Whales and Whaling International Conference

Abstract

UNTIL some ten years ago, modern whaling was conducted almost entirely from land stations, and the most important centres of the industry were in British territorial waters where suitable regulations could be enforced. The development of the modern factory ship led to a great expansion of the industry in the form of unrestricted whaling on the high seas, and the operations extended over a vast area in the Antarctic. The Governments of those nations most interested in whaling realized that unlimited hunting must eventually cause depletion of the stock and the collapse of the industry. An International Conference was therefore held in June 1937, and an agreement was signed by representatives of the Union of South Africa, the United States of America, the Argentine, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Irish Free State, New Zealand and Norway. By the terms of this agreement, measures were taken for the restriction of whaling, including the imposition of a minimum size limit for various species, the limitation of the Antarctic whaling season to three months, and, with minor reservations, the prohibition of pelagic whaling north of 40° S.