International Whaling Commission
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is a specialised regional fishery management organisation, established under the terms of the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) to "provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry".
An adult and sub-adult Minke whale are dragged aboard the Nisshin Maru, a Japanese whaling vessel.
Japanese whaling, in terms of active hunting of whales, is estimated by the Japan Whaling Association to have begun around the 12th century. However, Japanese whaling on an industrial scale began around the 1890s when Japan started to participate in the modern whaling industry, at that time an industry in which many countries participated.
A whale and a sub-adult being loaded aboard a factory ship, the Nisshin Maru. The sign above the slipway reads, "Legal research under the ICRW." Australia released this photo to challenge that claim.
Inshore whaling in Taiji, Japan
The Tonan Maru No. 2 whaling factory ship, drafted into military use, was damaged by a Dutch submarine while taking part in the landing at Kuching, Borneo.
Signing the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, Washington, D.C., Dec 2, 1946
