70th International Whaling Commission Meeting Concludes in Hobart with India Pressing for Cetacean Conservation
The 70th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC-70) was held at Hobart, Australia from 28 September to 2 October 2026, in the 80th year of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. India, an IWC member since 1981, used the meeting to call for science-based conservation of whales and other cetaceans. The commission now has 89 member governments; Dr Urbain Brito of Benin was elected Chair and Anne-Marie Svoboda of the Netherlands Vice-Chair. India's pitch sits alongside its wider marine agenda this fortnight, from National Coastal Mission 2.0 to the UN General Assembly's first declaration on sea-level rise.
The International Whaling Commission was set up in 1946 under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, signed in Washington DC | The IWC has enforced a global moratorium on commercial whaling since 1986 | Whales and dolphins in Indian waters are protected under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972