CONTENTS

HISTORY AND PURPOSE

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was set up under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling which was signed in Washington DC on 2nd December 1946 (Click HERE to view full text). The purpose of the Convention is to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry.

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 whaling throughout the world (Click HERE to view the full text). These measures, among other things, provide for the complete protection of certain species; designate specified 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 compilation of catch reports and other statistical and biological records is also required.

In addition, the Commission encourages, co-ordinates and funds whale research, publishes the results of scientific research and promotes studies into related matters such as the humaneness of the killing operations.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership of the IWC is open to any country in the world that formally adheres to the 1946 Convention. Each member country is represented by a Commissioner, who is assisted by experts and advisers. The Chair and Vice-Chair are elected from among the Commissioners and usually serve for three years. Click HERE to view the full Membership list or click HERE to download a PDF of the Status of the Convention, which details all current members, past members and country-specific notes.

The present Chair is  Dr. William Hogarth from the USA and the Vice-Chair is Mr. Minoru Morimoto from Japan.

SECRETARIAT

The IWC has a full-time Secretariat with headquarters in Cambridge, England. There are currently 17 members of staff which include the Secretary, Dr Nicola Grandy, Head of Finance and Administration, Head of Science, Computing Manager and supporting staff. (Click HERE for contact details).

MEETINGS AND PROCEDURES

Each year, usually in May or June, the Annual Meeting of the Commission is held, either by invitation in any member country, or in the UK - the Secretariat's base. The 2006 and 2007 meetings were held in St. Kitts and Nevis and Anchorage, Alaska respectively. The 2008 meeting is due to be held in Santiago, Chile in June. (Click HERE for more information on recent meetings).

The Commission has had three main committees - Scientific, Technical, and Finance and Administration. A new Committee (the Conservation Committee) first met in 2004. There are also Commission sub-committees which deal with aboriginal subsistence whaling, Infractions (breaking of regulations) and other ad hoc Working Groups to deal with a wide range of issues. Commissioners may opt for their countries to be represented in any or all of these activities and most choose to do so.

THE SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

An important feature of the Convention is the emphasis it places on scientific advice. The Convention requires that amendments to the Schedule ‘shall be based on scientific findings’. To this end, the Commission has established a Scientific Committee.

The Scientific Committee comprises up to 200 of the world's leading whale biologists. Many are nominated by member governments. In addition, in recent years it has invited other scientists to supplement its expertise in various areas. The size of the Committee, as well as the subject matter it addresses, has increased considerably over time. In 1954, it comprised 11 scientists from 7 member nations. At its annual meeting in Berlin in 2003 it comprised over 170 participants (including some 39 invited participants); 30 member nations were represented. The Committee meets in the two weeks immediately before the main Commission meeting and it may also hold special meetings during the year to consider particular subjects. The Scientific Committee's report provides an annual review of the major issues affecting cetacean conservation. It is published each year as a supplement to the Journal of Cetacean Research and Management.

The subject matter considered by the Committee is largely determined by the scientific needs of the Commission. These are expressed in broad terms in the Convention text and are to:

• encourage, recommend, or, if necessary, organise studies and investigations relating to whales and whaling;
• collect and analyse statistical information concerning the current condition and trend of the whale stocks and the effects of whaling activities thereon;
• study, appraise and disseminate information concerning methods of maintaining and increasing the populations of whale stocks.

The Scientific Committee has established a number of sub-committees and working groups to discuss the major topics currently on its agenda, including:

• Revised Management Procedure;
• Aboriginal subsistence whaling management procedures;
• Bycatch;
• Assessments of nominated species/stocks;
• Stock definition;
• Environmental concerns;
• Whalewatching;
• Sanctuaries;
• Special permits;
• Small cetaceans.

The information and advice the Scientific Committee provides on the status of the whale stocks form the basis on which the Commission develops the regulations for the control of whaling. These are contained in the Schedule and require a three-quarters majority of the Commissioners voting. Any changes become effective 90 days later unless a member state has lodged an objection, in which case the new regulation is not binding on that country. This procedure may be used when a government considers its national interests or sovereignty are unduly affected.

The regulations adopted by the Commission are implemented through the national legislation of the member states, who appoint inspectors to oversee their whaling operations and may also receive international observers appointed by the IWC.

(Click HERE for more information on the recent work of the Scientific Committee).

CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT

There are many stocks or populations of the thirteen species of 'great whales'. Many  have been depleted by over-exploitation, some seriously, both in recent times and in earlier centuries. Fortunately, several of these are showing signs of increase since their protection. (Click HERE for current population estimates)

Whales, like any other animal population, have a natural capacity for increase and a natural rate of mortality. A stock remains more or less in equilibrium at its initial level because these two factors balance one another. If the number of whales in a stock is reduced then recruitment increases, possibly as a result of greater food availability, by higher pregnancy rates, earlier maturation, increased survival rates or a combination of these factors.  (Click HERE for more information on whale biology).

In 1975, a new management policy for whales was adopted by the IWC based on these characteristics. This was designed to bring all stocks to the levels providing the greatest long-term harvests, by setting catch limits for individual stocks below their sustainable yields.

However, because of uncertainties in the scientific analyses (in part due to the difficulty in obtaining the complex data required) and therefore the precise status of the various whale stocks, the IWC decided at its meeting in 1982 that there should be a pause (the ‘moratorium’) in commercial whaling on all whale stocks from 1985/86.

A Revised Management Procedure (RMP) has been developed subsequently, which the Commission accepted and endorsed in 1994 but has yet to implement. This balances the somewhat conflicting requirements to ensure that the risk to individual stocks is not seriously increased, while allowing the highest continuing yield. It is an important step in the development of wildlife resource management in that it takes into account the inevitable scientific uncertainty and requires only relatively simple to obtain information (knowledge of population size, past and present catches, and stock identity). (For more information on the RMP click HERE).

The Commission is currently examining ways to complete a Revised Management Scheme (RMS) that incorporates scientific aspects of management (the RMP) with those designed to ensure that regulations are obeyed. (For more information on the RMS click HERE).

The pause in commercial whaling does not affect aboriginal subsistence whaling which is permitted from Denmark (Greenland, fin and minke whales), the Russian Federation (Siberia, gray whales), St Vincent and The Grenadines (humpback whales), and the USA (Alaska, bowhead and occasionally off Washington, gray whales). (For more information on aboriginal subsistence catches click HERE).

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

In addition to reviewing the research carried out by member nations and other research groups, The Commission sponsors and promotes international research. A major undertaking has been a series of ship surveys of the Antarctic minke whale stocks that began over 25 years ago. This has now been expanded into a new Southern Hemisphere research programme called SOWER. Other funded research includes work on developing and improving new techniques such as photo-identification studies, acoustic and satellite/radio tracking of whales and genetic analysis of populations.

The Scientific Committee has been concentrating on a 'Comprehensive Assessment' of whale stocks, defined as an in-depth evaluation of the status of the stocks in the light of management objectives. It was this latter emphasis that led to the development of the Revised Management Procedure. The Committee is also working to assess the effects on cetaceans of environmental change such as global warming and pollution, and whalewatching activities. A summary of recent activities of the Scientific Committee is given in the Editorial of the Journal of Cetacean Research and Management.

As part of their response to the decision for a pause in commercial whaling, some member governments have implemented major research programmes which may include the sampling of whales caught under special permits which the Convention allows them to grant. (For more information on Scientific Permit catches click HERE).

DOLPHINS AND PORPOISES

The Commission has since its inception regulated the catches of the large whale species, but the smaller species of whales, dolphins and porpoises (commonly known as 'small cetaceans') are also members of the same zoological order of Cetacea. Member governments hold different views over the legal competence of the IWC to regulate direct and incidental catches of small cetaceans. However, they are working to promote cooperation between the coastal and range states to conserve and manage these species also. Although the Commission does not set regulations for small cetacean management, the IWC Scientific Committee addresses matters of the conservation of small cetacean species at its annual meetings. Papers addressing small cetaceans are published in the Journal of Cetacean Research and Management and in special volumes. (Click HERE for more information on small cetaceans).

LIST OF MEMBER NATIONS (Total 81)

(Click HERE to see a more detailed list of member nations and their Commissioners).

THE OBJECTION PROCEDURE (Convention Article 5 (3))

Any government can 'object' to any decision which it considers to seriously affect its national interest, provided it is done within 90 days of notification of the decision. Should this happen, further time is allowed for other governments to object. The government or governments that object are not then bound by that particular decision. This mechanism has been strongly criticised as rendering the Commission 'toothless', but without it the Convention would probably have never been signed. In addition, without such a right (common to many international agreements), a government would still have been able to withdraw from the Convention and thus not be bound by any of the regulations.