1. The International Whaling Regime
Discourses of Interests, Science and Morality
POL S 384, Lecture 10

2. Background * Old practice made more deadly by tech.
* 19th century: UK & US primary whalers
* WWII -- commercial whaling nearly stopped
* Easy issue: actors few, known and self-interested
* Difficult: tragedy of the (global) commons
POL S 384 Lec. 9

3. Discourse of Interests
IWC established 1947
Annual quotas based on BWU (blue whale units)
Global authority: regulates all whaling
States can register objections
Decisions must be based on science
Decisions require 3/4 majority
POL S 384 Lec. 9

4. Discourse of Interests (cont.)
IWC in action, s
Quotas set too high: MSY
Non-compliance
Stockholm (1972) recommended ten-year moratorium
US threatened sanctions against IWC violators
Pelly Amendment (1971) authorized sanctions
Packwood-Magnuson Amendment (1979)
POL S 384 Lec. 9

5. Discourses of science & morals
1970s: Whale as symbol of environmentalism
Lead state: Marine Mammal Protection Act
Activism beyond the state: direct action, videotaping
Activism in IO: stacking the IWC with nonwhaling states
Moratorium on commercial whaling
signed in 1982, into force 1986
Alliance of scientific & moral discourses
Norway registered objection, but observed the ban
Exceptions for "scientific whaling" (Japan) & "aboriginal subsistence whaling"
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6. Divergence of Science & Morals
1990s: Whale stocks replenished, especially minkes
BUT ban continues
1994 Antarctic Whale sanctuary
Iceland & Norway continue commercial whaling
Japan continues "scientific" whaling
Russia may resume whaling
Indigenous whaling
Q: Pragmatics vs. idealism?
Q: Universal morality vs. cultural relativism?
POL S 384 Lec. 9

7. Makah Whaling North Pacific gray whales
Removed from Endangered Species list in 1994
A cultural tradition for 1500 years
Stopped in 1920s with depleted population
1999: 1 whale killed
2004: U.S. court ruled that Makah must comply with MMPA process
2005: Makah submitted process, currently under review by government agencies
POL S 384 Lec. 9