TL: NORWEGIAN WHALING
SO: Greenpeace International (GP)
DT: 1994
Keywords: environment oceans whaling norway europe /

NORWEGIAN WHALING
Neither Small Scale nor Traditional
 
 
In a shock announcement to the 1992 meeting of the International
Whaling Commission, Norway declared it would restart commercial
whaling in 1993 -- with or without IWC approval.
 
An unprecedented statement signed by 17 commissioners said they
believed that Norway's unilateral action "may seriously undermine
the only international organisation with authority to manage
whaling".
 
Since then, Norway has launched a $2 million public relations
drive.  Their main purpose of the campaign is to present their
whaling as a long-standing tradition, one which has never harmed
the population on which it depends.  Sadly, neither of these
assertions are true.
 
 
THE HISTORY
 
Modern Norwegian minke whaling began around 1930 and for decades
was subject to weak regulations that did little to restrict
operations.  Some regulations were applied in the early 1950s but
these did nothing to keep catches under control; catches soared
in the 1950s to a record high of more than 4300 whales in the
1958 season.
 
No actual catch quotas were set until 1975 - more than 40 years
after the start of modern minke whaling in Norway.  Allocation of
quotas to the individual whaling vessels did not occur until
1984, one year before the IWC's moratorium was to come into force
and more than half a century after the industry started.
 
The introduction of quotas was generated by the IWC, not by the
government of Norway.  Luckily the international body was able to
impose its will on Norway, but even these regulations came too
late to protect the stock from depletion.
 
The graph below (*****) shows the true history of minke whaling
off Norway.  If it were not for the IWC, Norway would still be
trying to hunt minke whales at a rate of 2,000 a year (the
historical average) depleting the stock even further.
 
 
 
                            [GRAPH]
 
 
 
 
THE SCIENCE
 
With scientific evidence showing that these whales have been
reduced to below 54% of their original size - the IWC's
protection threshold - the commission declared them a "Protected
Stock" at its 1985 meeting.
 
In 1991 the IWC's Scientific Committee confirmed that the NE
Atlantic minkes had suffered a significant decline over the 30
year period 1952-83.
 
Norwegian scientists agree that the stock declined.  The
Government have been unable to overturn the IWC's Protection
decision, despite repeated attempts, because its arguments have
failed on scientific grounds.
 
In the years since 1985 the IWC's Scientific Committee has never
supported Norway's contention that the stock should no longer be
protected.  Nevertheless, the Government of Norway maintains an
objection to that classification, allowing their whalers to hunt
this depleted population.
 
WHALERS CHEAT
 
There are no guarantees that Norway's whalers will respect quotas
or other regulations.  Violation of regulations and weak
enforcement have plagued Norwegian operations.
 
Norway never accepted application of the IWC's International
Observer Scheme to its minke whaling operations, and its domestic
arrangements were poorly funded and grossly under-staffed. 
Recently published reports by the few whaling inspectors that
were employed in the period 1980-87 reveal widespread illicit
activity in that period -- including serious over-catching.   One
of these inspectors, who reported a 25% overcatch and other
violations on the vessel "Ulla" which he monitored in 1986,
wrote:
 
     "The crew on the 'Ulla' is neither better nor worse than    

other whalers...they represent the Norwegian catcher
     mentality where there is not enough concern for the
     ecological balance in the sea.  The commercial interests    

are put before consideration towards nature."
 
Norway is offering to put national inspectors on every whaling
vessel, but past experience clearly shows that this alone is an
ineffective control measure.  The infractions reported in the
1980s were committed by whalers even though inspectors were on
board their ships.
 
AGENDA 21
 
In the action program "Agenda 21", adopted at the UN Conference
for Environment and Development, countries endorsed the principle
that living marine resources should be managed and utilised 
sustainably.  Because of the unique problems affecting cetaceans,
however, the countries noted that the responsible international
bodies (the IWC in the case of minke whales) could set stricter
regulations -including the prohibition of exploitation - if
desired.