People have hunted whales for hundreds of years. But, by the early 1900s, whalers had upgraded from hand-thrown spears and tiny boats to huge fleets of boats and lethal, explosive harpoons. Whales were being killed by the tens of thousands, and their populations plummeted. By the mid 1900s, many whaling companies had literally hunted themselves out of existence — there were simply not enough whales left to hunt — and many whale species were headed towards extinction.

Whaling nations joined together to form the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling in 1946. The International Whaling Commission was established at the same time, as a part of the Convention. According to the IWC:

“The purpose of the Convention is to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry.”

The IWC would be responsible for reviewing and revising the Schedule to the Convention as necessary, coordinating scientific research, supporting studies into whale welfare and conservation, and publishing the results for public review.

It’s important to remember that the IWC was first established to regulate whale hunting. The belief was that whaling countries could continue to hunt whales without driving any species to extinction. It didn’t work. The blue whale was so decimated by whalers that it was placed off-limits to whalers throughout the Antarctic. Even so, many believed the blue whale would go extinct by the end of the 1970s, and that other whale species would quickly follow it.

Then, in 1972, the United Nations held its first conference on the environment. There, delegates voted unanimously to recommend a 10-year moratorium on whaling. The IWC defeated their recommendation, and the slaughter continued. This marked to beginning of a decade-long struggle between whaling opponents and proponents. For ten years, the IWC continued to defeat every call for a moratorium.

Success came in 1982, when the IWC finally voted to establish an indefinite moratorium on commercial whaling. The vote required a three-quarters majority, and any vote to end the moratorium will require the same majority. Japan and other pro-whaling nations are actively working towards this goal now.

With all the current turmoil, the IWC’s future is uncertain.