The IWC was established in 1946 as the global authority on cetaceans, and continues to lead cetacean research and conservation as well as regulation of whaling. The organisation holds an extensive collection of current and historical information including meeting reports and supporting documents, scientific papers, catch and sightings data, transcripts and audio recordings. These files are publicly accessible and many are held in the IWC Archive.
For current and recent meeting documents, the IWC also maintains the IWC Portal. Anyone interested in following IWC meetings can register to access the documents and data held in the Portal.