Save the Whales campaign and IWC whaling moratorium
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
- Researchers 2019 model for Western South Atlantic humpbacks: Population at about 93% of its pre-whaling level (confidence interval 73–100%).
- International bodies IWC (2006 estimate): Gave 47% for the same population.
- Researchers IWC Journal of Cetacean Research and Management study: 190,183 whales killed in the North Pacific in 1948–79; 169,638 reported. IWC Journal of Cetacean Research and Management
- International bodies IWC (Resolution 1994-6): Praised Russia for finding old records; no penalty recorded. InforMEA
A 1971 campaign by the Animal Welfare Institute and allies led to a 1982 International Whaling Commission moratorium on commercial whaling. Sources reviewed describe uneven recovery, continued whaling by some countries and unpunished unreported Soviet catches.
Five abstentions; in force from 1986.
Status Moratorium in force since 1986; recovery described as uneven and whaling continuing in some countries.
- Whale-watching industry — 2008 IFAW figures: 119 countries, 13 million participants, US$2.1 billion (unverified; advocacy context).
- Coastal whaling communities and countries that continued to whale — Described in the sources reviewed as having borne the cost (unverified).
What happened
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and its allies launched the 'Save the Whales' campaign in 1971. Greenpeace's first whale voyage began in 1975. The sources reviewed record no evidence that industry produced the slogan.
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) voted 25 to 7, with 5 abstentions, to adopt a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982; it took effect in 1986. Some countries continued whaling after it took effect.
The Soviet Union killed 190,183 whales in the North Pacific in 1948–79 and reported 169,638 to the IWC, according to a study in the IWC's Journal of Cetacean Research and Management. In 1994 an IWC resolution praised Russia for finding its old records; no penalty or compensation is recorded.
In 2015 Sea Shepherd in the United States paid US$2.55 million to Japanese whaling bodies. The material reviewed states that in 2014 the International Court of Justice ordered Japan only to revoke whaling permits.
The sources reviewed describe recovery as uneven: a 2019 model put the Western South Atlantic humpback population at 93% of its pre-whaling level, where the IWC had given 47% in 2006, while Antarctic blue whales remain at a small fraction of their pre-whaling numbers according to research estimates.
- 1971AWI and allies launch 'Save the Whales'
- 1975Greenpeace's first whale voyage begins
- 1982IWC adopts the commercial whaling moratorium, 25–7 with 5 abstentions
- 1986Moratorium enters into force
- 1994IWC resolution 1994-6 praises Russia for finding historical catch records; no penalty recorded
- 2014International Court of Justice orders Japan only to revoke whaling permits (per the material reviewed)
- 2015Sea Shepherd in the United States pays US$2.55 million to Japanese whaling bodies
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Population at about 93% of its pre-whaling level (confidence interval 73–100%).
Gave 47% for the same population.
190,183 whales killed in the North Pacific in 1948–79; 169,638 reported.
IWC Journal of Cetacean Research and ManagementPraised Russia for finding old records; no penalty recorded.
InforMEAHow it looked
Shown
- 'The moratorium saved the whales.'Popular account of the moratorium, as described in the sources reviewed
- The campaign as a grassroots movement that ended commercial whaling.Campaign narrative, as described in the sources reviewed · Animal Welfare Institute
Recorded
- The IWC adopted the moratorium by 25 votes to 7 with 5 abstentions; it took effect in 1986.
- Soviet North Pacific catches 1948–79: 190,183 killed, 169,638 reported to the IWC.
- An IWC resolution in 1994 praised Russia for finding old records; no penalty or compensation is recorded.
- Sea Shepherd in the United States paid US$2.55 million to Japanese whaling bodies in 2015.
- Greenpeace's first whale voyage began in 1975, after AWI's campaign of 1971.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- iwc (1994): Adopted a resolution in 1994 praising Russia for finding its historical catch records. · InforMEA
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
- Disputed How far have humpback whales recovered, and against which baseline?
- Disputed Were Soviet catches reported accurately?
Figures
- Insufficient Whales killed 1900 1999: Secondary summary; no source link.
- Insufficient Whale watching participants: IFAW report, prepared in an advocacy context.
- Insufficient Whale watching spending: IFAW report, 119 countries.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: that Japan, Norway, Peru and the Soviet Union lodged formal objections to the moratorium, and that Norway's objection continues.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: Japan 293 whales in 2025, Norway 429, Iceland 93 fin whales in 2026.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: Norwegian catches of about 641,100 whales in 1905–1972, and net profits of 60–147% of capital at Viking Whaling in 1924–28.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: that voting states included many that had never whaled or had stopped when it became unprofitable (United Kingdom 1963, Netherlands 1964, United States 1971, Australia 1978), and that new IWC members recruited from 1979 were mostly not whalers (Sidney Holt's 1983 letter, full text not read).
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: 2008 whale-watching figures (119 countries, 13 million participants, US$2.1 billion, about 13,200 jobs) from an IFAW report prepared in an advocacy context.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: that the IWC's management procedure allows no catch below 54% of carrying capacity (IWC page, secondary summary).
- None on record The sources reviewed record no repayment of whaling profits and no restoration fund by any company, family or state, and no penalty for the unreported Soviet catches.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not state who first used the phrase 'save the whales'.
- Not measured Whales' climate role: the sources reviewed report that whale carbon is a very small share of fossil emissions and that the value of their ecosystem role is modelled, not measured in the field.
Did the harm stop?
Commercial whaling was formally halted from 1986, but the sources reviewed record continued whaling by some countries and uneven recovery.
Who paid?
Coastal whaling communities and countries that continued to whale, according to the sources reviewed; in Japan taxpayers funded whaling. These items are partly.
Sources
Press and investigations
- Why oil didn't save the whales (via Resilience.org)Resilience.org · 2020-06-29
Communities and civil society
- AWI and the history of animal welfareAnimal Welfare Institute ·
Researchers
- International whaling ban goes into effectEBSCO Research Starters ·
International bodies
- Soviet catches: revised totalsIWC Journal of Cetacean Research and Management ·
- IWC Resolution 1994-6InforMEA · 1994
Connected cases
- Whaling after the moratorium (Japan, Norway, Iceland) Iceland · 1982–2026 Related matter
- International Whaling Commission (International organisation) — here: Adopted the moratorium (1982); there: Regulator: adopted the moratorium (1982) and rejected the South Atlantic sanctuary (2026)
- Animal Welfare Institute (NGO) — here: Launched the Save the Whales campaign (1971); there: Launched the 'Save the Whales' campaign (1971)
- Sea Shepherd (NGO) — here: Paid US$2.55 million to Japanese whaling bodies (2015); there: Anti-whaling group; paid 2.55 million dollars to Japanese whaling bodies in 2015
- Whale oil, kerosene and the 1986 whaling moratorium International · 1859–2022 Related matter
- Antarctic krill fishing near penguin colonies Antarctica · 2024–2026
- Sea Shepherd (NGO) — here: Paid US$2.55 million to Japanese whaling bodies (2015); there: NGO critic of the record catch
- Thunder illegal fishing chase São Tomé and Príncipe · 2013–2018
- Sea Shepherd (NGO) — here: Paid US$2.55 million to Japanese whaling bodies (2015); there: Pursued the vessel; source of the account of the chase and the earnings estimate