International Whaling Convention UPSC

International Whaling Convention

The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling is an international environmental agreement signed in 1946 in order to "provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry"

It governs the commercial, scientific, and aboriginal subsistence whaling practices of fifty-nine member nations.

It was signed by 15 nations in Washington, D.C. on 2 December 1946 and took effect on 10 November 1948.

The convention is a successor to the International Agreement for the Regulation of Whaling, signed in London on 8 June 1937, and the protocols for that agreement signed in London on 24 June 1938, and 26 November 1945.

The objectives of the agreement are the protection of all whale species from overhunting, 

• the establishment of a system of international regulation for the whale fisheries to ensure proper conservation and development of whale stocks, and 

• safeguarding for future generations the great natural resources represented by whale stocks.

The primary instrument for the realization of these aims is the International Whaling Commission which was established pursuant to this convention.

• The commission has made many revisions to the schedule that makes up the bulk of the convention. The Commission process has also reserved for governments the right to carry out scientific research which involves killing of whales.

There have been consistent disagreement over the scope of the convention.

• In 1986, it adopted a moratorium on commercial whaling. This ban still continues.

• In 1994, it created the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary surrounding the continent of Antarctica. Here, the IWC has banned all types of commercial whaling.

• Only two such sanctuaries have been designated by IWC till date. Another is Indian Ocean Whale Sanctuary by the tiny island nation of the Seychelles.

INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION:

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is an international body set up by the terms of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), which was signed in Washington, D.C., United States, on December 2, 1946 to "provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry".

In 1982 the IWC adopted a moratorium on commercial whaling.

Note:-

Currently, Japan, Russia, and a number of other nations oppose this moratorium. 

The IWC allows non-zero whaling quotas for aboriginal subsistence and also member nations may issue 'Scientific Permits' to their citizens. 

• Japan has issued such permits since 1986, Norway and Iceland whale under objection to the moratorium and issue their own quotas. 

• In 1994, the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was created by the IWC.

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. 

1. These measures, among other things, provide for the complete protection of certain species; 

2. designate specified areas as whale sanctuaries; 

3. set limits on the numbers and size of whales which may be taken; prescribe open and closed seasons and areas for whaling; 

4. 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.

On 13 September 2018, IWC members gathered in Florianopolis, Brazil, where they discussed and rejected a proposal by Japan to renew commercial whaling. 

Through the "Florianopolis Declaration", it was 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.

The headquarters of the IWC is in Impington, near Cambridge, England 

India is a member of International whaling commission.