Statutory Instruments

1955 No. 1973

WHALING INDUSTRY

The Whaling Industry (Ship) Regulations, 1955

Made

22nd December 1955

Coming into Operation

2nd January 1956

The Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation in exercise of his powers under Sections 3, 5,6, 8 and 18 of the Whaling Industry (Regulation) Act, 1934 (hereinafter referred to as “the principal Act”) as amended by Part III of the Sea Fish Industry Act, 1938 (which part together with the principal Act are hereinafter referred to as “the Acts”) and under the Whaling Industry (Sperm Whales) Order, 1937(1) (hereinafter referred to as “the Order”) and of all other powers him enabling in that behalf and after consultation with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretary of State for Scotland and, in relation to Regulation 10 of these Regulations with the approval of the Treasury, hereby makes in relation to ships the following Regulations:—

1.—(1) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 2nd day of January, 1956, and may be cited as the Whaling Industry (Ship) Regulations, 1955.

(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions shall have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say:—

“Blue Whale” means a whale known by any of the names set out in Part II of the Schedule to the principal Act;

“Dauhval” means any unclaimed dead whale found floating;

“Fin Whale” means a whale known by any of the names set out in Part III of the Schedule to the principal Act;

“Grey Whale” means a whale known by any of the names set out in Part IV of the Schedule to the principal Act, as amended by section 43 of the Sea Fish Industry Act, 1938;

“Humpback Whale” means any whale known by any of the names, bunch, humpback, humpback whale, humpbacked whale, hump whale or hunchbacked whale;

“Land Station” means a factory on land;

“Minke Whale” means a whale known by the name of lesser rorqual, little piked whale, minke whale, pike-headed whale or sharp headed finner;

“Right Whale” means a whale known by any of the names set out in part I of the Schedule to the principal Act;

“Sei Whale” means any whale known by the name of Sei whale, Rudolphi's rorqual, pollack whale or coalfish whale, and includes Bryde's whale;

“Sperm Whale” means a whale known by any of the names set out in Article 2 of the Order.

(3) The Interpretation Act, 1889 shall apply to the interpretation of these Regulations as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.

(4) The Whaling Industry (Ship) Regulations, 1953(2), the Whaling Industry (Ship) (Amendment) Regulations, 1954(3) and the Whaling Industry (Ship) (Amendment) Regulations, 1955(4) are hereby revoked.

2.—(1) For the purpose of section 3 of the principal Act, whales of the undermentioned species shall be deemed to be immature if they are of less than the lengths set out below in relation to each species, that is to say:—

(a)Blue Whale, 70 feet;

(b)Fin Whale, 55 feet in the Northern Hemisphere and 57 feet in the Southern Hemisphere;

(c)Sei Whale, 40 feet;

(d)Humpback Whale, 35 feet;

(e)Sperm Whale, 38 feet;

Provided that where Blue Whales, Fin Whales or Sei Whales are taken for delivery to a land station and the meat of such whales is intended to be used for local consumption as human or animal food, the lengths shall be respectively as follows, that is to say:—

(a)Blue Whale, 65 feet;

(b)Fin Whale, 50 feet in the Northern Hemisphere and 55 feet in the Southern Hemisphere;

(c)Sei Whale, 35 feet;

Provided also that where sperm whales are taken for delivery to a land station, the length shall be 35 feet.

(2) Whales shall be measured when at rest on the deck or platform, as accurately as possible by means of a steel tape measure fitted at the zero end with a spiked handle which can be inserted into the planking of the deck or platform abreast of one end of the whale. The tape measure shall be stretched in a straight line parallel with the body of the whale and read abreast the other end of the whale. The ends of the whale for the purposes of measurement shall in each case be the point of the upper jaw and the notch between the flukes of the tail. Measurements after being accurately read on the tape measure, shall be recorded to the nearest foot. The measurement of any whale which falls exactly on a half-foot shall be recorded at the next foot above the half-foot.

3.  Any application for a licence in respect of a ship shall be made in writing by the owners or charterers of the ship, and shall be sent with the amount of the licence fee to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 3, Whitehall Place, London, S.W.I. or to the Scottish Home Department, Edinburgh.

4.  The fees to be paid in respect of the granting of licences for the use of ships shall be:—

(a)in the case of a licence authorising the use of a ship for treating whales the sum of £200; and

(b)in the case of a licence authorising the use of a ship for taking whales the sum of £75.

Provided that:—

(i)where in addition to the licence granted under the Acts a licence for the same whaling season has been or shall be granted in respect of any ship for taking whales in the coastal waters of any colony there shall be refunded from the sum specified in paragraph (b) either one-half thereof or one-half of the sum paid in respect of the licence for coastal waters whichever is the lesser; and

(ii)where the right to use any ship or ships for taking whales in such coastal waters without licence fee is embodied in the terms of the lease of a land station a refund of one-half of the sum specified in paragraph (b) or one-half of the sum ordinarily charged in respect of a licence for such coastal waters whichever is the lesser shall be made in respect of each such ship the use of which is authorised by the lease.

5.—(1) Every licence shall be in such one of the forms set out in Parts I and II of the First Schedule to these Regulations as is appropriate in the case.

(2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in these Regulations, every licence issued in accordance with the Whaling Industry (Ship) Regulations, 1953, as amended by the Whaling Industry (Ship) (Amendment) Regulations, 1954 and the Whaling Industry (Ship) (Amendment) Regulations, 1955, which is in force immediately before the coming into operation of these Regulations, shall be treated for the purposes of these Regulations as if it had been issued in accordance with these Regulations and in such one of the forms set our in Parts I and II of the First Schedule to these Regulations as is appropriate in the case and subject to the conditions set out in Part I or as the case may be Part II of the Second Schedule to these Regulations.

6.  For the purpose of section 6, subsection (2) of the principal Act, the master or person in charge of every ship used for treating whales shall keep a record, on forms to be provided by the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, of the following particulars regarding each whale treated in the ship, that is to say:—

(a)the date and time when and the approximate latitude and longitude where the whale was taken;

(b)the marking of the whale, as effected by the ship used in taking it;

(c)the species and sex of the whale;

(d)the time of hauling up the whale for treatment;

(e)the length measured in accordance with paragraph (2) of Regulation 2 hereof;

(f)whether the whale contained any foetus;

(g)the length and sex, if ascertainable, of any foetus found in the whale;

(h)whether the whale was producing milk;

(i)any explanation of circumstances in which any whale was taken or treated contrary to the provisions of the Acts, the Order or these Regulations.

Such record shall be arranged so far as possible in the chronological order of the taking of the whales, and the particulars shall be entered in it immediately they become available.

7.  The master or person in charge of every ship used for treating whales shall also keep a record on forms to be provided by the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation containing the following particulars of operations carried on in, or in connection with, the ship, that is to say:—

(a)for each day:—

(b)for each week:—

8.—(1) The official measurements of the length of all whales treated on a ship used for treating whales, made as prescribed by paragraph (2) of Regulation 2 hereof, shall be taken by a Whale Fishery Inspector.

(2) All other particulars required to be kept under Regulations 6 and 7 hereof shall be verified by a Whale Fishery Inspector at the time of tally.

9.  The master or person in charge of every ship used for treating whales shall at the earliest possible opportunity after the conclusion of the whaling operations of each season send the said records either directly or through the owners or charterers of the ship to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 3, Whitehall Place, London, S.W.1, or to the Scottish Home Department, Edinburgh, for transmission to the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation.

10.  The sum to be paid pursuant to section 8, subsection (2) of the principal Act by a Whale Fishery Inspector to the master of a ship in respect of each day on which he is provided with subsistence and accommodation on board the said ship shall be five shillings.

Given under the Official Seal of the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation this twenty-second day of December, 1955.

L.S.

T. F. Bird

An Under Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation

We approve the making of Regulation 10 of these Regulations.

R. H. M. Thompson

Gerald Wills

Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury

Dated this twenty-first day of December, 1955

FIRST SCHEDULE

SECOND SCHEDULE

PART IConditions appropriate to ships used in taking Whales

1.  No person carried in the ship shall kill or attempt to kill

(a)any baleen whale in any of the following areas:—

(i)any waters north of 66° north latitude other than the waters which are both eastwards of 150° east longitude as far as 140° west longitude and between 66° north latitude and 72° north latitude;

(ii)the Atlantic Ocean and its dependent waters north of 40° south latitude;

(iii) the Pacific Ocean and its dependent waters east of 150° west longitude between 40° south latitude and 35° north latitude;

(iv)the Pacific Ocean and its dependent waters west of 150° west longitude between 40° south latitude and 20° north latitude;

(v)the Indian Ocean and its dependent waters north of 40° south latitude;

(b)any baleen whale (excluding any minke whale) in any waters, being waters other than those specified in paragraph (a) of this condition, south of 40° south latitude, at any time other than during a period beginning on the 7th January in any year in the case of baleen whales other than blue whales, or the 1st February in any year in the case of blue whales, and terminating on the 7th April in the same year, both days inclusive;

provided that if the Bureau of International Whaling Statistics, Sandefjord, Norway, shall determine an earlier date on which the quota of 15,000 blue whale units shall be deemed to have been reached in accordance with paragraph 8 of the Schedule to the International Convention of the 2nd December, 1946 (amending the International Agreement of the 8th June, 1937, the Protocol of 24th June, 1938, and the Protocol of the 26th November, 1945, for the Regulation of Whaling), no baleen whale (excluding any minke whale) shall be killed after that date;

(c)any humpback whale in the North Atlantic Ocean;

(d)any humpback whale in any waters south of 40° south latitude between 0° longitude and 70° west longitude;

(e)any humpback whale in any waters south of 40° south latitude except on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th February in any year;

(f)any calf or suckling whale or female whale which is accompanied by any calf or suckling whale;

(g)any minke whale other than during the period during which the killing or taking of such a whale is permitted under the terms of the ship's licence, and any sperm whale other than during the period during which the treatment of such a whale may be carried on by the factory ship to which the ship is for the time being attached;

(h)any grey whale or right whale, except when the meat and products of such whales are to be used for local consumption by the aborigines;

(i)any blue whale in the North Atlantic Ocean;

Provided that if at any time during the currency of this licence the ship shall be attached to a land station and used for the purpose of taking whales for treatment by that land station, the conditions (a), (b), (e) and (g) above shall not apply to such ship during the period in which it is so attached and used but the following conditions shall apply thereto:—

The killing or taking of baleen, minke and sperm whales by the ship at any time while the ship is attached to a land station shall be limited to the period during which the treatment of any such whales may be carried on at the land station to which the ship is for the time being attached.

2.—(a) All whales taken shall be clearly marked so as to identify the catcher and to indicate the order of catching.

(b)if and so long as the ship is attached to a factory ship, there shall be reported by wireless to the factory ship the time when each whale is taken, its species and its marking effected pursuant to paragraph (a a) of this condition.

(c)All whales (except minke whales) taken shall be delivered to the factory ship or land station.

3.  The remuneration of the gunners and crew of the ship shall, so far as it is calculated by reference to the results of their work, be calculated by reference to the size, species, oil and other yield and value of the whales taken and in such manner as to exclude remuneration in respect of whales the killing of which is prohibited by the Acts and the Orders, and in respect of the killing of milk-filled or lactating whales.

4.  The owners or charterers shall furnish to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food or (as the case may require) to the Scottish Home Department on or before the 30th November in each year an account showing the remuneration of each gunner and member of the crew employed during the period of twelve months prior to 1st November in each year and the manner in which the remuneration of each of them is calculated.

5.  For the purposes of these conditions a whale shall be deemed to be taken if it is killed and either flagged or made fast to a vessel.

PART IIConditions appropriate to ships engaged in treating Whales

1.  There shall not be treated by the ship

(a)any baleen whale killed in any of the following areas:—

(i)any waters north of 66° north latitude other than the waters which are both eastwards of 150° east longitude as far as 140° west longitude and between 66° north latitude and 72° north latitude;

(ii) the Atlantic Ocean and its dependent waters north of 40° south latitude;

(iii) the Pacific Ocean and its dependent waters east of 150° west longitude between 40° south latitude and 35° north latitude;

(iv) the Pacific Ocean and its dependent waters west of 150° west longitude between 40° south latitude and 20° north latitude;

(v)the Indian Ocean and its dependent waters north of 40° south latitude;

(b)any baleen whale (excluding any minke whale) killed in any waters, being waters other than those specified in paragraph (a) of this condition, south of 40° south latitude, at any time other than during a period beginning on 7th January in any year in the case of baleen whales other than blue whales, or the 1st February in any year in the case of blue whales, and terminating on the 7th April in the same year, both days inclusive;

provided that the treatment of baleen whales which have been taken during such period may be completed after the end of it;

Provided also that if the Bureau of International Whaling Statistics, Sandefjord, Norway, shall determine an earlier date on which the quota of 15,000 blue whale units shall be deemed to have been reached in accordance with paragraph 8 of the Schedule to the International Convention of the 2nd December, 1946 (amending the International Agreement of the 8th June, 1937, the Protocol of 24th June, 1938, and the Protocol of the 26th November, 1945, for the Regulation of Whaling), no baleen whale (excluding any minke whale) taken after that date, shall be treated;

(c)any humpback whale killed in the North Atlantic Ocean;

(d)any humpback whale killed in any waters south of 40° south latitude between 0° longitude and 70° west longitude;

(e)any humpback whale killed in any waters south of 40° south latitude except on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th February in any year;

provided that the treatment of humpback whales taken on the said days may be completed thereafter;

(f)any sperm whale taken other than during the period specified for that purpose in the ship's licence;

(g)any grey or right whale, except when the meat and products of such whales are to be used exclusively for local consumption by the aborigines;

(h)any blue whale killed in the North Atlantic Ocean.

2.  Where the ship has been used for treating baleen whales south of 40° south latitude, it shall not be used for that purpose elsewhere within a period of twelve months from the end of the season during which the ship last treated whales south of 40° south latitude.

3.  The remuneration of persons employed in treating whales on board the ship shall, so far as it is calculated by reference to the results of their work, be calculated by reference to the size, species, oil and other yield and value of the whales treated and not merely on the number of whales taken by the ships attached thereto.

4.  The owners or charterers of the ship shall furnish to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food or (as the case may require) to the Scottish Home Department on or before the 30th November in each year an account showing the remuneration of each person employed in the ship during the period of twelve months prior to 1st November in each year and the manner in which the remuneration of each of them is calculated.

5.  The master or person in charge of the ship shall keep the records prescribed in Regulations 6 and 7 of the Whaling Industry (Ship) Regulations, 1955.

6.  The master or person in charge of the ship shall transmit the said records in accordance with Regulation 9 of the said Regulations.

7.  The master or person in charge of the ship shall:—

(a)within two days of the end of each calendar week cause to be transmitted by wireless messages to the Bureau of International Whaling Statistics, Sandefjord, Norway, details of the number of blue whale units taken by the ships attached thereto in waters south of 40° south latitude, calculated on the basis that one blue whale equals two fin whales, or two and a half humpback whales, or six sei whales;

provided that when notification is received that the number of blue whale units taken is deemed by the Bureau of International Whaling Statistics to have reached 13,500, he shall cause the details aforesaid to be transmitted at the end of each day;

(b)on the conclusion of each season's operations forward to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 3, Whitehall Place, London, S.W.I, or the Scottish Home Department, Edinburgh, for transmission to the International Whaling Commission, London—

(i)details of the particulars entered in the records required to be kept under Regulation 7 of the said Regulations;

(ii) the name and gross tonnage of the ship;

(iii) the number and aggregate gross tonnage of ships used for killing or taking whales attached thereto;

(iv) any information collected or obtained concerning the calving grounds and migration routes of whales.

8.  The plant in the ship for the extraction of oil from the blubber, flesh and bones of whales shall be kept in good order and operated efficiently.

9.—(1) All parts of whales delivered to the ship by the ships attached thereto, other than whales the treatment of which is prohibited by these conditions, shall be processed by boiling or otherwise, except the internal organs, whale bone and flippers of all whales, the meat of sperm whales and of parts of whales intended for human food and for feeding animals.

(2) Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this condition, the complete treatment of carcasses of Dauhval and of whales used as fenders shall not be required in cases where the meat or bone of such whales is in bad condition.

10.  The taking of whales for delivery to the ship shall be so regulated or restricted by the master or person in charge of the ship that no whale carcass (except that of a whale used as a fender which shall be processed as soon as is reasonably practicable) shall remain in the sea for a longer period than thirty-three hours from the time of killing to the time when it is hauled up for treatment.

11.  There shall be maintained on each ship engaged in treating whales at least two Whale Fishery Inspectors for the purposes of maintaining continuous inspection while the ship is so engaged.

12.  For the purposes of these conditions a whale shall be deemed to be taken if it is killed and either flagged or made fast to a vessel.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations revoke and re-enact with amendments the Whaling Industry (Ship) Regulations, 1953, as amended by the Whaling Industry (Ship) (Amendment) Regulations, 1954 and the Whaling Industry (Ship) (Amendment) Regulations, 1955, and give effect, in relation to United Kingdom and Colonial ships, to certain resolutions of the International Whaling Commission which came into force after those Regulations were made.

The principal resolutions to which effect is given by these Regulations are as follows:—

(1) Prohibiting the killing of blue whales in the Antarctic before 1st February in any year; for the season 1954–55 the prohibition operated until 21st January, 1955.

(2) Reducing to 15,000 the total number of blue whale units that may be taken in any year in waters south of 40° south latitude by catchers attached to factory ships of the powers bound by the resolutions of the Commission;

(3)  Requiring the return of daily statistics of whales taken after the catch is deemed by the Bureau of International Whaling Statistics to have reached 13,500 blue whale units.

(1)

(Rev. VII, p. 932: 1937, p. 747).

(2)

(1953 I, p. 790)

(3)

(1954 II, p. 2006)

(4)

(p. 2415 above)