In 1985, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned the hunting of all whales by signatory states. The IWC regulates the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (1946), and also provides scientific advice to signatory states (11). Conservationists are worried however, that these protection measures are a case of 'too little too late', the southern hemisphere is thought to support only 5,000 fin whales, and the northern seas hold just 2 to 3,000 individuals (4). It seems likely that the species may never recover from past over-exploitation.