According to a new report by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), an estimated 2.9 million whales were killed in commercial whaling operations during the 20th century, drastically cutting down global populations. It wasn’t until 1982 when a moratorium on commercial whaling was finally adopted by the IWC, only to be implemented in 1986. While whale culling has dropped considerably from the 6,718 whales killed that year, commercial whaling still takes place today. In 2023, 1,213 whales were reported killed, of which 550 were reported as catches under “objection”, “reservation”, or were counted as infractions (i.e. breaches of the rules), further explained below, while 294 whales were killed by countries that are not members of the IWC. These figures are likely even low estimates, as the full extent to illegal and unreported activities is unknown.
The IWC moratorium excludes certain aboriginal communities who carry out whaling as a subsistence practice, including those in Denmark (Faroe Islands and Greenland), Russia (Siberia), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Bequia Island) and the United States (Alaska). According to IWC data, 369 whales were killed by aboriginal hunters in 2023.
The moratorium also states that member nations can issue "Scientific Permits" to their citizens. According to the IWC, Japan, Norway and Iceland have continued to carry out commercial whaling since 1986 through this loophole. Since 2006, Iceland has killed 1,024 fin whales (classified as Vulnerable globally by the IUCN Red List) and 454 minke whales under this special permit, having exported the majority of its whale products to Japan. In June 2024, the Minister of Fisheries issued a permit for commercial whaling for 2024 only, rather than the usual five year block, with a lower quota than currently recommended.
Norway had filed an objection to the moratorium in 1982 and killed a total of 752 minke whales in 1986-87 after the ban was already in place. Under threat of possible sanctions against its seafood products from the U.S., Norway stopped the programme. However, it then started a special scientific permit whaling program in 1988, allowing for the hunting of minke whales until 1994. According to the IWC report, the country then restarted commercial whaling under its objection. The Norwegian government has provided financial support to the industry, yet whaling is now stagnating there, with the number of whales killed each year falling beneath the quota.
Japan also filed an objection exempting it from the moratorium and killed 5,519 minke, sperm and Bryde’s whales in the 1985/86 season. The country withdrew its objection after the U.S. said it would revoke Japanese access to fishing grounds in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Between 1987 and 2019, the country operated two large-scale special permit programs. Japan received heavy criticism for its special whaling operations within the IWC over its commercialism, with a total of 17,637 whales killed under special permit operations between 1987 and 2019. Japan left the IWC in 2019.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), lists several whale species on its Appendix, prohibiting international trade in their parts and derivatives for primarily commercial purposes. According to the IWC, Norway, Iceland and Japan have taken reservations to several of these listings, enabling them to continue to trade in products from those species with one another and with non-parties, such as the Faroe Islands.
The report cites how inhumane whale killing methods are still used. Harpoons with explosive penthrite grenade heads are one approved method of killing whales. While fewer and fewer people eat whale meat, they are sold for their meat, oil, blubber and cartilage.
