International Whaling Commission The International Whaling
Commission (IWC) is an international body set up by the terms of
the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling
(ICRW), which was signed in Washington, D.C., United States, on
2 December 1946 to "provide for the proper conservation of whale
stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the
whaling industry". In 1982 the IWC adopted a moratorium on
commercial whaling. Currently, Japan, The Russian Federation and
a number of other nations oppose this moratorium. The IWC allows
non-zero whaling quotas for aboriginal subsistence and also
member nations may issue 'Scientific Permits' to their citizens.
Japan has issued such permits since 1986, Norway and Iceland
whale under objection to the moratorium and issue their own
quotas. In 1994, the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was created
by the IWC. The main duty of the IWC is to keep under review and
revise as necessary the measures laid down in the Schedule to
the Convention which gove