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.
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. Simon
Brockington,
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 89)
|
Antigua & Barbuda |
Argentina |
Australia |
Austria |
|
Belgium |
Belize |
Benin |
Brazil |
|
Bulgaria |
Cambodia |
Cameroon |
Chile |
| China, People's Rep of |
Colombia |
Congo, Rep of the |
Costa Rica |
| Côte d'Ivoire |
Croatia |
Cyprus |
Czech Republic |
|
Denmark |
Dominica |
Dominican Republic |
Ecuador |
|
Eritrea |
Estonia |
Finland |
France |
|
Gabon |
Gambia, The |
Germany |
Ghana, Rep of |
|
Greece |
Grenada |
Guatemala |
Guinea-Bissau |
|
Guinea, Rep of |
Hungary |
Iceland |
India |
|
Ireland |
Israel |
Italy |
Japan |
|
Kenya |
Kiribati |
Korea, Rep of |
Laos |
|
Lithuania |
Luxembourg |
Mali |
Marshall Islands, Rep of |
|
Mauritania |
Mexico |
Monaco |
Mongolia |
|
Morocco |
Nauru |
The Netherlands |
New Zealand |
|
Nicaragua |
Norway |
Oman |
Palau |
|
Panama |
Peru |
Poland |
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.
|