Small Cetaceans and the International Whaling Commission

By Patricia W. Birnie

This article discusses the threats which endanger the continued survival of some species of small cetaceans and proposes a new oversight body to work within the current international legal system to help focus international attention on the special needs and interests of small cetaceans. The article first describes the special characteristics and factors which distinguish cetaceans, and that threats to small cetaceans include direct capture as well as habitat destruction from multiple sources of pollution. The article then analyzes the extent to which the international legal system currently allows for the conservation of small cetaceans through existing treaties and "soft law" codes, declarations and guidelines, concluding that protection of small cetaceans is only partially and inadequately addressed through the current system.

The author considers the present and future role of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in protecting small cetaceans. The author recommends a greater future coordinating role for the IWC but recognizes that such role is unlikely to materialize in the short-term due to limited staffing, funding, and support. Thus, the author suggests that a specialized council be established to work with the myriad international bodies devoted to the conservation of fisheries, prevention of pollution and protection of wildlife, and to make recommendations related to protection of small cetaceans. Through this type of nonregulatory specialized body, the author believes it may be possible to galvanize the IWC and other treaty organizations into actively exercising their protective powers to save threatened species of small cetaceans.