To express its gratitude to the President of the United States of America, Harry S. Truman,
for his initiative in convening the present Conference and for its preparation,
To express to its Chairman, Remington Kellogg, its deep appreciation for the admirable
manner in which he has guided the Conference,
To express to the officers and staff of the Secretariat its appreciation for their untiring
services and diligent efforts in contributing to the attainment of the objective of the Conference.
II The International Whaling Conference.
Resolves:
That the Government of the United States of America be authorized to publish the Final Act of
this Conference, the text of the Convention and of the Protocol, and to make available for
publication such additional documents in connection with the work of this Conference as in its
judgement may be considered in the public interest.
III The International Whaling Conference.
Resolves:
That all signatory Governments should draw the attention of their inspectors and of the
whaling companies operating under their jurisdiction to previous cases of taking baleen whales in
the closed season on the pretext of providing fenders for the bunkering of whale catchers. The
Conference desires to emphasize that this practice constitutes an infringement of paragraph 7 of the Schedule annexed
to the Convention and recommends that if it is desired to send whale catchers long distances in
the open sea before the commencement of or after the end of the whaling season, suitable
arrangements must be made for bunkering them without the use of carcasses of baleen whales.
IV The International Whaling Conference.
Recommends:
That the chart of Nomenclature of Whales annexed to this Final Act be accepted as a guide by
the Governments represented at the Conference,
V The International Whaling Conference.
Recommends:
That the International Whaling Commission provided for in Article III of the Convention
(hereinafter referred to as the Commission) should review the prohibition on the use of factory
ships, or whale catchers attached thereto, for the purpose of taking humpback whales in any
waters south of 40o South Latitude after taking into consideration the biological and other data
available and consider the desirability of either the removal of the prohibition after the 1948-49
season and the southern winter season of 1949 or alternatively a limitation of the number of
humpback whales to be taken both in the Antarctic and tropical areas.
VI The International Whaling Conference.
Recommends:
That the Commission should keep under constant review the question of the limits of the
Antarctic whaling season and also the maximum number of blue whale units as defined by
paragraph 8 (b) of the Schedule permitted to be taken during the season.
VII The International Whaling Conference.
Considers:
That the conditions relating to the use of factory ships within territorial waters of Contracting
Governments as provided by paragraph 17 of the Schedule should be kept under review by the
Commission so as to insure that the operations are conducted on an economic basis.
VIII The International Whaling Conference.
Recommends:
That when adequate information becomes available concerning the migration routes and
seasons in localities where land stations are maintained and operated, specific annual open periods
for whaling should be prescribed instead of the regulation included in the Schedule as paragraph
10. It is the view of the Conference that the Commission should endeavour to obtain at the
earliest possible time scientific information as a basis for prescribing specific seasons during which
land stations shall be permitted to operate in the various areas.
IX
At the request of the Delegation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics the following
statements are included:
Owing to unforeseen circumstances the Soviet factory ship will be unable to reach the
whaling grounds by the commencement of the 1946-47 season in waters south of 40' South
Latitude. Accordingly the Delegation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics requests that this
ship be permitted to operate with a full complement of catchers for a continuous period of four
months from the date on which it is able to commence operations in that area. Note is made that a
similar concession was made to other Governments for the season 1945-46.
The Delegation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics also requests that the factory ship
be permitted to conduct operations in that area for the fourmonth period during the season 1946-
47 without regard to the sixteen thousand blue-whale unit catch limitation.
The Conference supports these request and considers them justified in the special
circumstances. It is understood that support by the Conference of these request shall not be
regarded as a precedent for future seasons.
X The International Whaling Conference.
Supports:
and considers justified the request of the Delegation of the Union of Soviet. Socialist Republics
that the taking of gray whales in the Bering and Chukotsk seas should be permitted when the meat
and products of such whales are to be used exclusively for local consumption by the aborigines of
the Chukotsk and Korjaksk areas.
XI The International Whaling Conference.
Recognizes:
The desirability of achieving a large measure of uniformity among the various
Contracting Governments with respect to the nature and severity of penalties
imposed, for contraventions of the Convention, upon persons or ships operating under their
jurisdiction. It recognizes that even under the most favorable management and with the most
conscientious and experienced gunners and crews, it is inevitable that some whales will be taken
illegally and that a certain latitude should be allowed in assessing penalties for such unavoidable
taking. It may be that legal and administrative differences among the Contracting Governments
will prevent the adoption of a uniform system of penalties, but it is the view of the Conference
that it is desirable that the Governments should provide for the imposition of penalties sufficiently
severe to discourage the illegal killing or taking of whales.
The Conference accordingly recommends that the Commission should study the reports
regarding infractions made to them in accordance with the provisions of Article IX, 4, of the
Convention with a view to making recommendations to Governments as provided for in Article
VI of the Convention for the purpose of achieving the greatest possible uniformity in the penalties
imposed for contraventions of the Convention.
In Witness whereof, the following representatives sign this Final Act.
Done in Washington, this second day of December 1946, in the English language, the original
of which shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the United States of America.
The Government of the United States of America shall transmit certified copies thereof to all the
other Governments represented at the Conference.
FOR ARGENTINA:
Oscar Ivanissevich. Guillermo Brown.
Jose Manuel Moneta. Pedro H. Bruno Videla.
FOR AUSTRALIA:
Francis F. Anderson. Cedric G. Setter.
FOR BRASIL:
Paulo Froes da Cruz.
FOR CANADA:
H. A. Scott. J. A. Rodd.
FOR CHILE:
Augustin R. Edwards.
FOR DENMARK:
Peter Friedrich Erichsen.
FOR FRANCE:
Francis Lacoste. Henri Claudel.
FOR THE NETHERLANDS:
D. J. van Dijk.
H. S Drost.
G. G. H. von Felde
FOR NEW ZEALAND
Guy Richardson Powles
Rogeer Hawthorne
FOR NORWAY:
Birger Bergersen.
Johan T. Ruud
Knut Lykke.
H. Winge Sorensen
H. Th. Knudtzon.
Harald B. Paulsen.
Valentin Voss.
FOR PERU:
Carlos Rotalde.
FOR THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS:
Alexander S. Bogdanov.
Vladimir A. Tverianovich.
Eugine I. Nikishin.
FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND:
A. T. A. Dobson.
S. J. Knowles.
J. Thomson.
M. I. Hutton.
N. A. Mackintosh.
R. S. B. Best.
F. V. Cross.
A. F. Geolot.
FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
Remington Kellogg.
H. J. Deason.
Ira N. Gabrielson.
Harold C. Moore.
William E. S. Flory.
L. Wendell Hayes.
Observers:
FOR ICELAND:
Olafur Bjornsson.
FOR IRELAND:
Thomas V. Commins.
FOR PORTUGAL:
Jeronimo Henriques Jorge.
FOR SWEDEN:
Leif de Belfrage.
Eric de Virgin.
FOR THE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA:
Jcob Smit.
Addendum.
As a result of the discussion of certain matters raised at the Conference the Netherlands
Delegate invited the Conference to include in its Final Act a resolution in the following terms:
"The Conference recommends that in the interest of effective conservation and development of
whale stocks the Governments represented at the Conference refrain from taking any measures
which might prevent any country adhering to the principles of the international whaling
agreements from ratifying or entering into the international regulations for the preservation of
whale stocks."
This resolution was, however, defeated by nine votes to three, some delegates disagreeing with
the substance of the resolution and others considering that it contained implications outside the
purview of the Conference. At the express request of the Netherlands Delegate these facts are
recorded in this addendum to the Final Act.
