The 2020 biennial Commission meeting of the IWC will be held at the Grand Bernardin Resort, Portoroz, Slovenia
The 2021 meeting of the IWC Scientific Committee will be held in Bled, Slovenia
The IWC was established in 1946 as the global authority on cetaceans, and continues to lead cetacean research and conservation as well as regulation of whaling. The organisation holds an extensive collection of current and historical information including meeting reports and supporting documents, scientific papers, catch and sightings data, transcripts and audio recordings. These files are publicly accessible and many are held in the IWC Archive.
For current and recent meeting documents, the IWC also maintains the IWC Portal. Anyone interested in following IWC meetings can register to access the documents and data held in the Portal.
Category | Link |
---|---|
Commission Meeting Reports |
Reports of IWC Commission Meetings |
Commission Meeting Papers | Meeting Documents since 2011 |
- IWC67 | Brazil 2018 | - The 67th Meeting of the IWC |
- The 66th Meeting of the IWC | |
- IWC65 | Slovenia 2014 | - The 65th Meeting of the IWC |
Commission Resolutions |
IWC Resolutions adopted since 1976 |
Commission Workshops | Ad hoc workshops & other meetings |
Conservation Committee Reports | Meeting Reports |
Scientific Committee Reports | Meeting Reports since 1971 |
Scientific Committee Workshops | Ad hoc SC workshops & other meetings |
Media Resources |
IWC Bulletins & other resources |
Circulars | External communications sent |
JCRM | Journal of Cetacean Research & Management |
Please contact the IWC Archive Team for further assistance
The Commission has met since 1950. The structure of the meetings and their reports have evolved over time. Recent meeting reports contain a Chair’s Report of the Plenary and Sub-committee Reports as annexes. Please note that the Commission moved from annual to biennial meetings in 2012.
This is a peer-reviewed publication containing original scientific papers on the conservation and management of whales, dolphins and porpoises. The Journal is accompanied by an annual Supplement which contains the report of the IWC Scientific Committee meeting and intersessional workshops held during the relevant period. There are also a number of topic-based Special Issues. For information on submissions, please see the Authors guide.
The IWC Portal has several functions for both members of the IWC community and anyone interested in the current work of the organisation. It is used by those participating in or wishing to know more about live and recent IWC meetings, as it contains the documents discussed at these events and other relevant information such as logistics, maps and timetables. The majority of these meeting documents are later transferred to the Archive (see below) and become part of the historical record of the IWC.
The Portal also houses data such as the Ship Strikes Database which gathers reports of collisions between whales and vessels all over the world. In addition, the Portal is used by researchers wishing to contact the IWC to request data or submit papers to the Journal of Cetacean Research and Management.
Anyone interested in the current work of the IWC is welcome to create an account and use the resources available on the Portal.
The IWC Archive is an evolving depository of IWC documents and records. Additional material is added whenever resources to do this become available.The archive currently contains a range of documents from previous meetings of the Commission, its Bureau and Sub-committees, as well as copies of formal Circular Communications issued to all member governments, and most of the available Verbatim Records of IWC meetings. The long-term aim is to offer digital versions of all IWC records and there are over seventy years of files to scan and upload before the collection is complete.
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