Anti-whaling

Anti-whaling refers to actions taken by those who seek to end whaling in various forms, whether locally or globally in the pursuit of marine conservation. Such activism is often a response to specific conflicts with pro-whaling countries and organizations that practice commercial whaling and/or research whaling, as well as with indigenous groups engaged in subsistence whaling. Some anti-whaling factions have received criticism and legal action for extreme methods including violent direct action. The term anti-whaling may also be used to describe beliefs and activities related to these actions.

Anti-whaling activism has a short history compared to other forms of activism and environmental awareness. Early members of environmental organizations began protesting whale hunts around the world in the 20th century. These actions were in direct response to the global depletion of whale populations due to over-exploitation by the whaling industry and the failure of international whaling regulations.

The League of Nations raised concerns about the over-exploitation of whale stocks and called for conservation measures in 1925. This eventually led to the Geneva Convention for the Regulation of Whaling which was presented in 1931 but did not enter into force until 1934 and was completely ignored by Germany and Japan.

In 1937 the International Conference on Whaling added limits on pelagic whaling in order to prevent excessive exploitation (and specifically the extinction of the blue whale), thereby creating the International Agreement for the Regulation of Whaling.

The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling was created in 1946 in Washington to "provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry". Based on the previous 1937 Agreement and subsequent protocols to that agreement in 1938 and 1945, the ICRW led to the 1949 creation of the International Whaling Commission along with guidelines for the international regulation of coastal and pelagic whaling. Critics charge that the IWC and ICRW have largely failed due to a lack of enforceable rules and regulatory loopholes.

Without exception every whaling operation in the world is, in some form or another, violating the regulations, principles or quotas which are the basis of the international attempt to conserve or manage whales... At the heart of the continued violations of the IWC's quota system is the ineffective observer scheme. The present system is so incomplete and lacking both in resources and personnel that it hardly exists.

Craig Van Note

In 1966 the Convention on Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources of the High Seas took the first steps in marine conservation worldwide. This international treaty was designed to specifically counter the over-exploitation of sealife including whales.