§ Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage catch of great whales throughout the world is taken in contravention of, or outside, the provisions of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.
§ Mr. BishopDuring the 1975–76 season infractions represented 0.9 per cent. of the total catch by all countries belonging to the International Whaling Commission (IWC). It is estimated that approximately 10 per cent. of the total world catch was taken by countries not belonging to the IWC. Allowance is made by the IWC for the catches by non-member countries in the setting of quota limits. Several non-member countries report their catches to the International Bureau of Whaling Statistics.
§ Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how he determines whether any contracting party to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling has been, or is likely to be, in breach of Article IX of the Convention; and whether he is willing to have all the known information monitored for this purpose.
§ Mr. BishopInfractions of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling are reported to contracting States by national inspectors as well as by observers accredited by the International Whaling Commission who sail with whaling ships and visit land stations. The details of all infractions—including the nature of the contravention, an explanation of how it occurred and the type of penalty imposed by the flag State which is responsible for
602Wwork area and not separately for its constituent parts. The following table shows the percentage rates of unemployment for these areas:
enforcement—are also reported to the Commission, and transmitted to all member countries. These are reviewed by the Infractions Sub-Committee, and discussed in the sessions of the Technical Committee as well as in Plenary Session of the Commission.
§ Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many copies of his memorandum Conservation of Whales have been sent to enquirers; if he will amplify the statement in paragraph 5 of that docu- that "The United Kingdom has already banned the import of baleen whale products", in relation to baleen whale skin; and if the memorandum is still being distributed as an explanation of British controls on baleen whale products.
§ Mr. BishopThe memorandum on the "Conservation of Whales" was issued in August 1975, and about 200 copies have been issued.
The ban on the import of baleen whale products imposed in 1973 covered all the major products of baleen whales in which there was known trade, but not certain minor products including whale-skin, where trade was insignificant and where the products were indistinguishable from those which were permitted imports. Baleen whaleskin is not, to my knowledge, imported into the United Kingdom; however, there have been some imports of the skin of the "beluga whale", which is a dolphin.