Resolution 2001-11
Resolution on the Importance of Habitat Protection and Integrated Coastal Zone
Management
WHEREAS the destruction of coastal habitat may have a detrimental impact upon cetaceans;
RECALLING that the negative effects of habitat destruction upon cetaceans have been repeatedly recognised by the
IWC since 1980, as have the positive actions of a number of Signatories to confront habitat destruction and protect
various cetacean species,
NOTING that Article 193 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea stipulates that “States have the
sovereign right to exploit their natural resources pursuant to their environmental policies and in accordance with their
duty to protect and preserve the marine environment.”
MINDFUL that the International Whaling Commission with its specific responsibility in the management and
conservation of whale stocks may have a mutual interest in supporting the ratification of international treaties with
overlapping concerns,
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION
Commends Contracting Governments to the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling to pursue the
objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on Wetlands, especially Waterfowl Habitats of
International Importance (RAMSAR), and the Coral Reefs Initiative, to better achieve coastal habitat protection and
integrated coastal zone management as advocated in the implementation decisions of these and similar agreements
and initiatives.

Resolution 2001-10
Resolution on the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
WHEREAS persistent organic pollutants are seriously polluting the environment and its living resources including
whales, and may have significant negative health effects on consumers of marine mammal products;
RECALLING that the negative effects of Persistent Organic Pollutants upon cetaceans have been repeatedly
recognised by the IWC since 1981,
NOTING the International Whaling Commission with its specific responsibility in the management and conservation
of whale stocks may have a mutual interest in supporting the ratification of international treaties with overlapping
concerns,
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION
CONGRATULATES the conclusion of the 2001 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, and
ENCOURAGES Contracting Governments to sign, ratify and adhere to the new Convention
REQUESTS that the Secretariat transmits this text to the Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention.

Resolution 2001-9
Proposed Resolution on interactions between whales
and fish stocks
WHEREAS it is the purpose of the International Whaling Commission to provide for the effective conservation and
management of whale stocks;
WHEREAS the IWC is the universally recognized international organization with competence for the management
of whale stocks;
ACKNOWLEDGING that better understanding of marine ecosystems, including interactions between whales and
fish stocks, would contribute to the conservation and management of living marine resources and is of interest to
nations as well as to regional fisheries management organizations and international research organizations;
NOTING that the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, during its 120th session,
recommended that ecosystem-based fisheries management studies to be conducted by the FAO, as agreed in
paragraph 39 of the report of the 24th session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries, should be balanced and holistic in
approach;
WELCOMING the Scientific Committee’s recommendations to conduct a workshop on interactions between whales
and fish stocks, to be held intersessionally between the 53rd and 54th annual meetings of the Commission;
RECOGNIZING that, in order to effectively address the issue of interaction between whales and fish stocks, the
planning and conduct of the workshop requires experts on modeling and data sets and should therefore include
coordination with other organizations that have expertise, experience, and interest in this matter, and the participation
of experts from such organizations, as well as those specifically recommended by the Scientific Committee;
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
GIVES notice that, as the competent international organization for the conservation and management of whale
stocks, it has decided to make the study of interactions between whale and fish stocks a matter of priority;
AGREES that any studies conducted by the FAO on ecosystem-based fisheries management be holistic and balanced
in approach;
ENDORSES the recommendations of the Scientific Committee concerning the workshop on interactions between
whales and fish stocks;
REQUESTS the Secretary to forward a copy of this resolution and relevant portions of the report of the Scientific
Committee to the Assistant Director-General of the Fisheries Department of the FAO and to the Chair of the FAO
Committee on Fisheries, seeking their cooperation in the organization and conduct of the workshop;
FURTHER requests the Secretary to forward a copy of this resolution and relevant portions of the report of the
Scientific Committee to regional fisheries management organizations, international research organizations, and other
appropriate organizations in consultation with Chair of the Scientific Committee.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 51st (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.

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