TREATIES December 2,1946 Convention between the United States of America and other governments IT. I. A. .18 49] respecting whaling. Signed at Washington under date of December 2, 1946; ratification advised by the Senate of the United States of America July 2, 1947; ratified by the President of the United States of America July 18, 1947; ratificationof the United States of America deposited at Washington July 18, 1947; proclaimed by the President of the United States of America November 19, 1948; entered into force November 10, 1948. BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION WHEREAS a convention for the regulation of whaling was signed at Washington under the date of December 2, 1946 by the respective plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the United States of America, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Union of South Africa; WHEREAS the text of the said convention is word for word as follows: INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE REGULATION OF WHALING The Governments whose duly authorized representatives have subscribed hereto, Recognizing the interest of the nations of the world in safeguarding for future generations the great natural resources represented by the whale stocks; Considering that the history of whaling has seen overfishing of one area after another and of one species of whale after another to such a degree that it is essential to protect all species of whales from further overfishing; Recognizing that the whale stocks are susceptible of natural increases if whaling is properly regulated, and that increases in the size of whale stocks will permit increases in the numbers of whales which may be captured without endangering these natural resources; Recognizing that it is in the common interest to achieve the optimum level of whale stocks as rapidly as possible without causing wide- spread economic and nutritional distress; Recognizing that in the course of achieving these objectives, whaling operations should be confined to those species best able to sustain exploitation in order to give an interval for recovery to certain species of whales now depleted in numbers; Desiring to establish a system of international regulation for the whale fisheries to ensure proper and effective conservation and develop- ment of whale stocks on the basis of the principles embodied in the 1716 [62 STAT.
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