A long-running bid to create a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic has once again failed to clear the voting threshold, as the 70th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC70) concluded today (2 October) in Hobart, Australia.

The sanctuary, proposed by Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, received 39 votes in favour and 18 against. It fell short of the 75% majority required to amend the IWC’s Schedule. Iceland and new member Türkiye abstained. 

At IWC69 in Peru in 2024, the proposal was lost by just a single vote.

The countries that voted against were Antigua & Barbuda, Benin, Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire, Grenada, Laos, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Morocco, Nauru, Nicaragua, Norway, Palau, Senegal, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Suriname and Tuvalu.

The result came despite a clear majority of the IWC’s contracting governments favouring whale protection, and in a year when the moratorium on commercial whaling was itself under renewed pressure.

Environmental Investigations Agency’s Senior Ocean Adviser Clare Perry said: “The world is a very different place from when the IWC was first established 80 years ago. Whales and other cetaceans are facing countless threats from the interconnected global emergencies of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

“The moratorium on commercial whaling and the IWC’s conservation work are needed more than ever before but both are under threat.”

A resolution on the “Implementation of a Conservation and Management Program for Whale Stocks aimed towards the Sustainable Use of Whale Resources”, tabled by Antigua & Barbuda for the third IWC meeting in a row, was withdrawn on the final day.

Even so, Antigua & Barbuda continued to try to set in motion a process, via the Scientific Committee, to re-examine the moratorium on commercial whaling. The attempt was firmly rejected by New Zealand, the UK and Mexico.

The UK reiterated its long-standing opposition to commercial whaling at the meeting, which coincided with 40 years of the global ban. It continues to call on the countries that still hunt whales to stop.

International Oceans Minister Stephen Morgan said: “Whales are awe-inspiring creatures, and we must continue to protect them, while working to end the unnecessarily cruel practice of commercial whaling globally.

“I’m proud of the leading role the United Kingdom has played in championing the moratorium and driving forward vital new work on strandings, which will strengthen our understanding of the threats facing whales, dolphins and porpoises around the world.”

Elsewhere, the week brought progress. Resolutions on the global trade in fish maw and incidental catches of threatened cetaceans, on vessel strikes (proposed by the EU), and on cetacean strandings as a cross-cutting priority of the IWC (proposed jointly by the EU and UK) were widely supported and adopted.

The strandings resolution, which was adopted by strong consensus, aims to ensure strandings data is used more effectively across the IWC’s work. It should lead to stronger coordination, better evidence and faster responses when animals are found in distress. A stranding occurs when a whale, dolphin or porpoise washes up dead or alive on a beach or in shallow water, and can reveal why an animal died as well as pointing to wider risks such as pollution, entanglement in fishing gear and vessel collisions.

To support the work, the UK has contributed £150,000 towards a new Global Cetacean Strandings Database, which will help countries share information more effectively. Defra Chief Scientific Advisor Anjali Goswami said: “Witnessing a whale stranding is an extremely distressing experience, and with hundreds of whales stranded on beaches across the UK each year, it’s vital we learn as much as we can from every case.

“Strandings data is one of our most valuable scientific tools for understanding the changing threats to these magnificent animals and supporting them more quickly when they are found in trouble.

“Our £150,000 contribution to the new Global Cetacean Strandings Database will ensure that this evidence can be shared and acted on more effectively across the world.”

The Hobart Declaration, which describes the IWC in the context of the 80th anniversary of the signing of the whaling convention, was adopted by consensus. A resolution on small cetacean directed takes linked to commercial fisheries, brought forward by Switzerland, was withdrawn from the floor during negotiations.

The volume of work carried out by the IWC’s Scientific and Conservation Committees continues to grow, reflecting the challenges facing the world’s cetaceans. Highlights included new bycatch mitigation pilot projects in Congo and Sri Lanka, and agreement to draft a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for Irrawaddy dolphins. A joint IWC and Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species CMP was also agreed for the Endangered sub-population of Arabian Sea humpback whales.

At IWC70, the UK completed a two-year term chairing both the Conservation Committee and the Scientific Committee. Under its leadership, the Conservation Committee doubled the number of active CMPs to ten, and expanded practical action on bycatch through pilot projects in five locations and mitigation training in three. At this year’s meeting, the committee received a record number of national conservation reports, agreed a new Strategic Plan and vision aligned with global biodiversity goals, and agreed financial reforms to secure long-term funding for conservation work.

Campaigners warn that resources have not kept pace. EIA Senior Ocean Campaigner Sarah Dolman said: “Once again the Scientific and Conservation Committee Chairs presented an impressive and diverse programme of work that is being delivered to protect global cetacean populations.

“However, the agreed budget increase, at 3% and so below inflation, is a concern at a time when the Secretariat’s core work and the Scientific Committee’s work needs to expand.

“Governments need to place a higher priority on the work of the IWC, encourage other pro-conservation governments to join and build the capacity of the IWC to do its vital work.”

The IWC remains the only global body with the authority to manage and protect cetaceans internationally.

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