8 July 2016: “The choice is simple and stark: either gillnetting in the Upper Gulf ends or the vaquita will be gone, the second entirely preventable cetacean extinction that the Committee will have witnessed in the last ten years,” according to the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) Scientific Committee (SC). The SC issued this warning in a report released following its 66th meeting, which discussed a range of items related to the conservation and management of cetaceans, including bycatch and entanglement, and a review of special permit whaling. The SC provides advice to the IWC in the form of a detailed report, which is released shortly after its meeting and serves as a scientific foundation for IWC policy making.

According to IWC estimates, the vaquita, a porpoise found only in the Gulf of Mexico, has declined over 90% since 1997 to approximately 60 remaining individuals as a result of illegal and escalating gillnet fishing in their habitat. Gillnet fisheries that catch totaba fish for the Chinese black market also trap vaquita, according to the Commission. In the report, the SC states it is “deeply upset that the vaquita could actually become extinct in a very short time” and calls for increased enforcement action in all countries involved in the smuggling and trade of totaba as part of actions to address the problem.

On bycatch and entanglement, the SC notes the “first priority should be to implement immediate management actions to eliminate bycatch” rather than focusing on additional research. The SC expresses concern that “there has often been insufficient or no management response to the recommended protection measures” and stresses that further research should not be a substitute for management action, particularly for cases with critically endangered species, subspecies and cetaceans like the vaquita and Maui dolphins.

On environmental concerns, the SC discussed a range of issues, including marine debris, Arctic issues, chemical pollution, oil spill impacts, climate change effects, stranding and mortality, and other habitat-related issues.

On special permit whaling, the SC discussed a Japanese research programme in the Southern Ocean. The discussion focused on recommendations previously made by an Expert Panel and the use of non-lethal techniques. The SC also discussed an Expert Panel’s findings on a Japanese North Pacific programme that ran from 2000 to 2016, including suggestions that greater emphasis could have been placed on improved analyses and modeling.

The Committee also discussed a mass stranding of 360 sei whales in Chile, describing the event as “unprecedented” and recommending ongoing monitoring of and annual surveys of the population.

Other agenda items included: discussion of whale stocks; implementation reviews and matters for North Atlantic fin whales, North Atlantic and North Pacific common minke whales, and Western North Pacific Bryde whales; whalewatching; whale sanctuaries; stock definitions; ecosystem modeling; and small cetaceans. On the annual review of management advice, the SC discussed North Pacific gray whales, Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas stock of bowhead whale, Common minke whales off West and East Greenland, fin whales, humpback whales, bowhead whales off West Greenland, and humpback whales off St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Over 200 scientists attended the SC meeting, which convened in Bled, Slovenia, from 7-19 June 2016. [IWC Press Release on Vaquita] [Publication: Report of the Scientific Committee] [IWC Press Release on SC Meeting]