Few marine issues have generated the sustained controversies associated with the directed hunting of whales. Initially developed as a form of coastal subsistence in antiquity, commercialized whaling commenced in earnest in the Basque region in the 12^th century, via the legendary New England industry immortalized by Melville’s Moby Dick, before technological developments in Finnmark facilitated whaling on an epic scale. The early 20^th century saw the emergence of innovative legal prototypes to regulate whaling before the adoption of the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW)Footnote ¹ and the subsequent inauguration of its constituent management body, the International Whaling Commission (IWC). While initially visionary, in recent years the IWC has become steadily mired in political and operational difficulties as the whaling question has become increasingly polarized. This was exemplified most recently in the extensive judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in adjudicating the merits of continued Japanese whaling for scientific purposes.Footnote ² Whaling continues to present a plethora of legal, institutional and political challenges, not least in determining the overriding regulatory philosophy for the regulation of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), accommodating the needs of indigenous peoples and reconciling the future relevance of the IWC in an era of proliferating regulatory institutions for the conservation of marine species. In Whaling and International Law, Malgosia Fitzmaurice presents a compelling account of the competing interests at stake in the future regulation of whales – in terms of both their exploitation and their preservation – and the institutional dynamics incumbent in governance of these iconic species.

Whaling and International Law addresses three distinct clusters of issues raised by modern whaling: (i) the institutional matters raised by the regulation of directed hunting; (ii) the philosophical basis underpinning the pursuit of whales by particular interests and the corresponding opposition by others to the killing of a totemic species; and (iii) the legal challenges posed by the existence of a plurality of regulatory bodies and approaches. These three themes do not always develop chronologically, as the book is considered as a collection of stand-alone chapters that address interconnected, yet thematically separate, elements of the whaling debate. Fitzmaurice logically opens her account of these issues with an appraisal of the historical antecedents to the ICRW, before outlining the regulatory framework for modern whaling activities and the present difficulties encountered by the IWC. To this end, Chapter 1 provides a helpful history of whaling and the various codification initiatives of the early part of the 20^th century, which, despite their shortcomings, paved the way for the establishment of the IWC.

Chapters 2 and 3 provide an enjoyable and informative account of the current whaling arrangements. Chapter 2 gives a concise outline of the main features of the ICRW, highlighting provisions that have created inadvertent interpretive difficulties, notably in relation to scientific whaling and aboriginal hunting as well as the precise notion of a ‘whale’. As detailed in later chapters, this has created a lacuna in the regulatory competence of the IWC towards so-called ‘small cetaceans’, namely those animals not represented in the Convention’s rather arbitrary Annex.Footnote ³ In Chapter 3, Fitzmaurice gives an extensive account of the IWC, including a comprehensive analysis of the emergence of the current moratorium on commercial whaling and the resulting impasse generated within this body as pro- and anti-whaling parties have wrestled for control over its regulatory direction. This has resulted in meetings of the IWC becoming steadily more fractious and the Commission itself becoming something of a cautionary tale in the 1990s as to how not to operate an international institution. In a chapter likely to become essential reading for many international law students, Fitzmaurice provides a compelling narrative of the moves to avoid the commercial moratorium, which segues effectively into a substantial analysis of the ICJ case and details the rather strained events within the IWC following the judgment.

The second issue addressed by the book is more philosophical in nature and considers the divergent approaches to whaling championed by various interests. Chapter 4 provides an intriguing overview of the importance of whaling to particular societies. It explains the entrenched positions within the IWC adopted by Japan, Iceland and Norway, and the complicated balancing act required of Denmark towards its overseas territories. This is complemented in Chapter 5 by the legal issues raised by the anti-whaling bloc, especially in the context of animal welfare and intergenerational equity. This suite of chapters is concluded by Chapter 7, which resumes consideration of indigenous whaling, providing a stimulating analysis of the limits of human rights instruments with regard to cultural practices and the complications posed in regulating so-called aboriginal subsistence whaling. In so doing, Fitzmaurice draws the reader’s attention to the curious episode of the Makah community’s ‘rediscovery’ of their ancestral whaling practices in Washington State (United States), as well as the issues experienced by Canada (which has withdrawn from the ICRW) and Greenland (in which catches of whales have steadily increased to quasi-commercial levels in recent years).

The third broad element under consideration involves the relationship between the IWC and the plethora of other regulators that exercise competence over whales, considered in Chapter 6. This is an issue compounded by the wording of Articles 65 and 120 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),Footnote ⁴ which require parties to work through appropriate organizations for the conservation, management and study of cetaceans. It may be wryly observed that the suggested institutional plurality has been among the more troublesome features of UNCLOS, as particular actors have sought to undermine the IWC by considering alternative regulatory avenues to promote whaling. Similarly, this expansive international framework serves to complicate attempts to promote unified multilateral conservation policies. The coordination of work between multilateral environmental agreements is therefore a task of increasing significance for many such actors, with the conservation of whales being no exception. Given spatial constraints, Fitzmaurice provides a relatively brief snapshot of interactions between the IWC and a host of global and regional regulators. While highlighting important trends and developments, this chapter is unable to fully explore these regimes and consequently provides a somewhat abrupt treatment of these bodies in places. For instance, the establishment of the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO)Footnote ⁵ is attributed to dissatisfaction with the IWC and unspecified ‘other reasons’, while commentary on the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)Footnote ⁶ omits recognition of two non-binding subsidiary agreements pertinent to whales. This is nonetheless compensated by a thought-provoking discussion of fragmentation in the whaling context and the prospective role of systemic integration, which rewards careful reading.

The difficulties of regime fragmentation are practically illustrated in Chapter 8, which provides a case study of the narwhal – a cleverly selected example which allows Fitzmaurice to engage with a number of difficult legal issues and themes. Narwhals are a so-called ‘small’ cetacean, a class of animals that are deceptively under-regulated within current multilateral structures, notwithstanding their strong political visibility. Fitzmaurice explains that the IWC has a competence deficit in addressing smaller species regardless of whether or not they are zoologically (as opposed to politically) classed as ‘whales’. Small cetaceans generally, and narwhals specifically, are regulated by numerous bodies, while the narwhal further provides the basis for a unique bilateral arrangement between Greenland and Canada. It also constitutes a species of particular interest to NAMMCO. Similarly, the quasi-commercial nature of Greenland’s trade in narwhals engages topical issues relating to the application of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)Footnote ⁷ and European Union (EU) law, as well as the potential interest of other regional actors. In an engaging chapter, Fitzmaurice deftly highlights the governance gaps between species – indeed, the tag-line of the original article upon which this chapter draws its inspiration, ‘so much law, so little protection!’, has particular resonance – and exposes the challenges arising from a patchwork of regulators, which often fails to seamlessly tessellate. While this discussion is specific to an individual species of small whale, it effectively highlights the regulatory frustrations inherent in addressing the conservation needs of a host of cetacean species, many of which are subject to subtly different levels of protection and policy priorities across an expanding cast of regulators.

Overall, Whaling and International Law succeeds admirably in its stated aims of highlighting specific legal issues raised by whaling, and thereby to explain the key factors that have rendered the regulation of whales such a complicated, emotive and politicized endeavour. Fitzmaurice provides a welcome perspective on the cultural attachment of particular communities (both indigenous and non-indigenous) to whaling, interspersed with a comprehensive discussion of the reasons behind the strong opposition to the slaughter of particular animals that exert a totemic and anthropomorphic appeal for many other sections of (Western) society. The book is at its best in explaining the convoluted journey of the IWC and the legal issues underpinning the emergence of strongly entrenched positions on both sides of the whaling debate. Fitzmaurice offers an insightful and compelling account of the recent whaling litigation before the ICJ, while also challenging the readers – especially those new to the subject and with, perhaps, a natural preservationist bias – to engage more fully with the notion of sustainable use. This is an important accomplishment because the marked failure to engage with the issue of sustainable use, despite it being one of the central objectives of the 1946 ICRW, has largely undermined the IWC since the 1980s and has generated the persistent accusations of dysfunctionality that have dogged the organization in recent years.

Fitzmaurice achieves the significant feat of condensing an enormous volume of information, law and practice associated with whaling into a fresh, enjoyable and readily accessible account of the past, present and potential future of whale regulation. In places, the sheer size of the task of reconciling the voluminous and multifaceted issues associated with whales has required a degree of brevity in order to meet the central objectives of the book. This is particularly notable in the analysis of the role of alternative regimes beyond the IWC which, like the Commission itself, are the products of their own unique regulatory conditions that colour their approach to cetaceans accordingly. At times, Fitzmaurice is required to essentially synthesize the current literature on particular issues. Meanwhile, although the intention to provide a series of stand-alone chapters aids the selective reader, those seeking a more holistic narrative will find themselves cross-referencing to later chapters in a number of key places. This is, however, an occupational hazard for commentators on the vexed question of whaling, for which explaining in detail the convoluted regulatory trajectory of particular issues is also key to projecting their future. Nevertheless, this should not detract from what is a fine volume on an issue of enduring scholarly interest. Fitzmaurice distils a vast array of competing regulatory challenges into a highly informed and informative evaluation of the whaling problem from a legal perspective. The future regulation of whaling remains likely to be a complex, emotive and frustrating task, for reasons that are explained in Fitzmaurice’s rich account in a compelling, accessible and insightful manner.