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Whaling began in prehistoric times, and was initially confined to (near) coastal waters. Early whaling affected the development of many cultures. Although prehistoric hunting and gathering is generally considered to have low ecological impact, early whaling in the arctic altered freshwater ecology. The development of modern whaling techniques was spurred in the 19th century by the increase in demand for whale oil, and in the 20th century by a demand for whale meat. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was set up in 1946 to conserve whales and to regulate whaling. The IWC attempted to maintain world commercial whaling through quotas in an effort to allow individual whale stocks to replenish in number. During the first twenty-five years of the International Whaling Commissions existence, the organization saw the continued overexploitation and depletion of whale stocks. The recommendations of the International Whaling Commissions Scientific Committee at that time, were ignored by the whaling countries. As a result, whale stocks continued to be over exploited, and the advice concerning sustainable catch limits were ignored. When populations were finally protected from further hunting, it was usually after they had already collapsed. By the time the moratorium (ban) on commercial whaling came into force in 1986, some whale species had been reduced by more than 95%.
 The 1970s saw the beginning of the global anti-whaling movement and the International Whaling Commission was bombarded by protests against the killing of whales, Stop Whaling and Save the Whales were frequent slogans on banners and Anti Whaling T-shirts. In 1972 the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment at Stockholm adopted a proposal that recommended a ten year moratorium on commercial whaling to allow whale stocks to recover. The reports of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in 1977 and 1981 identified many species of whales as being in danger of extinction. Finally, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, completed in 1982, said that, "member states shall cooperate with a view to the conservation of marine mammals and in the case of whales shall in particular work through the appropriate international organizations for the conservation, management and study." A number of non whaling and anti whaling states joined the Convention and eventually gained a majority over a dwindling number of pro whaling nations. Nations like the United States, previously considered major whaling forces, became strong proponents of the anti whaling cause. The new conservation minded states began to advocate greater restrictions on the killing of whales after scientific studies proved the advanced intellectual capacity of whales. These nations, along with the global community, called for the International Whaling Commission to reform its whaling policies to save the whale and stop whaling.
In 1982, the International Whaling Commission voted with the necessary three thirds majority to implement a pause on commercial whaling by 1986. The moratorium (ban) on commercial whaling, that has lasted for twenty years, unfortunately left provision for limited whaling under a scientific research permit. Japan initially objected to the moratorium but withdrew its objection in the face  of the threat of economic sanctions made by the United States. Therefore, Japan became bound by the moratorium, unlike Norway, Russia and Iceland who had not signed. In 1987 Japan stopped it’s commercial whaling activities in Antarctic waters, but in the same year began it’s scientific whaling program called JARPA (Japanese Research Program in Antarctica). Exploiting the loophole in the legislation the scientific research started killing whales using the same boats, crew and equipment in the same area of the Pacific Ocean as the commercial whaling did prior to the moratorium. The only difference being the façade of scientific research. Click here to read more about these whaling nations.
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Whaling
