International Whaling Commission – Diligent IAS 03/07/2019 – Posted in: Daily News – Tags:

INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION

 

For: Mains

Topics covered: International Whaling Commission, Indian Ocean Whale Sanctuary

 

News Flash

On the first day of Japan’s return to commercial whaling, two minke whales were killed. Killed whales were brought back to port for Commercial purposes.

  • Commercial whaling was banned in a 1986 International Whaling Commission moratorium.
  • However, Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission in December.
  • Japan resumed commercial hunting in its territorial waters and economic zone.

 

The International Whaling Commission (IWC)

  • It is the global body for the conservation of whales and the management of whaling.
  • The IWC currently has 88 member governments from countries all over the world.
  • The IWC was set up under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.
  • The commission was established in 1946.

 

IWC addresses a wide range of conservation issues including:

  1. Bycatch and entanglement
  2. Ocean noise
  3. Pollution and debris
  4. The collision between whales and ships
  5. Sustainable whale watching.

 

Secretariat

The IWC has a full-time Secretariat with headquarters in the City of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

  • There are currently twenty full or part-time members.
  • The Secretariat supports the work of the Commission and its subsidiary bodies.

 

Membership

  • Membership of the IWC is open to any country in the world that formally adheres to the 1946 Convention.
  • The Chair and Vice-chair are elected from among the Commissioners.
  • The members serve for four years, first as Vice-chair for two years, and then as Chair.

 

 

International whaling commissions' members'

International whaling commissions’ members’

 

Indian Ocean Whale Sanctuary

  • It is an area in the Indian Ocean.
  • International Whaling Commission (IWC) has banned all types of commercial whaling in this area.
  • The Indian Ocean Sanctuary was established by the IWC in 1979.
  • The status of the Whale Sanctuaries is reviewed by the IWC every 10 years.
  • To the south, it borders the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

 

Source: The New York Times

 

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