The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was set up under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), which was signed in Washington, D.C., on December 2, 1946. The Convention was intended to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and the regulation of commercial and aboriginal whaling.
But a majority of IWC member countries, along with animal protection and environmental organizations, believe that the treaty has evolved into a conservation agreement that allows for greater protection for whales from environmental, commercial, and other types of threats. On the other hand, Japan, Norway, Iceland and other whaling nations maintain that the sole purpose of the IWC is to promote the orderly development of the whaling industry. In fact, the main duty of the IWC is to keep under review—and revise as necessary—the measures laid down in the Schedule to the Convention, which govern the conduct of conservation and whaling throughout the world. These measures, among other things, provide for the complete protection of certain species; designate specified areas as whale sanctuaries; set limits on the number and size of whales that may be taken; prescribe open and closed seasons and areas for whaling; and prohibit the taking of suckling calves and female whales accompanied by calves.
For decades following the establishment of the IWC, hundreds of thousands of whales were slaughtered, seriously depleting all whale stocks. Underreporting of kills was common during that time, and scientists lacked—and in fact still lack—adequate methods to establish whale populations. As a result, in 1986 the IWC banned all commercial whaling. That ban remains in place today for two reasons: whale populations have not yet recovered, and there is no effective mechanism in place to safely or humanely regulate the killing of these great marine mammals.
Despite the ban, Japan, Iceland and Norway continue to kill whales. Japan and Iceland do so for commercial purposes by exploiting a loophole in the Convention that allows "scientific whaling." Norway resumed killing whales in 1993 after registering its objections to the ban. The ban on commercial whaling does not affect aboriginal subsistence whaling, which is permitted by Denmark, the Russian Federation, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the United States. Nor does this ban cover small whales, as Japan and a handful of other nations refuse to accept the IWC jurisdiction over small whales and dolphins.
To read our Save Whales—Not Whaling brochure, download the PDF.
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