**International Whaling Commission (IWC)**

**[Basic Instrument]{.underline}**

International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, 1946, (TIAS
1849); Protocol amending 1956

(TIAS 4228).

**[Implementing Legislation]{.underline}**

Whaling Convention Act of 1949 (64 Stat. 421, 16 U.S.C. 916-9161).

**[Member Nations]{.underline}**

There are currently 66 member nations: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina,
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile,
Republic of China, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Dominica, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Germany, Grenada, Republic
of Guinea, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya,
Republic of Korea, Kiribati, Luxembourg, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico,
Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua,
Norway, Oman, Palau, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Russian Federation, Saint
Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, San Marino,
Senegal, Slovak Republic, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain,
Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Togo, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, and the
United States.

**[Commission Headquarters]{.underline}**

International Whaling Commission

The Red House

135 Station Road

Impington

Cambridge, CB4 9NP, United Kingdom

Secretary: Dr. Nicola Grandy

Phone: +44-1223-233-971

Fax: +44-1223 232-876

e‑mail: iwc@iwcoffice.org

Web address: http://www.iwcoffice.org/

**[U.S. Representation]{.underline}**

A. Appointment Process:

The U.S Commissioner is appointed by the President, on the concurrent
recommendations of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce,
and serves at his pleasure. The President may also appoint a Deputy U.S.
Commissioner.

B. U.S. Commissioner:

Dr. William T. Hogarth

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries

National Marine Fisheries Service

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Department of Commerce

Silver Spring, MD 20910

Deputy U.S. Commissioner:

Dr. Douglas DeMaster

Science and Research Director

Alaska Fisheries Science Center

7600 Sand Point Way NE

Seattle, WA 98115

C. Advisory Structure:

U.S. representation in the IWC has no formal (legislated) advisory
structure. The IWC Commissioner does consult, however, with the \"IWC
Interagency Committee,\" which includes representatives of the
Department of State, the Marine Mammal Commission, other Federal
agencies, conservation organizations, Native organizations, and other
interested parties.

**[Description]{.underline}**

A. Mission/Purpose:

The 1946 Convention has as its objective the proper conservation of
world whale stocks, thus making possible the orderly development of the
whaling industry. The Convention established the IWC to provide for a
continuing review of the condition of whale stocks and for such
additions to or modifications of the agreed conservation measures as
might appear desirable.

B. Organizational Structure:

The IWC consists of the Commission, Secretariat, and subject area
committees. The Commission is composed of one member from each
Contracting Government, may be accompanied by one or more experts and
advisors. Each member government has one vote. Decisions of the
Commission are by simple majority of those members voting, except that a
three-fourths majority of those members is required for actions to amend
the provisions of the Schedule (which contains the binding decisions of
the Commission). The Commission can determine its own rules of procedure
and may appoint its own Secretary and staff. The Committees may be set
up by the Commission from its own members and experts or advisors to
perform such functions as it may authorize. At the 2003 IWC annual
meeting, the Commissioner from Denmark, Henrik Fischer, was elected to
Chair the IWC for the next three years. In 2004, South Africa=s
Commis­sioner, Horst Kleinschmidt, was elected to serve as the
Vice‑Chair.

C. Programs:

The IWC normally meets once a year to review the condition of whale
stocks and to modify conservation measures as appropriate. The
Commission has used various means of regulating commercial whaling
including the fixing of open and closed seasons, open and closed areas,
protected species, size limits for each species, and limits on the catch
of whales in any one season. The IWC recognizes two distinct types of
whaling: commercial whaling and aboriginal subsistence whaling.

Past actions by the IWC include establishment of a whale sanctuary in
the Indian Ocean area and in the Southern Ocean (in most of the waters
south of 40 S. latitude), prohibition on the use of cold grenade
(non-exploding) harpoons to kill whales for commercial purposes, a
moratorium on all commercial whaling from the beginning of the 1985-86
pelagic and 1986 coastal seasons, and the adoption of a separate and
distinct manage­ment scheme for aboriginal subsistence whaling. Criteria
for evaluating research involving the killing of whales under special
permits were established because of concerns that some countries would
use special permits for scientific research as a means of circumventing
the zero catch limits for commercial whaling. The 1946 Convention allows
countries to issue special permits authorizing the taking of whales for
scientific research.

**[Staff Contacts]{.underline}**

[NOAA Fisheries]{.underline}:

Cheri McCarty

IWC Coordinator

Office of International Affairs (F/IA)

National Marine Fisheries Service

1315 East-West Highway

SSMC3, Room 12603

Silver Spring, MD 20910

Telephone: (301) 713-9090 x183

Fax: (301) 713-9106

[Department of State]{.underline}:

John Field

Foreign Affairs Officer - IWC and Marine Mammals

Office of Oceans Affairs

U.S. Department of State\
2201 C Street NW\
Washington, DC 20520

e-mail: fieldjd@state.gov