Whenever I see the term ‘marine mammal’ I am captivated. For I have been fascinated by these creatures for many years and their elegance is truly striking. But my fascination is further boosted when the term ‘marine mammal’ is linked with ‘law’. For this implies human interaction with them, making us enter the extremely controversial hunt for whales and seals, as well as the surprisingly rarely publicly discussed other threats on marine mammals, such as climate change, marine pollution or noise.

Cameron Jefferies does not shy away from these issues. To the contrary, he makes the numerous threats that marine mammals are facing the core issue of his book and proposes the drafting of a multilateral agreement on marine mammals, implemented by an International Marine Mammal Commission. By briefly presenting and analysing the core issues surrounding pre-existing regulatory regimes that in one way or another impact marine mammal species, he rightfully centres his argument around the gap in these regimes to purposefully address issues other than the lethal taking of marine mammals. Based on this, and using the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) as a case in point, Jefferies therefore justifies the need for an international regime for marine mammals:

Of course, one might argue that both the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO) have procedures in place that address more diverse threats to marine mammals than just lethal utilisation. While the former was based on the premise of advancing the whaling industry, the latter was formed as a body to ‘contribute through regional consultation and cooperation to the conservation, rational management and study of marine mammals in the North Atlantic’ (NAMMCO, 1992, article 2). Other bodies, such as the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), have also taken on threats other than hunting, such as marine tourism. However, the issue of the multitude of different threats to marine mammals has only been tackled rather recently and for the reader to understand what threats marine mammals are exposed to – and why they constitute threats – Jefferies has devoted an entire chapter (Chapter 4) to different problems and the responses of the international legal systems regulating marine mammal conservation. Particularly intriguing in this regard was the utterly concerning presentation of marine pollution, an issue which, in this reviewer's opinion, is discursively too little tackled in the context of marine mammals.

In Chapter 5, Jefferies presents several options regarding the improvement of the current regime regarding the management of marine mammals: (1) leaving it as it is; (2) improving the IWC; (3) relying on soft-law agreements; (4) fostering bilateral or regional agreements; (5) relying on national legislation; and finally (6) drafting a new regime. It is especially this option which Jefferies eloquently supports as a means to engage the United Nations, and particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and to use UNCLOS’ dispute settlement mechanisms to avoid the stalemates that happen under the IWC. By focusing on the drafting history of UNCLOS articles 65 and 120, as well as international legal rules pertaining to the creation of a new agreement and dissolution of another, Jefferies underlines his analytical skills and his case for a new international implementing agreement under UNCLOS.

In Chapter 6, the eager reader is finally presented with concrete proposals outlining the provisions of a new agreement, the preparatory work of which ‘could occur at a negotiating conference convened pursuant to a United Nations General Assembly Resolution’ (p. 213). And indeed this section is impressive. Jefferies does not stay vague, but presents a concrete outline of what the agreement should entail, how different terms and concepts are to be used and how it is to be implemented. It is once again highlighted that despite ideological differences, it is in the interest of all states to conserve marine mammals and Jefferies makes a decisive point: just because of differences in the lethal use of marine mammals, this should be detrimental to their stocks in light of all other dangers they face, which would be tackled with a new agreement. The challenges a new agreement would face are further elaborated upon in Chapter 7, where Jefferies tackles issues of the role of the secretariat of the agreement, its interplay with regional regimes and marine protected areas. He convincingly shows how it is not only possible to enter into a new agreement, but even desirable if states really care for the sustainability of marine mammals, benefitting both non-utilisation and pro-utilisation states – an issue he furthermore discusses in the concluding chapter. And for the legal scholar, Jefferies furthermore includes a concrete draft agreement in Appendix 3 of the book.

Marine mammal conservation and the law of the sea is an impressive book. Albeit a legal volume it enters into numerous issues surrounding marine mammal, but primarily whale, hunts: whether or not they have a right to life and associated ethical considerations; issues surrounding animal welfare and killing methods; or indigenous vis-à-vis non-indigenous/commercial hunts for marine mammals. The book is very thoroughly researched and convincingly argued and should serve as a guidebook for all parties involved in the debate surrounding marine mammal conservation. One is easily inclined to link ‘conservation’ and ‘lethal utilisation’. But Jefferies shows that this approach, which has brought the IWC to a stalemate, is shockingly narrow.

Of course, in a detailed book like the present, it is the devil that also lies therein. Several smaller mistakes appear in the book. To name two more prominent ones: on page 35 Jefferies writes: ‘As the twentieth century progressed, the commonly held perception that ocean resources were finite eroded.’ He in all likelihood means ‘infinite’. Also the claim on page 61 that Japan hunts sei, Bryde and sperm whales in the North Atlantic is incorrect. It should be North Pacific, where Japan has hunted these species under the JARPN and JAPRN-II programmes.

How deeply frozen the IWC has become is probably best exemplified by the US/New Zealand spying activities of the Japanese delegation at the 59th meeting of the IWC in 2007, which impacted a vote regarding the lifting of the whaling moratorium (Gallagher, Reference Gallagher2017). This once again underlines the need and urgency for a renewal of our thinking of marine mammals. Jefferies’ proposal is a much-needed and crucially important step in that direction. I would therefore like to see this book or a summary of its main points made widely available to the members and observers of the IWC.