The International Legal Framework
for Whales
5
5.1
Introduction
Whales, or cetaceans, are probably some of the most iconic species in international
discourse, having provided countless generations worldwide with awe and wonder.
Not surprisingly, oftentimes ‘the whale’ is considered as being protected under
international law, meaning that any sort of whaling is considered to be illegal. The
International Whaling Commission (IWC) is thus perceived as being the watchdog
over this alleged prohibition on whaling.
Unfortunately, reality is somewhat more complex. As a general rule we must
remember that a treaty is only binding upon those states that have ratified it (pacta
tertiis), meaning that it has been transposed into national law. States that have merely
signed a treaty, are not supposed to act contrary to the treaty’s purpose, but cannot be
held accountable if they do. States that have not even signed a treaty are in no way
bound by its provisions. This means that the IWC as a regulatory body only regulates
those whaling activities of member states that are party to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) from 1946. But this convention we will
get to know a little later in this chapter.
5.2
The History of International Whaling Regulations
For centuries whaling countries such as Iceland, Japan or Norway have regulated
whaling activities in their respective waters. Particularly fisheries regulations stood
at the fore of these regulatory instruments—after all, whales were considered fish as,
for instance, the term ‘whalefish’, hvalfisk (Danish), or Walfisch (German) indicate.
Be that as it may, we will not consider the national regulations for the whale
‘fishery’, but rather look at the international development of whaling regimes,
which have gone parallel to the international discourse on whales. This is to say
that ever since whales were discovered as a resource, Basque, Dutch and other
whalers conducted intensive hunts for them, decimating their numbers drastically.
# Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
N. Sellheim, International Marine Mammal Law,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35268-4_5
81
for Whales
5
5.1
Introduction
Whales, or cetaceans, are probably some of the most iconic species in international
discourse, having provided countless generations worldwide with awe and wonder.
Not surprisingly, oftentimes ‘the whale’ is considered as being protected under
international law, meaning that any sort of whaling is considered to be illegal. The
International Whaling Commission (IWC) is thus perceived as being the watchdog
over this alleged prohibition on whaling.
Unfortunately, reality is somewhat more complex. As a general rule we must
remember that a treaty is only binding upon those states that have ratified it (pacta
tertiis), meaning that it has been transposed into national law. States that have merely
signed a treaty, are not supposed to act contrary to the treaty’s purpose, but cannot be
held accountable if they do. States that have not even signed a treaty are in no way
bound by its provisions. This means that the IWC as a regulatory body only regulates
those whaling activities of member states that are party to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) from 1946. But this convention we will
get to know a little later in this chapter.
5.2
The History of International Whaling Regulations
For centuries whaling countries such as Iceland, Japan or Norway have regulated
whaling activities in their respective waters. Particularly fisheries regulations stood
at the fore of these regulatory instruments—after all, whales were considered fish as,
for instance, the term ‘whalefish’, hvalfisk (Danish), or Walfisch (German) indicate.
Be that as it may, we will not consider the national regulations for the whale
‘fishery’, but rather look at the international development of whaling regimes,
which have gone parallel to the international discourse on whales. This is to say
that ever since whales were discovered as a resource, Basque, Dutch and other
whalers conducted intensive hunts for them, decimating their numbers drastically.
# Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
N. Sellheim, International Marine Mammal Law,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35268-4_5
81