These examples clearly but inappropriately imply that the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) is about “protecting” or “preserving” whales. However, as the authors themselves point out, the main purpose of the ICRW is “...to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks.” (emphasis added) In fact, except for Article V of the Convention and paragraph 10 of the Schedule where the words “protected” and “protection” are used in relation to the classification of whale stocks rather than as objectives of the Convention, the word “protect” appears only once in the Convention, that is, in the second paragraph of the preamble where it is used in terms of protecting species rather than individual whales.5 Therefore, the “collective interest” referred to by Nelissen and van der Velde is not “the preservation of whales located in waters beyond national jurisdiction.” Indeed, if there is a “collective interest” it would rather be the conservation of whales in all waters (the ICRW applies to all waters, not just to waters beyond national jurisdiction). Similarly, other places in their text should more accurately refer to conservation, which in the case of the ICRW includes protection of depleted stocks rather than preservation or protection applied to all individual whales – there is a difference.