ICRW
International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling

The convention was established in order to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry. It was one of the first international fisheries conventions ever to be established and many more followed in its wake to cater for the conservation and rationale use of marine living resources.

Entered into Force: 2 December 1946
Ratified: 1946

This convention has a high profile.

Last conference held: IWC 55 June 2003, Berlin, Germany

Mr Horst Kleinschmidt
(27 21) 402 3107

Mr Herman Oosthuizen
(27 21) 402 3189

Mr Marius Diemont
(27 21) 402 3182

South Africa is a founder nation and has an excellent record for contributing towards its conservation objective and research aimed at providing a scientific basis for whale stock management. All whales are now fully protected in South African waters under the Marine Living Resources Act. 1998, and on the high seas in the Indian and Southern Oceans Sanctuaries under the IWC convention.

South Africa supports a moratorium on commercial whaling introduced in 1986. In 1993, South Africa co-sponsored a resolution-supporting whale watching, an activity that has considerable potential for contributing towards the country’s already flourishing ecotourism sector. A start was made with the establishing of a local whale watching industry in 1998 and it is today one of the fastest growing whale watching destiny in the world.

Conservation measures assisted the threatened southern right whale and humpback whale populations off the South African coast to recover from extremely low numbers.

South African scientists are at the forefront of all facets of whale research and the country plays a prominent role in the convention.