Union of South Africa - International Agreement for the Regulation of Whaling, signed at London, June 8th, 1937, and Declaration by the Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of His Majesty the King of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India, relating to the Prolongation of the said Agreement, signed at London, June 29th, 1938 [1938] LNTSer 171; 190 LNTS 79

<title>Union of South Africa - International Agreement for the Regulation of Whaling, signed at London, June 8th, 1937, and Declaration by the Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of His Majesty the King of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India, relating to the Prolongation of the said Agreement, signed at London, June 29th, 1938 [1938] LNTSer 171; 190 LNTS 79
</title>
N 4406.


UNION SUD-AFRICAINE, ALLEMAGNE,
ETATS-UNIS D'AMERIQUE,
REPUBLIQUE ARGENTINE,
COMMONWEALTIl D'AUSTRALI E, etc.
Accord international pour Ia réglementation de Ia chasse a
Ia baleine, signé a Londres, le 8 juin 1937, et declaration
du principal secrétaire d'Etat aux Affaires étrangères de
Sa Majesté le Roi de Grande-Bretagne, d'Irlande et des
Territoires britanniques au deJa des mets, Empereur des
Indes, relative a Ia prorogation dudit accord, signée a
Londres, le 29 jUin 1938.


UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA, GERMANY,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
ARGENTINE REPUBLIC,
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA, etc.
International Agreement for the Regulation of Whaling,
signed at London. June 8th, 1937, and Declaration by
the Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of
His Majesty the King of Great Britain, Ireland and the
British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India,
relating to the Prolongation of the said Agreement,
signed at London, June 29th, 1938.

80 Societe' des Nations - Recueil des Traite's. 1938

No. 44o6. - INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT1 FOR THE REGULATION
OF WHALING. SIGNED AT LONDON, JUNE 8TH, 1937.


English official text communicated by His Majesty's Secretary of Slate for Foreign Affairs in Great
Britain. The registration of this Agreement took place July 27th, 1938.


THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THE
ARGENTINE REPUBLIC, THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA, GERMANY, THE UNITED KINGDOM
OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND, THE IRISH FREE STATE, NEW ZEALAND AND NORWAY,
desiring to secure the prosperity of the whaling industry and, for that purpose, to maintain the
stock of whales, have agreed as follows

Article i.
The contracting Governments will take appropriate measures to ensure the application of
the provisions of the present Agreement and the punishment of infractions against the said
provisions, and, in particular, will maintain at least one inspector of whaling on each factory ship
under their jurisdiction. The inspectors shall be appointed and paid by Governments.

Article 2.
The present Agreement applies to factory ships and whale catchers and to land stations as
defined in Article i8 under the jurisdiction of the contracting Governments, and to all waters
in which whaling is prosecuted by such factory ships and/or whale catchers.

`Ratifications deposited in London


Accessions

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
NORWAY 
GERMANY 
IRELAND 
NEW ZEALAND 


MEXICO
CANADA
Came into force May 7th, 1938.

September 3rd, 1937.
October 25th, 1937.
October 29th, 1937.
November 5th, 1937.
May 7th, 1938.
June z4th, 1938.

May 7th, 1938.
June I4th, 1938.

82 Societe' des Nations - Recueil des Traités. 1933

Article 3.
Prosecutions for infractions against or contraventions of the present Agreement and the
regulations made thereunder shall be instituted by the Government or a Department of the
Government.
Article 4.
It is forbidden to take or kill Grey Whales and/or Right Whales.

Article 5.
it Is forbidden to take or kill any Blue, Fin, Humpback or Sperm whales below the following
lengths, viz.:

(a) Blue whales 70 feet,
(b) Fin whales 55 feet,
(c) Humpback whales 35 feet,
(ci) Sperm whales 35 feet.

Article 6.

It is forbidden to take or kill calves, or suckling whales or female whales which are accompanied
by calves or suckling whales.

Article 7.
It is forbidden to use a factory ship or a whale catcher attached thereto for the purpose of
taking or treating baleen whales in any waters south of 400 South Latitude, except during the period
from the 8th day of December to the 7th day of March following, both days inclusive, provided
that in the whaling season 1937-38 the period shall extend to the 15th day of March, 1938, inclusive.


Article 8.
It is forbidden to use a land station or a whale catcher attached thereto for the purpose of
taking or treating whales in any area or in any waters for more than six months in any period
of twelve months, such period of six months to be continuous.

Article 9.
it is forbidden to use a factory ship or a whale catcher attached thereto for the purpose of
taking or treating baleen whales in any of the following areas, viz.:
(a) In the Atlantic Ocean north of 400 South Latitude and in the Davis Strait,
Baffin Bay and Greenland Sea;
(b) In the Pacific Ocean east of 1500 West Longitude between 400 South Latitude
and 350 North Latitude;
(c) In the Pacific Ocean west of 1500 West Longitude between 400 South Latitude
and 200 North Latitude;
(d) In the Indian Ocean north of 400 South Latitude.

Article 10.
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement, any contracting Government may
grant to any of its nationals a special permit authorising that national to kill, take and treat whales
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84 Societe' des Nations - Recueil des Traités. 1938

for purposes of scientific research subject to such restrictions as to number and subject to such
other conditions as the contracting Government thinks fit, and the killing, taking and treating of
whales m accordance with the terms in force under this Article shall be exempt from the operation
of this Agreement.
Any contracting Government may at any time revoke a permit granted by it under this Article.


Article ii.

The fullest possible use shall be made of all whales taken. Except in the case of whales or
parts of whales mtended for human food or for feeding animals, the oil shall be extracted by boiling
or otherwise from all blubber, meat (except the meat of sperm whales) and bones other than the
internal organs, whale bone and flippers, of all whales delivered to the factory ship or land station.


Article 12.

There shall not at any time be taken for delivery to any factory ship or land station a greater
number of whales than can be treated efficiently and in accordance with Article ii of the present
Agreement by the plant and personnel therein within a period of thirty-six hours from the time
of the killing of each whale.

Article 13.
Gunners and crews of factory ships, land stations and whale catchers shall be engaged on
terms such that their remuneration shall depend to a considerable extent upon such factors as
the species, size and yield of whales taken, and not merely upon the number of the whales taken,
and no bonus or other remuneration, calculated by reference to the results of their work, shall be
paid to the gunners and crews of whale catchers in respect of any whales the taking of which is
forbidden by this Agreement.

Article 14.

With a view to the enforcement of the preceding Article, each contracting Government shall
obtain, in respect of every whale catcher under its jurisdiction, an account showing the total
emolument of each gunner and member of the crew and the manner in which the emolument of
each of them is calculated.

Article 15.

Articles 5, 9, 13 and 14 of the present Agreement, in so far as they impose obligations not
already in force, shall not until the 1st day of December, 1937, apply to factory ships, land stations
or catchers attached thereto which are at present operating or which have already taken practical
measures with a view to whaling operations during the period before the said date. In respect
of such factory ships, land stations and whale catchers, the Agreement shall in any event come
into force on the said date.

Article i6.
The contracting Governments shall obtain with regard to all factory ships and land stations
under their jurisdiction records of the number of whales of each species treated at each factory
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86 Societe' des Nations - Recucil des Traitds. 1938

ship or land station and as to the aggregate amounts of oil of each grade and quantities of meal,
guano and other products derived from them, together with particulars with respect to each whale
treated in the factory ship or land station as to the date and place of taking, the species and sex
of the whale, its length and, if it contains a fcetus, the length and sex, if ascertainable, of the fcetus.


Article 17.
The contracting Governments shall, with regard to all whaling operations under their
jurisdiction, communicate to the International Bureau for Whaling Statistics at Sanclefjord in
Norway the statistical information specified in Article i6 of the present Agreement together with
any information which may be collected or obtained by them in regard to the calving grounds
and migration routes of whales.
In communicating this information the Governments shall specify:
(a) The name and tonnage of each factory ship;
(b) The number and aggregate tonnage of the whale catchers;
(c) A list of the land stations which were in operation during the period concerned.

Article i8.
In the present Agreement the following expressions have the meanings respectively assigned
to them, that is to say:
"Factory ship "means a ship in which or on which whales are treated whether wholly
or in part;
"Whale catcher" means a ship used for the purpose of hunting, taking, towing,
holding on to, or scouting for whales;
"Land station" means a factory on the land, or in the territorial waters adjacent
thereto, in which or at which whales are treated whether wholly or in part;

"Baleen whale" means any whale other than a toothed whale;

"Blue whale "means any whale known by the name of blue whale, Sibbald's rorqual
or sulphur bottom;
"Fin whale" means any whale known by the name of common finback, common
finner, common rorqual, finback, fin whale, herring whale, razorback, or true fin whale;


"Grey whale "means any whale known by the name of grey whale, California grey,
devil fish, hard head, mussel digger, grey back, rip sack;

"Humpback whale" means any whale known by the name of bunch, humpback,
humpback whale, humpbacked whale, hump whale or hunchbacked whale;

"Right whale "means any whale known by the name of Atlantic right whale, Arctic
right whale, Biscayan right whale, bowhead, great polar whale, Greenland right whale,
Greenland whale, Nordkaper, North Atlantic right whale, North Cape whale, Pacific
right whale, pigmy right whale, Southern pigmy right whale or Southern right whale;


Sperm whale" means any whale known by the name of sperm whale, spermacet
whale, cachalot or pot whale;
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88 Socie'té des Nations - Recueil des Traite's. 1938

"Length" in relation to any whale means the distance measured on the level in a
straight line between the tip of the upper jaw and the notch between the flukes of
the tail.

Article ig.
The present Agreement shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be deposited
with the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as soon as
possible. It shall come into force upon the deposit of instruments of ratification by a majority
of the signatory Governments, which shall include the Governments of the United Kingdom,
Germany and Norway; and for any other Government not included in such majority on the date
of the deposit of its instrument of ratification.
The Government of the United Kingdom will inform the other Governments of the date on
which the Agreement thus comes into force and the date of any ratification received subsequently.

Article 20.
The present Agreement shall come into force provisionally on the 1st day of .July, 1937, to
the extent to which the signatory Governments are respectively able to enforce it ; provided
that if any Government within two months of the signature of the Agreement informs the
Government of the United Kingdom that it is unwilling to ratify it the provisional application
of the Agreement in respect of that Government shall thereupon cease.
The Government of the United Kingdom will communicate the name of any Government
which has signified that it is unwilling to ratify the Agreement to the other Governments, any of
whom may within one month of such communication withdraw its ratification or accession or
signify its unwillingness to ratify as the case may be, and the provisional application of the Agreement
in respect of that Government shall thereupon cease. Any such withdrawal or communication
shall be notified to the Government of the United Kingdom, by whom it will be transmitted to
the other Governments.

Article 21.

The present Agreement shall, subject to the preceding Article, remain in force until the 30th
day of June, 1938, and thereafter if, before that date, a majority of the contracting Governments,
which shall include the Governments of the United Kingdom, Germany and Norway, shall have
agreed to extend its duration. In the event of such extension it shall remain in force until the
contracting Governments agree to modify it, provided that any contracting Government may,
at any time after the 30th day of June, 1938, by giving notice on or before the 1st day of January
in any year to the Government of the United Kingdom (who on receipt of such notice shall at
once communicate it to the other contracting Governments) withdraw from the Agreement, so
that it shall cease to be in force in respect of that Government after the 30th day of June following,
and that any other contracting Govermnent may, by giving notice in the like manner within one
month of the receipt of such communication, withdraw also from the Agreement, so that it shall
cease to be in force respecting it after the same date.

Article 22.
Any Government which has not signed the present Agreement may accede thereto at any
time after it has come into force. Accession shall be effected by means of a notification in writing
addressed to the Government of the United Kingdom and shall take effect immediately after the
date of its receipt.
The Government of the United Kingdom will inform all the Governments which have signed
or acceded to the present Agreement of all accessions received and the date of their receipt.

N' 4406

90 Socidté des Nations - Recucil des Traitds. 1938

In faith whereof the undersigned, being duly authorised, have signed the present Agreement.

Done in London the 8th day of June, 1937, in a single copy, which shall remain deposited in
the archives of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
by whom certified copies will be transmitted to all the other contracting Governments.

For the Government of the Union of South Africa
F. 3. DU Torr.

For the Government of the United States of America:

Herschel V. JOHNSON.
Remington KELLOGG.

For the Government of the Argentine Republic:

Manuel E. MALBRAN.
M. FINCATL

T. L. MARINI.

For the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia:
S. M. BRUCE.

For the Government of Germany:
WOHLTHAT.

For the Govermnent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland:
Henry G. MAURICE.

Geo. HOGARTH.

For the Government of the Irish Free State:

Sean O'Faolain O'DULCHAONTIGFI.

For the Government of New Zealand:

G. MCNAMARA.


For the Government of Norway:
Birger BERGER5EN.


N" 4406

92 Societe' des Nations Recueil des Traités. 1938

DECLARATION

BY THE PRINCIPAL SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF HIS MAJESTY THE KING
OF GREAT BRITAIN, IRELAND AND THE B1UTISH DOMINIONS BEYOND THE SEAS, EMPEROR
OF INDIA, REGARDING THE PROLONGATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT OF JUNE 8TH,
1937, FOR THE REGULATION OF WHALING. SIGNED AT LONDON, JUNE 29TH, 1938.

Registered on November 2nd, 1938, at the request of His Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
in Great Britain.

Whereas the International Agreement for the Regulation of Whaling, signed in London on
the 8th June, 1937, has been ratified by the Governments of the United States of America,
Germany, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Eire, New Zealand and
Norway, and came into force in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 on the 7th day of
May, 1938; and*
Whereas the Governments of the United States of Mexico and Canada have acceded, with
effect from the 7th May, 1938, and the 14th June, 1938, respectively, to the said Agreement in
accordance with Article 22 thereof ; and
Whereas in consequence the Governments of the United States of America, Germany, the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Eire, New Zealand, Norway, the United
States of Mexico and Canada are contracting Governments; and
Whereas, according to the provisions of Article 21, the said Agreement remains in force until
the 30th June, 1938, and thereafter if, before that date, a majority of the contracting Governments,
which shall include the Governments of the United Kingdom, Germany and Norway, shall have
agreed to extend its duration
The undersigned, Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of His Majesty the King
of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India, hereby
certifies that the Governments of the United States of America, Canada, Germany, the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Eire, the United States of Mexico, New Zealand and
Norway have agreed to extend the duration of the said Agreement, and that the Agreement will
accordingly, under the provisions of Article 21, continue in force after the 30th June, 1938.

Witness my hand this 29th day of June, 1938.

Given at the Foreign Office, London.
HALIFAX.
Certified a true copy:
Stephen Gaselee,
Librarian and Keeper
of the Papers at the Foreign Office.
London, iith Oct., 1938.


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