The International Whaling Commission set annual maximum quotas for whaling--zero in the case of right whales, but also permitted member countries to issue to their own whalers permits to take whales for scientific research.
The International Whaling Commission sets maximum annual quotas for "commercial" whaling--zero in the case of right whales. However, the underlying Convention explicitly authorized member countries to issue to their own whalers permits to take whales for scientific research.