Conservation

Policy

IWC: The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was set up under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling which was signed in Washington DC on 2nd December 1946.

The preamble to the Convention states that its intention is to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry (9).

IUCN: The IUCN is currently working on the Western Gray Whale Initiative as part of an effort to encourage collaboration between business and conservation scientists. Particular concerns have been raised about the potential impacts of offshore oil and gas development on the Sakhalin Shelf. Therefore, since 2004, Sakhalin Energy, an oil and gas consortium consisting of Gazprom, Shell, Mitsui and Mitsubishi, has joined forces with IUCN to create a mechanism for helping the company minimize the potential impacts of its operations to the whale population (10). 

Enforcement

Greenpeace: Involved in reporting and actively preventing illegal whaling activities.
Arctic Sunrise Ship: Peacefully protests against illegal Japanese whaling in the waters around Antarctica. Incidents have been reported by Greenpeace crews of Japanese whaling factor ship Nisshin Maru ramming the Arctic Sunrise (11). 
"The Tokyo Two": Greenpeace activists currently in jail in Japan for uncovering illegal whaling activity. While the scandal of stolen meat was the central finding, the investigation revealed further information regarding the whales, including cancerous tumors in the meat processed for public sale (11). 

Sea Shepherd: This organization uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas (12). 

Note: For recent news on the Sea Shepherd's operations, see this Seattle Times article.

Activists

Whale Trust: Their mission is to promote, support and conduct scientific research on whales and the marine environment, and broadly communicate the findings. Whale Trust is a registered non-profit organization dedicated to bridging marine research with environmental education and conservation programs related to whales and their natural environment (14).

World Wildlife Fund (WWF): Takes a stance against commercial and scientific whaling. The WWF tackles conservation issues from a variety of fronts; on-the-ground, high-level policy and advocacy, and establishing partnerships in business and industry to make efforts more sustainable. WWF is heavily involved in whale conservation and has a close relationship with the IWC (15). 

Wild Whales: Platform for collecting whale sighting information and informing the public about which whales are endangered, threatened, and what those threats are (13). 

Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC): "Adopt a Whale"
Confronts whale conservation by taking advantage of the charisma and cute-factor of whales. Individual names are given to the whales as a way of making the donor-whale relationship more personal. Donors are given adoption packages, which include information about the animal, their environment, the threats they face, and the results of the work being done by WDC. The packets also include a personalized certificate with a photograph of their adopted whale, an individual profile of the whale, and a window decal/sticker. Adopting a whale involves an annual fee, starting from $30. The funds go towards research and policy campaigns (8).