The Evolving Role of the International Whaling Commission

The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, signed in 1946, is one of the oldest international agreements pertaining to marine wildlife. The Convention established the International Whaling Commission to manage the commercial harvest of whales following World War II. But in recent decades, with an increasing global focus on recovery and conservation of the great whales, the role of the IWC has changed. The IWC established a moratorium on the commercial harvest of whales in 1986, originally intended to be temporary, but now looks to be permanent. Only three nations now engage in commercial harvest of whales: Iceland and Norway, which harvest minke and fin whales under an objection to the moratorium, and Japan, which left the IWC in 2019.

Learn more about the evolving role of the evolving role of the IWC, the complex process of negotiating quotas for the Aboriginal Subsistence Harvest of bowhead whales, the role of the U.S. in the IWC moving forward, and more.

Mr. Ryan Wulff, Speaker

Assistant Regional Administrator, West Coast Regional Office, Sustainable Fisheries;U.S. Commissioner to the International Whaling Commission

Dr. Andy Read, Moderator

Commissioner, U.S. Marine Mammal Commission: Director, Duke University Marine Laboratory; Stephen Toth Distinguished Professor of Marine Biology, Duke Marine Laboratory

Brianna Elliott, Organizer

PhD Candidate, Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University;Convener, Graduate Working Group "Turtles, Tuna, and Treaties: Exploring the Burgeoning Field of Ocean Diplomacy" (Duke Global): Graduate Fellow, Rethinking Diplomacy Program