The IWC once again rejected lifting the 19-year moratorium on whaling as proposed by Japan and maintained existing regions where whaling is banned. The moratorium bans the catching of 11 species of large whale.
Opponents of whaling saw the majority vote against resumption of whaling as good news, but there was also cause for concern.
There are fears that as early as next year there could be a crucial change in direction, as pressure to lift the moratorium is growing with every passing year.
The majority against whaling is declining. Nevertheless, the proponents of a resumption of whaling, with Japan in the lead, were disappointed that they could not gain a majority.
They were further disappointed by the outcome of discussions on regulated catch quotas.
There was great concern on the conservation side at Japan's announcement that it was not only extending its controversial whaling programme dedicated to "scientific research" but also adding the humpback and fin whale to the species being hunted.
The IWC has come out explicitly against this, although only in a non-binding resolution.
"That is a resounding criticism of Japan," German anti-whaling activist Sandra Altherr said in Ulsan.
But it remains a largely symbolic success for the conservationists.
Japan and Iceland have been using the loophole of scientific research for years to circumvent the moratorium.
Anti-whaling activists were also unable to realize their dream of vast protection areas in the world's major oceans.
There was recognition in Ulsan of the problem of bycatch. Estimates put the number caught inadvertently while fishing at around 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises.
But no resolutions on this were passed, Greenpeace representative Thomas Henningsen noted with regret.
The annual IWC meeting has long been a fraught affair. Observers speak of a competition for votes.
Japan has stood accused for years of trying to buy votes with development aid promises to poorer member countries.
Japan and Norway, another pro-whaling country, for their part, accuse anti-whaling countries of blocking control mechanisms that could pave the way for a resumption of whaling.
The IWC has effectively been marking time for years. Volker Homes of the WWF environmental protection group called on both sides to show flexibility to break the impasse.
"Extreme demands don't help," he says.
Homes backs effective protection for endangered whale species, but he also sees the balance within the IWC "growing ever more precarious".
On the one hand, Japan, Iceland and Norway are accused of being interested only in resuming unlimited whaling while ignoring conservation.
And on the other there is the extreme demand of "absolutely no whaling whatever".
Greenpeace and other conservation organizations are demanding reform of the IWC, saying the whales are left in the middle while the opposing camps fight it out.
Henningsen's view on the outcome this year was: "A victory for the big whales and a defeat for the small ones."
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