Whaling, the hunting of whales for their products, remains a contemporary activity, a fact that may surprise many given the decades of conservation efforts. The practice has shifted dramatically from the largely unregulated, industrial-scale slaughter of the 20th century, which drove many species to the brink of extinction. While the massive factory ship operations have largely ceased, the current landscape is defined by a complex mix of international regulation, legal exemptions, and a small number of nations that continue commercial hunts.
The Global Regulatory Framework
The primary body overseeing the regulation of whaling worldwide is the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which was established in 1946 under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW). The initial purpose of the IWC was to manage the orderly development of the whaling industry and conserve whale stocks, though for decades it struggled to prevent overexploitation.
A major turning point occurred in 1982 when the IWC voted to implement a global moratorium on commercial whaling, which officially took effect in 1986. This moratorium set commercial catch quotas to zero for all great whale species. The IWC does not have a dedicated enforcement mechanism, and the ICRW contains provisions that allow member states to legally circumvent its rules. A member state can file a formal objection or reservation to a decision, which exempts that nation from the binding nature of the rule. The regulatory framework also carves out exceptions for specific types of non-commercial whaling.
Nations Continuing Commercial Whaling
Despite the IWC’s global moratorium, a few nations continue to conduct commercial whaling by exploiting these legal mechanisms or by leaving the international body entirely. Norway continues to hunt minke whales, having lodged a formal objection to the 1986 moratorium, meaning the ban is not legally binding for the country. Norway resumed the practice in 1993 under its objection, focusing solely on the Northeast Atlantic minke whale stock.
Iceland also utilized a reservation to the moratorium to resume commercial whaling, targeting minke and endangered fin whales for a time. In recent years, however, Iceland’s whaling activity has seen significant reductions, with the government announcing a temporary suspension of fin whale hunting in 2023. Japan, historically a major whaling nation, formally withdrew from the IWC in 2019 after its attempts to end the moratorium failed. Upon withdrawal, Japan immediately resumed commercial whaling within its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, focusing on minke, Bryde’s, and sei whales, while ceasing all whaling in the Antarctic Ocean.
Whaling Outside Commercial Activity
The IWC framework recognizes two categories of whaling that are legally distinct from commercial operations and therefore are not subject to the moratorium: Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling (ASW) and Special Permit Whaling.
Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling (ASW)
ASW is permitted for indigenous communities with a documented, long-standing cultural and nutritional dependence on the practice. These hunts are non-commercial, strictly regulated by the IWC via established quotas, and the products must be used exclusively for local consumption. Indigenous communities in several regions are granted these subsistence quotas:
- Alaska (United States)
- Greenland (Denmark)
- Chukotka (Russia)
- Bequia (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)
For instance, the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission harvests bowhead whales, while the Makah Tribe in Washington State has sought quotas for gray whales.
Special Permit Whaling
The other exception is Special Permit Whaling, often termed scientific whaling, which nations can issue under Article VIII of the ICRW for research purposes. Japan historically used this provision to conduct lethal research whaling in the Antarctic and North Pacific. This practice was widely criticized as a loophole for commercial activity. The controversy led the International Court of Justice to rule in 2014 that Japan’s Antarctic program was not conducted for purposes of scientific research, a ruling that influenced Japan’s eventual withdrawal from the IWC.
Current Status of Whale Populations
The moratorium and the subsequent reduction in whaling have allowed some whale populations to show signs of recovery, demonstrating the positive effect of international conservation efforts. The status of the fin whale, for example, has improved from Endangered to Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with the global population now estimated to be around 100,000 mature individuals. Similarly, the eastern sub-population of the gray whale was delisted from the Endangered Species Act in 1994, though the western sub-population remains a concern.
Despite these successes, many species and distinct populations continue to face precarious circumstances. One in four cetacean species is currently listed as threatened with extinction, and for many, the conservation status has worsened in recent years. The North Atlantic Right Whale is now classified as Critically Endangered, with the population continually declining due to human-caused mortality. For most large whales today, the primary threats are no longer whaling activities but rather entanglement in fishing gear, collision with large vessels, habitat degradation, and the accelerating effects of climate change.