
Adopted
Treaty
ICRW

Resolution 2001-7

Decisions Document Number
2001-7
Long Title
Resolution on Southern Hemisphere Minke Whales and Special Permit Whaling
Body

Resolution 2001-7
Resolution on Southern Hemisphere Minke Whales and Special Permit Whaling
RECOGNISING that the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary may provide a valuable precautionary measure against
uncertainties in whale management in the Antarctic;

NOTING that the IDCR/SOWER cruises have been a major investment of the budget and time of the commission
and the scientific committee for many years;

FURTHER NOTING that refinement of the experimental design for these cruises has been a continuous process
throughout the past two decades;

RECALLING concerns expressed in Resolution 2000-4, regarding appreciably lower abundance estimates for
Southern Hemisphere minke whales;

FURTHER RECALLING that IWC Scientific Committee agreed in 2000 that there was no agreed estimate for
Southern Hemisphere minke whales;

NOTING that this year’s Scientific Committee report provided a crude estimate of abundance for Southern
Hemisphere minke whales which, although derived from an incomplete data set for the third circumpolar cruise,
nevertheless suggests a substantially lower abundance estimate for Southern Hemisphere minke whales;

CONCERNED that the Scientific Committee report cannot rule out that the Southern Hemisphere minke whale
population may have suffered a precipitous decline over the past decade;

NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION
COMMENDS the Scientific Committee’s proposal to proceed with the completion of its review of minke whale
abundance in the Southern Hemisphere;

ENDORSES the Scientific Committee’s proposal to present at its 2003 meeting revised estimates of abundance and
trends of Southern Hemisphere minke whales, using improved methodology developed during the course of the
review, for the full three circumpolar sets of IDCR/SOWER surveys;

REQUESTS the Scientific Committee to provide to the Commission at IWC 54:
(i) a list of plausible hypotheses that may explain this apparent population decline,
(ii) the possible implications that such a decline in abundance may have for the management of minke
whales in the Southern Hemisphere, and for ecologically-related species, in particular other
cetaceans, and the state of the Antarctic marine ecosystem;

STRONGLY URGES the Government of Japan to halt the lethal takes of minke whales conducted under the JARPA
programme, at least until the Scientific Committee has reported to the Commission on the impacts of the JARPA
programme on the stocks of minke whales in Areas IV and V.

Status
Adopted
Treaty
ICRW

Resolution 2001-6

Decisions Document Number
2001-6
Long Title
Resolution on Japanese Community-Based Whaling
Body

Resolution 2001-6
Resolution on Japanese Community-Based Whaling
RECALLING that the International Whaling Commission has repeatedly recognised the socio-economic and cultural
needs of the four community-based whaling communities in Japan and the increasing distress to these communities
which has resulted from the whaling moratorium (first, IWC/45/51; most recently, IWC Resolution 2000-1);

RECALLING further that the Commission has repeatedly resolved to work expeditiously to alleviate the distress to
the communities which has resulted from the cessation of minke whaling (first, IWC/45/51; most recently, IWC
Resolution 2000-1); and

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 COMMMISSION
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.

Status
Adopted
Treaty
ICRW

Resolution 2001-5

Decisions Document Number
2001-5
Long Title
Resolution on Commercial Whaling
Body

Resolution 2001-5
Resolution on Commercial Whaling
WHEREAS the Commission has established zero catch limits for commercial whaling in paragraph 10(e) of the
Schedule;

CONCERNED that the Government of Norway, having lodged an objection to paragraph 10 (e) of the Schedule, has
continued unilaterally to authorise commercial whaling on minke whales, despite IWC Resolutions 1995-5, 1996-5,
1997-3, and 1998-1, and numerous statements read into the records of the Commission calling on it to halt
immediately all whaling activities under its jurisdiction;

CONCERNED ALSO that, despite IWC Resolutions 1992-4 and 1993-3, and contrary to the precautionary approach,
the Government of Norway has opted to employ a less conservative “tuning level” in the setting of its quotas, as
opposed to the “high tuning level” of 0.72 accepted by the Commission; in effect implementing a self-determined
version of the Revised Management Procedure (RMP) prior to incorporation of the Revised Management Scheme
into the Schedule;

RECALLING that the IWC has passed numerous resolutions (IWC Resolutions 1994-7; 1995-6; 1996-3; 1997-2 and
1998-8 and 1999-6) welcoming the continuing cooperation between CITES and the IWC on issues related to trade in
whale products, and urging all governments to continue to support IWC and CITES obligations with respect to this
issue;

COGNISANT that all species of whales in the Schedule to the IWC have been listed in Appendix I of CITES (with
the exception of the West Greenland stock of minke whales, which is listed in Appendix II of CITES); and that by
virtue of the inclusion of these species in Appendix I, CITES requires that Parties not issue any import or export
permits for whale stocks for which the IWC has set zero catch limits;

CONCERNED that the Government of Norway, having lodged a reservation to the CITES Appendix I listing of
whales, has announced its intention to resume international trade in minke whale products despite the decision by the
CITES Conference of the Parties in 2000 to support the continued listing of minke whales on Appendix I;

CONCERNED also at recent reports confirming high levels of contaminants in samples of blubber from minke
whales taken in the Norwegian hunt;

NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
REQUESTS that the Government of Norway refrain from issuing export pemits for whale products;
CALLS UPON the Government of Norway to reconsider its less conservative “tuning level” in the setting of its
quotas; and

CALLS UPON the Government of Norway to reconsider its objection to paragraph 10 (e) and to halt immediately all
whaling activities under its jurisdiction; and

INSTRUCTS THE Secretariat to forward a copy of this resolution to the CITES Secretariat.

Status
Adopted
Treaty
ICRW

Resolution 2001-4

Decisions Document Number
2001-4
Long Title
Resolution on the incidental capture of Cetaceans
Body

Resolution 2001-4
Resolution on the incidental capture of Cetaceans
NOTING that the problem of the incidental capture of non-target species in fishing gear is a problem of international
proportions, and is the subject of serious concern within a number of international agreements, including the
Convention on Migratory Species,

RECOGNISING that the problem of by-catch of cetaceans has been discussed by the IWC for over twenty years,
RECALLING IWC Resolution 2000-8 (on the North Atlantic Right Whale) and 2000-9 (on fresh water cetaceans),
ACKNOWLEDGING that the problem of by-catch may prove critical for some species,
NOW THEREFORE, THE COMMISSION
COMMENDS the work of the Scientific Committee on the Estimation of By-catch and Other Human-Induced
Mortality;

URGES all members to contribute fully to the Committee’s further work on this matter;
REQUESTS the Scientific Committee to provide to the 54th Annual Meeting of the Commission a summary of its
work in recent years on the most feasible methods to mitigate the incidental capture of large cetaceans in fishing
gear, and ways in which entangled large cetaceans may be removed from fishing gear with minimal risk to rescuers;

RECOMMENDS that all Contracting Parties make reasonable attempts to release alive, with the minimum harm
possible, whales that have been incidentally captured.

If the whale cannot be released alive, the Commission recommends that:
(a) There shall be no commercial exchange of incidentally-captured whales for which no catch limit has been
set by the Commission;

(b) If an incidentally-captured whale is subject to a catch limit awarded under the RMP, and the sovereign
government wishes to permit commercial exchange for that whale, then:

(i) A DNA sample must be forwarded to the appropriate diagnostic register;
(ii) The incidental capture must be counted against the overall quota for that species or stock.

Status
Adopted
Treaty
ICRW

Resolution 2001-3

Decisions Document Number
2001-3
Long Title
Resolution on Western North Pacific Gray Whale
Body

Resolution 2001-3
Resolution on Western North Pacific Gray Whale
RECALLING that the Commission passed a Resolution on Small Populations of Highly Endangered Whales
(Resolution 1999-7) at its 51
st (1999) meeting, which included the western North Pacific gray whale stock;
CONCERNED that IUCN listed the western gray whale as “critically endangered” in 2000 because of its geographic
and genetic isolation combined with the small population size and possibility that fewer than 50 reproductive
individuals exist;

ALARMED by the report of the 2001 Scientific Committee report that the population is less than 100 whales with
only 12 adult females bearing calves, observation of “skinny” whales for the first time in 1999, lower than expected
number of calves in 2000, some of the few calves produced in recent years are not returning to the feeding grounds,
and all recent calves born in the population were males;

WELCOMING the Scientific Committee recommendation that as a matter of absolute urgency that long-term
research and management for western North Pacific gray whales be continued and expanded;

COMMENDING the progress made by the joint Russian-American research and monitoring programmes and the
various groups supporting these efforts;

NOTING the management recommendations of the 2001 Scientific Committee which stresses that it is a matter of
absolute urgency that every effort be made to reduce anthropogenic mortality to zero and to reduce various types of
anthropogenic disturbances to the lowest possible level;

FURTHER NOTING the unique opportunity to continue the long-term in-depth study of one of the world’s most
endangered whale populations and the valuable insight the work on western gray whales has to better understand the
dynamics of other populations of critically endangered whale populations.

NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
CALLS UPON range states and others to continue to actively pursue all practicable actions to eliminate
anthropogenic mortality in this stock and to minimize anthropogenic disturbances in the migration corridor and on
their breeding and feeding grounds;

URGES range states and others interested in the western gray whale stock to strongly support an expanded research,
monitoring and management program for the whales;

ENDORSES all conclusions and recommendations of the 2001 Scientific Committee on western gray whales
including that “every effort must be made to reduce anthropogenic mortality (including directed catches) to zero and
to reduce various types of anthropogenic disturbances to the lowest possible level”.

REQUESTS range states for this species and the other stocks noted in Resolution 1999-7 to report back to the
Scientific Committee at the IWC 54 (2002), and annually thereafter, on progress made on the above conservation
and management recommendations.

Status
Adopted
Treaty
ICRW

Resolution 2001-2

Decisions Document Number
2001-2
Long Title
Resolution on Whale Killing Methods
Body

Resolution 2001-2
Resolution on Whale Killing Methods
RECOGNISING that the Working Group on Whale Killing Methods and Associated Welfare Issues
(WGWKM&AWI) is established to review information and documentation available with a view to advise the
Commission on whale killing methods and associated welfare issues;

NOTING that IWC/53/WKM&AWI9 as distributed by the Secretariat calls for a Summary of Activities related to the
Action Plan on Whale Killing Methods (based on resolution 1999-1), and the UK Paper on Collection of Whale
Killing Data (IWC/53/WKM&AWI5) submitted to WGWKM&AWI53;

RECALLING IWC resolution 1997-1 which urged aboriginal subsistence whalers to do everything possible to
reduce still further any avoidable suffering caused to whales in such hunts;

NOTING the proposal that Contracting Governments should supply data on animal welfare issues to the IWC;
DISAPPOINTED at the lack of information presented to the WGWKM&AWI on the recent kills of sperm and
Bryde’s whales.

RECOGNISING that seasonal and weather variations can adversely impact times to death;
NOTING the inclusion of the recommendation for the development of better criteria for determining the onset of
permanent insensibility in whales, using physiological and behavioural observations, correlated as far as possible
with post mortem examinations, under the revised action plan on whale killing methods IWC51Ann rep. Appendix 1;

NOTING also that previous Workshops have considered relevant comparative data from killing of other large
mammals.

NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
AGREES to convene in 2003 a Workshop on Whale Killing Methods;
ENCOURAGES all Contracting Governments to report to the Commission any technical developments within whale
killing technologies and to submit, to the extent possible, relevant information, including variance data on times to
death, to the meetings of the Working Group on Whale Killing Methods and Associated Welfare Issues, and future
Workshops on Whale Killing Methods;

ALSO ENCOURAGES all Contracting Governments to provide relevant comparative data from killing of other large
mammals;

ENCOURAGES all Contracting Governments to provide appropriate technical assistance to reduce time to
unconsciousness and death in all whaling operations

Status
Adopted
Treaty
ICRW

Resolution 2001-1

Decisions Document Number
2001-1
Long Title
Resolution on Transparency within the International Whaling Commission
Body


Annual Report of the International Whaling Commission 2001
53rd Annual Meeting, 2001
Resolution 2001-1
Resolution on Transparency within the International Whaling Commission
NOTING that Article 2(2) of the United Nations Charter calls on all member countries to “fulfil in good faith their
obligations”; and that Article 300 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea requires that: “States shall
fulfil in good faith the obligations assumed under this Convention ...”;

ALSO NOTING that Article 26 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties requires application of the pacta
sunt servanda (“agreements are to be kept”) rule of international law;

CONSCIOUS that, as set out in the pacta sunt servanda rule, “good faith” requires fairness, reasonableness, integrity
and honesty in international behaviour;

NOTING that the 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-
operation Among States in Accordance with the United Nations Charter stipulates that: “No state may use or
encourage the use of economic, political, or any other type of measures to coerce another State in order to obtain
from it the subordination of the exercise of its sovereign rights and to secure from it advantages of any kind”;

AWARE of the importance of transparency in international environmental law, and
NOTING that Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration calls upon States to, among other things, “facilitate and encourage
public awareness and participation by making information widely available...”

NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
ENDORSES AND AFFIRMS these principles as applicable to the activities of the International Whaling
Commission (IWC) in its implementation of the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW);

STRESSES in particular the importance of adherence to the requirements of good faith and transparency in all
activities undertaken by the IWC and in all activities by Contracting Governments in respect of their involvement
with the IWC;

ENDORSES AND AFFIRMS the complete independence of sovereign countries to decide their own policies and
freely participate in the IWC (and other international forums) without undue interference or coercion from other
sovereign countries.

Status
Adopted
Treaty
ICRW

Resolution 2002-1

Decisions Document Number
2002-1
Long Title
Guidance to the Scientific Committee on the Sanctuary review process
Body

Resolution 2002-1
Guidance to the Scientific Committee on the Sanctuary review process
RECALLING that amendments to the Schedule, including the establishment of Sanctuaries, require criteria for their
periodic review by the Scientific Committee.

CONVINCED that the establishment of Sanctuaries for conservation purposes represents an integral part of best
management practices for wildlife in general.

NOTING that sanctuaries were established and have been maintained for a number of reasons, of which scientific
considerations, although important, should not be definitive in the validation process. When considering scientific
arguments for sanctuary evaluation, if consensus is not possible, then a precautionary approach should prevail.

RECALLING FURTHER that since 1995, the IWC has recognised the need for a broader understanding of
environmental changes and threats affecting whale stocks in the Antarctic marine ecosystem and recommended the
application of precautionary principles in their discussions. On several occasions there was consistent support within
the SC (2002) for the precautionary approach, specially when dealing with Arctic and Antarctic resource
management. (SC/54/IA7, IA11, IA15, SC/54/E3, E11, E16, SC/54/IA7, IA11, IA18, SC/54/BRG4).

RECOGNISING that if there is no consensus on specific issues within sanctuaries, the Precautionary Approach
should limit the negative impacts of environmental uncertainty (e.g. effects of climate change over sea-ice dynamics
and feeding habitat accessibility and unforeseen problems in the RMP to the other regions where it was applied). In
such cases, currently established sanctuaries complement the provisions of paragraph 10 e) of the Schedule as an
integral management strategy.

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that sanctuaries of appropriate spatial and temporal scales are consistent with the
practice of establishing large-scale areas closed to harvest as essential components of best management practices.
These no-take regions should therefore be regarded independently of any other management actions or the provisions
of paragraph 10(e) of the Schedule to the Convention. The long-term provisions and dimensions of an individual
sanctuary depend on factors other than those determining the Commission's short-term management policy.

NOW, THEREFORE, THE COMMISSION:
INSTRUCTS the Scientific Committee that, in reviewing Sanctuaries, it includes the following principles in addition
to those in the Instructions from the Commission to the Scientific Committee for Review of Sanctuaries approved by
the 53
rd Annual Meeting.
1) Temporary overlap of management measures, for example Para 10(e) of the Schedule and a sanctuary, cannot be
used to invalidate any long-term scientific and conservation value of a given Sanctuary.

2) The application of the Precautionary Approach shall be determined in accordance to Principle 15 of the 1992 Rio
Declaration.

Status
Adopted
Treaty
ICRW

Resolution 2003-4

Decisions Document Number
2003-4
Long Title
Resolution on Use of Simultaneous Interpretation at Annual Meetings of the International Whaling Commission
Body

Resolution on Use of Simultaneous Interpretation at Annual Meetings
of the International Whaling Commission
RECOGNISING that the composition of the IWC is becoming more diverse in character as more nations for
whom English is not their primary language adhere to the Convention, and that this has led to a multiplicity of
languages placing on the organisation a greater need to accommodate the requirements of all of its members,
including nations for whom English is a second language;

AWARE that the Commissioners, at IWC54 in Shimonoseki, recognised that English remains the official
language of the Commission, and that the use of simultaneous interpretation should be explored to improve
communication at annual meetings;

NOTING that the current system used by several Commissioners is currently one of consecutive interpretation;
CONSIDERING that document IWC/55/F&A 2, provided by the Secretariat, discusses implications for the
provision of technical facilities
only, leaving the cost of the more expensive task of engaging and paying for
interpreters to be the responsibility of the delegations requiring them;

AWARE that the cost of providing technical facilities required would be significant;
NOTING that during F&A Committee meetings at IWC55, various contracting parties expressed, with emphasis,
the need for simultaneous interpretation, including the associated technical facilities and interpreter services;

CONSCIOUS of subsequent bilateral consultations between individual Contracting Governments underscoring
their desire for document translation;

MINDFUL that the complete participation of members for whom English is a second language is possible only
through full understanding of the many issues communicated at annual meetings, such understanding being
possible only through a mechanism of interpretation; and

RECALLING that some member countries proposed that a Working Group be established to further explore the
administrative, budgetary and operational implications for the provision of technical components for
simultaneous interpretation.

THE COMMISSION THEREFORE NOW DECIDES
To establish a Working Group aiming at exploring the various implications for the provision of technical
components for simultaneous interpretation;

That the Working Group shall consider and make recommendations on how provision of technical components
for simultaneous interpretation may provided at the IWC to accommodate the needs of contracting parties for
whom English is a second language;

That this Working Group will be guided by the following Terms of Reference:
a) To review and consider the costs as set out in document IWC/55/F&A 2 and to identify ways in which
these costs could be apportioned or reduced;

b) To recommend options and scope for the provision of technical components for simultaneous
interpretation;

c) To determine the operations and costs of other international organizations providing such components;
and

d) To consult with member states on these issues.
That the Working Group, while open to any IWC contracting party, shall ideally remain small, conduct its work
by email correspondence in order to limit expenditures, and submit its recommendations to the F&A Committee
prior to the 56
th Annual Meeting.

Status
Adopted
Treaty
ICRW