ECOGNISING that the International Whaling Commission (IWC) is the internationally competent organisation for the conservation and management of whale stocks; FURTHER RECOGNISING that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) passed Resolution Conf 11.4 (Rev COP12) which acknowledges the IWC as the major source of information on whale stocks around the world; NOTING that the IWC Scientific Committee continuously reviews the status of all whale stocks;