WHEREAS, the International Whaling Commission was established in 1946 for the express purpose of providing for the proper conservation of whale stocks; and
WHEREAS, the International Whaling Commission has failed to heed sound scientific recommendations, especially those of the Committee of Four, composed of leading experts in the field of population dynamics, and appointed by the Commission itself; and
WHEREAS, the Commission has consequently permitted Antarctic fin whale stocks to be depleted far below the levels of maximum sustainable yield, and has permitted blue whale and humpback whale stocks to be reduced to near extermination; and
WHEREAS, the Commission has ignored all pleas from conservation organizations throughout the world to put into effect a rational program for the exploitation of whales;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the American Society of Mammalogists at its 45th annual meeting in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 23 June 1965, deplores the failure of the International Whaling Commission to meet its legal and moral obligations; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Society of Mammalogists urges the International Whaling Commission immediately (1) to impose separate limitations for each species of whale, rather than to base limitations on "blue whale units"; (2) to reduce the annual catch of all species and stocks below the present sustainable yields until each stock has reached the level of maximum sustainable yield; (3) to impose interim limitations on whale catches in the North Pacific Ocean until scientists have completed analyses of these stocks; (4) to implement immediately the International Observer scheme; and (5) to implement all other recommendations of the Commission's Scientific Committee.