IWC Meeting 2024: Gains and Losses

By Mark J. Palmer

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) held its 69th meeting in Lima, Peru September 23-27. The IWC only meets every two years (the Scientific Committee meets every year) to conduct business and consider modifications to international rules aimed at the incompatible goals of promoting whaling while protecting whales.

This year’s meeting was lively, with both wins and losses for whales and the attending environmentalists. Here’s a rundown:

Whaling Resolution Withdrawn: Acting on behalf of the Japanese government (which is no longer a member of the IWC, but had a large presence at the meeting as “observers”), the small island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, a country with NO history of whaling, submitted several resolutions. One focused on “food security” (promoting the whalers’ fantasy that whales will feed the world). Another proposed lifting the moratorium on commercial whaling. Fortunately, seeing the resolutions had no chance of passage, they were withdrawn by the authors. A good win for whales!

Whale Quotas for Subsistence Whaling Approved for Another 6 years: Several indigenous populations engage in killing whales as part of their cultural and resource needs. This includes the Alaskan Inuit who hunt bowhead whales, Russian aboriginals who eat gray whales for nourishment; and native Greenland whalers who kill a few humpback and bowhead whales annually. While controversial among conservationists, the issue of subsistence whaling is not controversial at the IWC, and the existing quotas were extended for another six years.

Defeat (Again) of Southern Atlantic Whale Sanctuary: For years, environmentalists in Latin America and Africa have sought to establish a whale sanctuary (where whaling is prohibited) in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. Such sanctuaries are important, albeit enforcement is lacking. The Japanese government hunted whales for decades in the Antarctic Ocean whale sanctuary with no repercussions at all. Nonetheless, the sanctuary has been a major goal of environmentalists for many years. This year, the resolution failed by ONE VOTE! The proposal gained the support of 40 countries at the IWC – it needed 41 votes for the necessary ¾ majority. The proposal will, of course, come back!

Resolution Chastising Whaling Countries for Use of Inaccurate Population Projections & Quotas: Japan, Iceland and Norway still conduct commercial whaling. Japan dropped out of the IWC and currently whales within its 200-mile exclusive economic zone around the islands. Iceland and Norway have filed “objections” to the IWC’s moratorium on commercial whaling. In reality, this is a legal loophole in the IWC Charter allowing them to ignore the moratorium. However, all three nations, while boasting about their scientific approach, use phony whale population figures, higher than those determined by the IWC Scientific Committee, to justify high quotas. This year, the IWC passed a resolution questioning the use of algorithms “less conservative” than those recommended by the Scientific Committee and further noted the expansion of whaling by the government of Japan to threatened fin whales. The resolution concludes with strong support for the moratorium: “(The IWC) …supports the continuation of the moratorium (on commercial whaling), not least as a response to the growing threats to cetaceans from direct and indirect human activities.” The resolution passed easily.

The general outcome of the IWC meeting was very good for whales and their ocean homes. But Japan continues to manipulate the outcomes by bribing small countries to attend the meeting and vote in Japan’s interests in expanding commercial whaling. This is in spite of the fact that Japan’s own whaling industry is on life support, with dwindling interest among consumers to buy and eat whale meat. Iceland and Norway send most of their whale meat to Japan, as there is limited consumption in those countries.

It is a bad case of the tail wagging the dog. Japan is unable to pass resolutions to end the whaling moratorium at the IWC, but they can block consensus and block passage of important conservation measures like the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary by denying the majority the three-fourths vote needed for measures that strengthen IWC standards. All without Japan even being a member of the IWC or having a vote anymore!

A recent survey of Japanese consumers, issued by the Japan Wildlife Conservation Society and supported by our friends at Whale & Dolphin Conservation, revealed that only 7% of the 1,000 people interviewed said they had recently bought any whale meat. Time and time again, we find that the Japanese people, especially young people, have no interest in buying or trying whale meat, despite massive propaganda from the government about how good and important whale meat is.

Nation members of the IWC that truly support conservation of whales and ocean ecosystems must rally against Japan’s influential commercial whaling juggernaut and also pressure Iceland, Japan and Norway to cease violating the commercial whaling moratorium.

SPECIAL THANKS to DJ Schubert of the Animal Welfare Institute who coordinates dozens of environmental and animal welfare organizations attending the meeting to advocate for strong IWC protections for whales.

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The International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute has spent decades educating and encouraging IWC member nations and concerned environmentalists to urge the IWC, as IMMP does, to truly end commercial whaling worldwide. The lack of enforcement of the commercial whaling moratorium undermines international cooperation and has made the IWC an object lesson in how not to run an international organization. The IWC presided over the destruction and near extinction of virtually all major whale populations, only turning around due to the international movement to save the whales. IMMP is a proud leader of that effort, working closely with our many allies. To help retire the remaining harpoons, please donate generously to our work. We appreciate your support for the whales!