When was the first major international treaty on whaling signed?

The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling was signed in 1946, creating one of the first major global agreements aimed at managing a marine resource. It established the International Whaling Commission to regulate whaling and set rules for conservation. At the time, whale populations had been heavily reduced by industrial hunting. The treaty marked an important step toward international marine conservation, even though whaling continued in some regions for decades. It remains historically significant in the development of ocean governance.