Cetacean populations face a number of anthropogenic threats. These can broadly be classified as those that result in ‘instant’ death (e.g. direct hunting, bycatches, ship strikes) and those that affect the overall ‘fitness’ of a population especially those relating to habitat degradation (e.g. pollution of various kinds, overfishing of prey species, habitat loss). Traditionally, management attempts have focussed on the former, and especially direct hunting. This is probably because these are the most obvious and ostensibly easiest to address although the history of attempts to manage whaling is certainly not a model of success. The author will review recent developments in management science with respect to direct hunting of large whales, with the emphasis on taking uncertainty into account, particularly by use of computer simulations. Application of the lessons learned to the problem of indirect catches, now the major direct threat facing many cetacean populations, will be emphasised. The importance of developing management procedures with quantifiable objectives (developed in conjunction with ‘users’) will be stressed, as will be the need to be realistic about the quantity and quality of data that might become available.