Introduction

This chapter analyses the law concerning the protection of the narwhal whale in the Arctic region. It is based on the premise that a great (and steadily growing) number of existing multilateral and bilateral agreements (be they regional or of broader geographical or thematic scope), paradoxically, do not provide sufficient protection for some species such as the narwhal, as they either fall into the loopholes of the Conventions, or the provisions of these Conventions are not sufficiently implemented by State Parties.

Setting the scene (the narwhal)

The narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is a small (sometimes referred to as medium-sized) cetacean exclusively populating the Arctic waters. Not only does the species lack a dorsal fin, but the male narwhal has a distinguishing feature unique in the world of whales: a tooth that grows into a long, spiral tusk, about one and a half to three metres long, for which they are mainly hunted. Narwhals have a cylindrical body, with a blunt head and a small mouth. Males average about five metres long, females about four metres. Mature males usually weigh up to about 1,600 kg, females are somewhat lighter, around 1,000 kg. There is no data available as to their exact number but the estimated population of narwhals ranges between 10,000 and 20,000. In 1996, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) concluded that the threat of extinction could not be adequately assessed due to the lack of precise data, and listed narwhal in the data deficient (DD) category in the 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. According to the 1999 Report of the IWC Scientific Committee, which was reinforced by previous findings by Hay and Mansfield in 1989 and Strong in 1988, the most recent population surveys were carried out in 1984 and yielded 18,000 narwhals in the four major summering areas.

Narwhals have been heavily exploited for their skin, meat and tusks. In the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, they are a shared stock under the monitoring of the Canada–Greenland Joint Commission on Conservation and Management of Narwhal and Beluga. The narwhal is discontinuously circumpolar in the Arctic. It is observed only very infrequently south of 65°N in Greenland. However, during spring, when distributional ranges may overlap north of Greenland, its range may become circumpolar. The main part of the population is to be found in the eastern Canadian Arctic and West Greenland.