Norway suspends whaling
26/06/2009 10:00:03
Norwegian whaling vessel – Copyright: WSPA/EIA
Less than 40% of quota has been killed
June 2009. Norwegian whalers have announced that they have suspended their whale season half way through their usual whaling season after killing around 350 Minke whales, less than 40% of the allotted of 885 whales, saying that demand is saturated, according to a Norwegian fisheries organisation.
"The number of whales killed so far is enough to meet the known demand,'' Willy Godtliebsen, the head of sales at the Norwegian Fishermen's Sales Organisation, said, "They may resume the hunt later if new buyers turn up,'' Mr Godtliebsen added.
Less than 6% Norwegians regularly eat whale meat
"The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) says that the hunt has ended so early and with less than half of their annual Minke whale quota reflects a growing lack of interest in eating and purchasing whale meat in Norway. This is very much supported by a poll we ran in May with two Norwegian partner charities, where we found that only 6% of Norwegians regularly ate whale meat. The Norwegian Fishermen's Sales Organisation themselves say that demand has been already met, even though the whaling season runs until October. It speaks volumes as to the modern reality of whale meat trade."
Norway does not abide by the ban on the worldwide ban on whaling that has been in place since 1986.
However Lise Mangseth, of the Norwegian Fishermen's Sales Organisation, claimed the reason for halting the whaling is a lack of suitable storage facilities.
Whale watching in NorwayNorway continues to be a significant whale watching industry in Europe, with an annual average growth of approximately 5% over the last 10 years, with over 35,000 whale watchers recorded in 2008. 85% of people who go whale watching in Norway are from outside of Norway, and there are considerable levels of indirect expenditure in addition to the cost of the whale watching.
Year | Number of whale watchers |
1991 | 4,563 |
1994 | 11,227 |
1998 | 22,380 |
2008 | 35,360 |
Most Norwegian whale watching trips are day trips with an average cost per trip of $130. Several operators offer dedicated multiple day whale watch trips (for three, six or ten days), but these are also complemented with fishing, nature and cultural cruises around the Lofoten Islands.
Target species are mainly Sperm whales followed by Minke whales, orcas, and sometimes long finned pilot and Humpback whales. White beaked dolphins and harbour porpoises are also seen.
Norway whale watching information courtesy of International Fund for Animal Welfare - IFAW.
Read the comments about this article and leave your own comment
Great news, I am glad that whale watching has captured the interest of visitors and residents of Norway, here in the Caribbean whale watching is becoming big business. I note the ad on this page for Dominica whale watching, I live in St. Martin (200 nautical miles from Dominica) and between the months of January-February to March-April, we have around 7 species of whales off our coasts. We have a resident pod of Bottlenose dolphins that feed on a 10 metres drop off the NE side of St. Martin. Last month an Orca was sited 15 miles offshore from the south side of St. Barths. Orcas have been sited off the north side of Martinique for a number of years. I commend Norway to not take more whales and that they stay under the quota, it shows some sense of human responsibility.
Posted by: Victoria Pope | 27 Jun 2009 20:36:50
I find it amusing that the article only refers to the dubious sources of Greenpeace and the WSPA.
According to Norwegian newspapers this has nothing to do with demand and everything to do with financial problems at the buyers. The financial crisis has made credit more expensive and harder to get.
Norwegian consumers have never had a strong interest in whale meat, but we fully support our sovereign right to sustainable harvest our marine resources!
We are not subject to the EU, UK or US, our seas are ours to manage properly. And from what we have seen of the catastrophic situation in the UK and the rest of Europe we are NOT going to let you make a *mess* of our fisheries!!!
Posted by: Andrew | 27 Jun 2009 19:17:36
This is really good news for the whales. It just shows the lack of support for eating whale meat in Norway
Posted by: colin guest | 26 Jun 2009 15:50:29