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Countries do not need an International Whaling Commission (IWC) sanctuary designation to take practical steps to protect whales in the South Atlantic. They can act through domestic maritime rules, coordinated population plans, ship-strike prevention and reporting, and relevant high-seas processes. These routes can reduce particular threats, but they are not a sanctuary designation and do not guarantee consistent rules or enforcement across the region.
The South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary proposal remained unadopted in the latest specific account from the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), which says it was discussed at the IWC most recently in 2024. CMS records that the proposal was first discussed in 1998 and evaluated in 2001.
What protection is possible without a sanctuary?
A sanctuary is one possible international framework, not a prerequisite for conservation action. Governments can address risks within their own legal authority, work through maritime institutions, cooperate on plans for particular whale populations, and improve evidence about threats. The reach of each measure depends on where it applies and which governments or bodies have authority there.
The gap is real but should not be overstated: the IWC Scientific Committee said the Southern Ocean Sanctuary protects Antarctic feeding grounds, while no equivalent IWC sanctuary provides lower- and mid-latitude protection across the Southern Hemisphere. That does not mean whales in the South Atlantic have no protections. Domestic rules, species-focused plans, and other applicable measures remain available. See the IWC sanctuary materials.
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How can governments reduce ship strikes?
Assess risk and choose measures suited to local waters
CMS Decision 15.57 calls on specified Parties to analyze cetacean vessel-strike risks and mitigation options, introduce measures through national regulation or the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and monitor effectiveness, industry awareness, and compliance. This is not a uniform speed limit or routing rule for every South Atlantic country. Governments need to use the legal and maritime processes applicable to their waters and shipping risks.
The IWC lists a Ship Strikes Work Plan for 2025–28. A separate practical resource is the World Shipping Council’s “Whale Chart,” launched in 2023 and described by the IWC as a navigation aid listing measures maritime authorities have implemented globally. It can inform mariners; it is not a binding regional rule. IWC ship-strike resources
Make incident reporting part of mitigation
CMS Decision 15.58 asks range States to encourage people and organizations in commercial, recreational, and other vessel activities to systematically report whale, dolphin, and porpoise strikes to the IWC Ship Strike Database. Paired with Decision 15.57’s call to monitor mitigation and compliance, reporting gives governments a basis to assess whether measures are working and adjust them when needed.
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How can countries address entanglement and other threats?
Coordinate around named populations
The IWC’s Conservation Management Plans (CMPs) are flexible frameworks for range States and other stakeholders to cooperate on protecting and rebuilding vulnerable cetacean populations. The IWC lists a CMP for Western South Atlantic southern right whales. Such plans can organize shared research and threat priorities for a population whose range crosses borders, without waiting for a basin-wide sanctuary.
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CMPs can address more than one pressure, including bycatch and entanglement, ship strikes, habitat loss, pollution, climate change, and acoustic disturbance. They provide a cooperation mechanism; they do not by themselves establish identical national laws or prove that a measure is being enforced. IWC Conservation Management Plans
Use regional reporting to track implementation
A CMS document records an online meeting on 5 August 2025 involving Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay on the South Atlantic whale action plan. It says the subregional group completed national reports on implementation of the Single Species Action Plan and notes that Parties had been asked to report on implementation. This documents coordination and a reporting process, not that every recommended action has been carried out or has succeeded. CMS account of the action plan
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What role can high-seas rules play?
The Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) was adopted on 19 June 2023. CMS describes it as relevant to migratory species using areas beyond national jurisdiction and to pressures including fisheries, habitat damage, underwater noise, and ship traffic. It can form part of the broader high-seas governance context alongside action in national waters.
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That context should not be confused with a South Atlantic whale sanctuary: the cited CMS material does not establish a specific whale measure adopted under the BBNJ Agreement. CMS information on the BBNJ Agreement
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What is the South Atlantic sanctuary proposal’s status?
The proposal has a long history, but its sponsors differ across proposal records. CMS says the idea was first discussed at the IWC in 1998 and evaluated in 2001. An IWC document describing a proposal from the mid-2000s lists Argentina, Brazil, Gabon, South Africa, and Uruguay as co-sponsors; a later IWC archive entry identifies the 2024 proposal as presented by Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. These are distinct records, not one timeless list of sponsors.
The latest specific CMS account says the proposal was discussed most recently at the IWC in 2024 and remained unadopted. The IWC Scientific Committee’s description of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary explains why that matters for lower- and mid-latitude waters, but it does not erase the other conservation routes available to countries.
How should governments choose among measures?
A practical policy choice should match the threat, the authority available, and the whale population at risk. These considerations synthesize the cited CMS and IWC frameworks; they are not an official scoring system.
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- Geographic authority: Establish whether the measure concerns national waters, international shipping processes, or areas beyond national jurisdiction.
- Population fit: Check whether timing and location match the seasonal movements of the population concerned, such as Western South Atlantic southern right whales.
- Implementation: Name responsible agencies, compliance arrangements, reporting channels, and how outcomes will be assessed.
- Coordination: Connect national action with range-state cooperation and relevant CMS or IWC plans and reporting.
The available sources do not establish a current country-by-country inventory of national entanglement laws or enforcement outcomes. That makes it important to distinguish a framework or commitment from an implemented rule, and a reported process from evidence of results.
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