- 2026 is the 80th anniversary of the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling, and the 40th anniversary of the global moratorium on commercial whaling.
- The 70th International Whaling Commission meeting opens in Hobart on Monday 28th September.
- Whales are still under threat globally, despite progress made since the 1982 moratorium on commercial whaling.
- Australia’s east coast humpback population is a success story, recovering from just 100 individuals in 1963 to an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 today.
- Not all whale populations are thriving, and they face pressures including accidental bycatch in fishing gear, plastic pollution, ship strikes, and climate change affecting their food sources.
- Japan, Iceland and Norway continue to hunt whales, and there are attempts to lift the global whaling moratorium.
The 70th meeting of the International Whaling Commission kicks off on Monday, and for the first time in 20 years it will be held in Australia, with Hobart the host city. Once again it promises to be a critical week for whale conservation.
Eighty years ago, in 1946, a landmark treaty, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling was signed to conserve whale stocks and regulate whaling – coming into force two years later and establishing the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Next week, Australia is hosting the 70th meeting of the Commission, for the first time since 2000. And as ever, it is an important one.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the global moratorium on commercial whaling coming into force. Commercial whaling devastated whale populations during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. More than two million whales were killed in the Southern Hemisphere alone during the twentieth century, with some populations reduced to around 1% of their former abundance.
Protection has made an extraordinary difference. The moratorium has protected countless whales, ensuring that in many cases species and populations have been pulled back from the edge of extinction. Globally, commercial whaling reduced humpback whales from an estimated 140,000 animals to around 7,000. Today there are estimated to be more than 100,000, with some populations recovering to pre-whaling numbers.
The Australian east coast humpback populations are among the great conservation recovery stories. On the East Coast, humpback whales have recovered from an estimated 100 whales when whaling ended to now 50,000 – 60,000.
But this amazing story of recovery is not universal, and some populations remain severely depleted.
In Australia and overseas, our whales remain more threatened than ever from a suite of human-caused threats, including climate change, marine heatwaves, fishing gear entanglement and bycatch, vessel strikes, underwater noise, pollution and habitat degradation, and changing prey availability, such as krill.
Many of these matters, including bycatch and vessel strikes, will be debated next week.
Meanwhile, Norway, Iceland and Japan continue to hunt whales. Significant attempts continue to lift the moratorium to reignite this cruel and unnecessary industry, including at next week’s meeting led by Antigua and Barbuda. Consumption of whale meat is on the decline even in these whaling countries, questioning the drive for the re-establishment of whaling internationally.
Over its 80 years, the International Whaling Commission has modernised and moved away from regulating whaling, focusing increasingly on conservation matters. However, this is a fraught space which is not supported by pro-whaling countries, and efforts to modernise the IWC remain a contested issue at Commission meetings.
A proposed Hobart Declaration is expected to be central to the debate next week. It aims to bridge the divide between whalers and conservationists.
With the IWC already modernising, community sentiment worldwide solidly behind conservation, and a bill to be introduced in February 2027 to the Icelandic parliament to end whaling permanently, this Declaration must not open a window to whaling again in the future.
As the host and Chair of next week’s meeting, and as a proponent of the Hobart Declaration, Australia will once again play a pivotal role in the future of whales. It must get this balance right.
Australia has a longstanding and well-deserved reputation for leading the modernisation of the IWC and supporting a focus on whale conservation.
Australians love our whales, and our waters provide them with vital protection, which they need to perform their key role in healthy marine ecosystems. Many of us enjoy watching whales on their annual migration along our coasts. We’ll continue to do everything we can in Hobart to ensure whales can keep enjoying the international community’s hard-earned protections.