At 75 years old, the IWC has never been more globally relevant

Against the well known backdrop of fiercely contested debates about commercial whaling I examine the current status and relevance of the International Whaling Commission as it reaches its 75th year of operation. Japan's 2019 withdrawal from the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, Iceland's recent announcement considering ending its commercial whaling program and the dramatic pause in business as usual that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic have all changed the nature and range of tensions and challenges in the IWC. Past and current IWC successes in science and conservation are used to provide a potential pathway through the existing, often polarised, differences among the IWC member states. As commercial whaling oper-ations continue to decline, the world's whales and dolphins face a dramatic rise in threats resulting from other human activities including fisheries, climate change and habitat degradation. The IWC has taken meaningful and effective steps to address these non-whaling threats, and is ideally placed to expand its leadership role and in-fluence through collaborations with relevant multi-lateral agencies and conventions.

Automated summary

This article examines the current status and relevance of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) as it celebrates its 75th year of operation. It highlights the changes and challenges faced by the IWC, including Japan's withdrawal from the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, Iceland's consideration of ending its commercial whaling program, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The article emphasizes the importance of the IWC's role in addressing non-whaling threats and suggests that it has the potential to expand its leadership role through collaborations with relevant multi-lateral agencies and conventions.