Editing Whale (section)

===Conservation===
{{main|Whale conservation}}
[[File:Blue Whale population, Pengo.svg|thumb|upright=1.15|left|World population graph of [[blue whale]]s|alt=Diagram showing blue whale population trend through the 1900s]]

Whaling decreased substantially after 1946 when, in response to the steep decline in whale populations, the [[International Whaling Commission]] placed a moratorium which set a catch limit for each country; this excluded aboriginal groups up until 2004.{{sfn|New Bedford}}{{sfn|IWC "Aboriginal"}}{{sfn|IWC "Key Documents"}}{{sfn|IWC "Catch Limits"}} As of 2015, aboriginal communities are allowed to take 280 [[bowhead whales]] off Alaska and two from the western coast of Greenland, 620 grey whales off Washington state, three [[common minke whale]]s off the eastern coast of Greenland and 178 on their western coast, 10 [[fin whale]]s from the west coast of Greenland, nine [[humpback whale]]s from the west coast of Greenland and 20 off [[St. Vincent and the Grenadines]] each year.{{sfn|IWC "Catch Limits"}} Several species that were commercially exploited have rebounded in numbers; for example, grey whales may be as numerous as they were prior to harvesting, but the [[Gray whale#North Atlantic|North Atlantic population]] is [[functionally extinct]]. Conversely, the North Atlantic right whale was extirpated from much of its former range, which stretched across the North Atlantic, and only remains in small fragments along the coast of Canada, Greenland, and is considered functionally extinct along the European coastline.{{sfn|NOAA|2014}}

[[File:International Whaling Commission members.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|World map showing [[International Whaling Commission|International Whaling Commission (IWC)]] members in blue|alt=Map showing IWC members in blue]]
[[File:Rorqual 070.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Whale Research Expeditions by Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS),<ref name="Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS)">{{cite web |title=Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS) |url=https://www.rorqual.com/english/home |access-date=11 August 2024|date=2024 |quote=The principal study areas include the Quebec North Shore in the Mingan Island / Anticosti region, the Gaspe Peninsula and St. Lawrence Estuary.}}</ref> [[Gulf of St. Lawrence#Marine mammals|Gulf of St. Lawrence]], [[Canada]]]]
The IWC has designated two whale sanctuaries: the [[Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary]], and the [[Indian Ocean Whale Sanctuary]]. The Southern Ocean whale sanctuary spans {{convert|30560860|km2|sqmi}} and envelopes Antarctica.{{sfn|MacKenzie|1994}} The Indian Ocean whale sanctuary takes up all of the Indian Ocean south of 55°S.{{sfn|IWC "Whale Sanctuaries"}} The IWC is a voluntary organization, with no treaty. Any nation may leave as they wish; the IWC cannot enforce any law it makes.

There are at least 86 cetacean species that are recognized by the [[International Whaling Commission]] Scientific Committee.{{sfn|Australian Report|2009|p={{pn|date=September 2023}}}} {{As of|2020}}, six are considered at risk, as they are ranked "[[Critically Endangered species|Critically Endangered]]" (North Atlantic right whale{{sfn|Cooke|2020}}), "[[Endangered species|Endangered]]" (blue whale,{{sfn|Cooke|2019}} North Pacific right whale,{{sfn|Cooke|Clapham|2018}} and sei whale,{{sfn|Cooke|2018a}}) and "[[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]]" (fin whale{{sfn|Cooke|2018c}} and sperm whale{{sfn|Taylor et al.|2019}}). Twenty-one species have a "[[Data Deficient]]" ranking.{{sfn|Mead|2005|pp=723–743}} Species that live in polar habitats are vulnerable to the effects of recent and ongoing [[climate change]], particularly the time when pack ice forms and melts.{{sfn|Laidre|Stirling|Lowry|Wiig|2008|pp=97–125}}