However, it has no powers of enforcement. Possibly its most controversial decision has been to maintain a moratorium on all commercial whaling since 1986. The commission still allows a few whales for certain traditional whalers, such as the two humpback whales permitted per season in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Other nations have objected to the ban and, despite more than 10 years of battle, are expected to protest again this year. Norway has exercised an escape clause in the convention and openly whales.
Japan continues to whale, saying the catch goes for scientific research.
This year, the commission is expected to debate a proposal allowing commercial whaling near national coasts in exchange for making the rest of the oceans a safe zone. Commission watchers also predict struggles over whether the commission can regulate whale watching, whether the Southern Ocean around Antartica should remain a sanctuary and whether electric lances should be used to kill whales that have already been hit by explosive harpoons.