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:
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)
| Antigua
& Barbuda |
Argentina |
Australia |
Austria |
|
Belgium |
Belize |
Benin |
Brazil |
|
Cambodia |
Cameroon |
Chile |
China, People's
Rep of |
| Congo, Rep of the |
Costa
Rica |
Côte d'Ivoire |
Croatia |
| Cyprus |
Czech
Republic |
Denmark |
Dominica |
|
Ecuador |
Finland |
France |
Gabon |
| Gambia, The |
Germany |
Greece |
Grenada |
| Guatemala |
Guinea-Bissau |
Guinea, Rep of |
Hungary |
| Iceland |
India |
Ireland |
Israel |
| Italy |
Japan |
Kenya |
Kiribati |
| Korea, Rep of |
Laos |
Luxembourg |
Mali |
|
Marshall Islands, Rep of |
Mauritania |
Mexico |
Monaco |
| Mongolia |
Morocco |
Nauru |
The Netherlands |
| New Zealand |
Nicaragua |
Norway |
Oman |
| Palau |
Panama |
Peru |
Portugal |
|
Romania |
Russian Federation |
San Marino |
St. Kitts & Nevis |
| St. Lucia |
St. Vincent & The Grenadines |
Senegal |
Slovak Republic |
|
Slovenia |
Solomon Islands |
South Africa |
Spain |
| Suriname |
Sweden |
Switzerland |
Tanzania |
| Togo |
Tuvalu |
UK |
Uruguay |
| USA |
|
|
|
(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.
|