Gray whales have been protected from commercial whaling by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) since its establishment in 1946. Limited aboriginal subsistence whaling is permitted by the IWC for the eastern gray whale and catch limits have been set since the 1970s on the basis of advice from its Scientific Committee (most recently under its new aboriginal subsistence whaling management procedure) and a needs request from the relevant governments (Russian Federation and US). The current (2003-07) catch limit for the eastern stock is 620 for five years, subject to a maximum of 140 in any single year. This meets the needs request and is considerably below the estimated level (over 400) that would be sustainable (IWC 2005).

Three gray whale breeding lagoons in Mexico (Laguna Ojo de Liebre, L. San Ignacio and L. Guerrero Negro) enjoy some protection in the form of limitations on boating, fishing and coastal development, originally as National Gray Whale Refuges, now through their inclusions in the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, which is also listed internationally as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Ramsar protected wetland (Hoyt 2005).

The species is listed in Appendix I of CITES and Appendix II of CMS.