July 3, 2012

Today, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) renewed aboriginal subsistence whaling catch limits through 2018 for bowhead and gray whales. The IWC last renewed these catch limits in 2007. The Commission approved catch limits at the same annual levels as previous years.

NOAA, with staff from the State Department, U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, Department of the Interior and private citizens representing the United States at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) arrived in Panama for this year’s 64th meeting armed with years of experience and an unrelenting commitment to conserve our planet’s whales.