Through regional cooperation, the member nations of NAMMCO aim to strengthen and further develop effective conservation and management measures for marine mammals.
Such measures should be based on the best available scientific evidence, and should take into account both the complexity and vulnerability of the marine ecosystem, and the rights and needs of coastal communities to make a sustainable living from what the sea can provide.
The IWC currently has a moratorium in effect which prohibits all (large species) whaling with a few specific exceptions.
NAMMCO was founded in Nuuk, Greenland on 9 April 1992 by the signatories to Agreement on Cooperation in Research, Conservation and Management of Marine Mammals in the North Atlantic.
The commission also hosts workshops and forums devoted to hunting methods and environmental questions.