International Whaling Commission (IWC)

The International Whaling Commission, established by the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, manages cetacean conservation and whaling. Its 1982 moratorium on commercial whaling (effective 1986) halted most large-whale hunting; aboriginal subsistence and contested ‘scientific’ and objection-based whaling continue. It also designates whale sanctuaries and increasingly addresses ship strikes, bycatch, and underwater noise as the main modern threats.