"provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry"
Headquarters
Impington, United Kingdom
Membership (2020)
88 nations[1]
Executive Secretary
Rebecca Lent
Website
iwc.int/home
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is a specialised regional fishery management organisation, established under the terms of the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) to "provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry".[2][3]
As the decision-making body of the convention, the IWC reviews and revises measures laid down in the "Schedule to the Convention", which govern the conduct of whaling throughout the world. These measures include: confer complete protection of certain species; designate specific areas as whale sanctuaries; set limits on the numbers and size of whales which may be taken; prescribe open and closed seasons and areas for whaling; and prohibit the capture of suckling calves and female whales accompanied by calves. The Commission also mandates the compilation of catch reports and other statistical and biological records,[4] and is actively involved in whale research, including funding and promoting studies, publishing the results of scientific research, and encouraging studies into related matters, such as the humaneness of the killing operations.[5]
Through the "Florianópolis Declaration" of 2018, members of the organization concluded that the purpose of the IWC is the conservation of whales and that they would now safeguard the marine mammals in perpetuity and would allow the recovery of all whale populations to pre-industrial whaling levels. In response, Japan announced on 26 December 2018, that since the IWC failed its duty to promote sustainable hunting, which is one of its stated goals, Japan is withdrawing its membership and will resume commercial hunting in its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone from July 2019, but will cease whaling activities in the Southern Hemisphere.[6][7]
^"IWC Member countries and commissioners". International Whaling Commission. 7 January 2001. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
^International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, with Schedule of Whaling Regulations, 2 December 1946, 62 Statss. 1716, 161 UNTS 72.
^"The Convention". Archived from the original on 21 February 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
^Catch Limits & Catches taken, IWC website, 17 September 2011, archived from the original on 5 February 2012, retrieved 16 February 2012
^"Almost Saving Whales: The Ambiguity of Success at the International Whaling Commission [Full Text]". Ethics & International Affairs. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
^"IWC withdrawal: Japan to resume commercial whaling in 2019". Euan McKirdy, Emiko Jozuka, Junko Ogura. CNN News. 26 December 2018.
^"Japan to Resume Commercial Whaling, Defying International Ban". The New York Times. 26 December 2018.
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