About International Whaling Commission:
- It is an intergovernmental organization established to regulate whaling and promote the conservation of whale populations.
- It was established under the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.
- Formed in response to the alarming decline of whale stocks in the 1930s, the IWC initially aimed to ensure sustainable whaling practices among its member nations.
- The Convention also applies to factory ships, land stations, and whale catchers under the jurisdiction of the contracting governments, and to all waters in which they carry out whaling.
- Membership:
- Beginning in 1979, IWC membership started to grow: 23 members in 1979, 41 by 1985. Currently, there are 88 contracting governments.
- Countries that do not hunt whales can also join the IWC.
- Some of the current members include: Australia, Brazil, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Japan (until 2019), Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States.
- The IWC's main office is in Impington, near Cambridge, England.
- There are generally three types of whaling that the Commission regulates:
- Commercial Whaling:
- In 1986, a global moratorium, or a temporary ban, on commercial whaling was adopted due to the overexploitation of whale stocks.
- The Commission has also designated sanctuary areas in the Indian and Southern Oceans where commercial whaling is not allowed.
- Although the moratorium is still in place, some countries, such as Norway and Iceland, continue to engage in commercial whaling
- Scientific Research Whaling:
- Article VIII of the Convention allows contracting governments to issue special permits authorizing the taking of whales for purposes of scientific research.
- Japan’s lethal scientific research in the North Pacific and Southern Oceans under such special permits ended in 2019 with their withdrawal from the Convention.
- Subsistence Whaling:
- The Commission also regulates aboriginal subsistence whaling (whaling by native people to sustain themselves).
- Currently, the Commission permits indigenous communities in Denmark (Greenland), the Russian Federation, Vincent and the Grenadines, and the United States to engage in this type of whaling on certain whale stocks.
- Over the years, the IWC has faced significant
- It does not have a way to force countries to follow its rules or punish
- It often becomes a platform for member nations to negotiate over whaling quotas rather than prioritizing conservation efforts.
- In 2018, the IWC members made the "Florianópolis Declaration."
- They decided that the IWC's main purpose is to protect whales forever.
- They also want all whale populations to return to their numbers before large-scale whaling began.
- The declaration also stated that using deadly methods for research is not needed.
- After this, Japan announced on December 26, 2018, that it was leaving the IWC.
