Definition: n. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is tasked with governing the conduct of whaling throughout the world. The IWC was established by the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, signed on 2 December 1946 in Washington DC, whose aim was to provide proper conservation of whale stocks and the orderly development of the whaling industry.
Under the Convention, the IWC is to complete protection of certain cetacean species, designate areas as whale sanctuaries, and set limits on the numbers and size of whales which may be killed, set open and closed seasons and areas for whaling, and prohibit the capture of suckling calves and female whales accompanied by calves.
The IWC is also in charge of coordinating whale research funding and publishing results of scientific study.
