From earliest times, whaling and sealing have been one of the main bases for settlement along the Norwegian coast. In 1993, after a five-year break to allow a thorough investigation of the stock, the Norwegian government decided that Norwegian minke whaling was to be resumed. The decision was based on the work of the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). In 2004, the Northeast Atlantic and Central Atlantic stocks, which Norway harvests, are estimated at 107 000 and 72 000 animals respectively. These stocks are large enough to provide a sound basis for sustainable harvesting.
The minke whalers are fishermen who turn to whaling in the summer months, which is the low season for fishing. A whaling vessel is an ordinary small fishing boat, 50 to 80 feet long, specially fitted out for whaling. The boats are generally run as family businesses with a crew of three to eight including the owner.
Minke whale meat is used for human consumption. There is a long tradition of eating whale meat in Norway, and both whale meat and blubber also form part of traditional diets in other parts of the world.
The minke whale is the smallest of the baleen whales, and minke whaling is essentially different from the industrial, capital-intensive whaling of former years, which targeted the large whale species and where whale oil was the most important product. This form of whaling is now history.
Norway has succeeded in maintaining a decentralised pattern of settlement, with many small communities scattered along the coast. This is the result of a deliberate policy that has broad support. Fishing, sealing and whaling are among the principal means of livelihood of the coastal population, especially in the northernmost parts of the country. If these coastal communities are to have any future, they are dependent on acceptance of their time-honoured right to utilise the living, renewable resources of the sea. At the same time, these resources must be protected against overfishing and pollution.
A “green” industry
The use of selective equipment to catch marine fish and mammals is perhaps the most environmentally-sound way of producing food for human consumption today: the environment remains unaffected, energy use is low in relation to yield, and there is no pollution from fertilisers, pesticides or other chemicals. All harvesting must of course be carried out within reasonable limits, so that stocks are not driven to extinction. The minke whale is not a threatened species in Norwegian waters. The Norwegian authorities have long experience in the management of marine resources, and now pursue a restrictive resource policy with an emphasis on protection.
Research
In the mid-1980s, there was a great deal of uncertainty about the size of the Northeast Atlantic minke whale stock. In order to improve knowledge of the stock, the Norwegian authorities initiated a research programme that included sighting surveys over a three-year period. From 1989 onwards, the sighting surveys were incorporated into an extensive five-year research programme concerning seals as well as whales. This was designed to provide information on the role the various stocks play in the marine ecosystem as well information on the stocks themselves.
The results of the first research programme were submitted to the Scientific Committee of the IWC in 1990. The committee accepted the results and the data submitted, but asked for supplementary investigations and estimates. These were presented and discussed in 1991 and 1992. In summer 1995, new sighting surveys were carried out. These were much more extensive and thorough than the earlier surveys. On the basis of the 1995 surveys, the Scientific Committee concluded that the best estimate for the Northeast Atlantic minke whale stock was 112 000 animals. The North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO) has estimated the Central Atlantic stock at about 72 000 animals.
Norway in the IWC
In 1982, the IWC adopted a moratorium on all commercial whaling, to take effect from 1986. Norway formally reserved its position on the IWC moratorium, but nevertheless introduced a temporary ban on minke whale harvesting from 1987, pending more reliable information on the state of the stocks.
The moratorium included a clause stating that “by 1990 at the latest the Commission will undertake a comprehensive assessment of the effects of this decision on whale stocks and consider modification of this provision [the moratorium] and the establishment of other catch limits.” This meant that new, more reliable stock assessments for the stocks from which catches might be taken, and a revised procedure for their management, were to be available by this deadline. The Scientific Committee met both these requirements, but at its Annual Meetings since 1990 the Commission has nevertheless been unwilling to re-evaluate the moratorium and catch quotas. Instead, it has specified new conditions that must be fulfilled before catch quotas can be discussed.
This could only be interpreted as delaying tactics, and was the basis for the Norwegian government’s unilateral decision to resume whaling in 1993. Norway sets an annual quota for the minke whale hunt on the basis of the Revised Management Procedure (RMP) adopted by the Scientific Committee. The quota for 2004 is 670 animals.
Norway’s legal right to hunt minke whales is not in question, since Norway formally reserved its position on the IWC moratorium when it was adopted. This reservation was made pursuant to Article V of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, the agreement on which the establishment and activities of the IWC are based.
The express objective of this convention is to ensure “increases in the numbers of whales which may be captured without endangering these natural resources”. Moreover, the Convention lays down that the harvesting level shall “be based on scientific findings”, shall provide for “the conservation, development and optimum utilisation of the whale resources [...] and shall take into consideration the interests of the consumers of whale products”. In other words, the objective of the Convention is not to protect whales for their own sake, but to regulate catches of whales for the benefit of mankind both now and in the future. The position of member countries of the IWC which oppose whaling on principle is in fact in conflict with the Commission's own objectives.
Environmental protection and management of natural resources
Norway is playing an active role in efforts to devise an international environmental policy for the future. A central element of this policy must be co-operation concerning the protection and rational management of renewable natural resources and their environment. The Norwegian Government’s decision to resume traditional minke whaling is therefore not inconsistent with its desire to make a positive contribution to the protection of the global environment.
Certain principles play a central role in the management of renewable resources:
- Sustainability - to avoid depleting stocks, we must only harvest their production surplus;
- Biodiversity - in order to maintain global biodiversity, all species must be protected against extinction or decimation;
- Integration - all the species belonging to an ecosystem are integrated into the complex web of interactions in the system and should therefore be managed as a unit.
- Right to exploit natural resources - nations and local populations have a right to exploit the natural resources that are naturally available to them within the framework of the above-mentioned principles.
We can only comply with these principles if the following conditions are fulfilled:
- natural resource management must be based on scientific advice supported by the best available knowledge,
- all decisions must be based on the precautionary principle. This means that uncertainty about biological data must result in a cautious level of harvesting, and any exploitation must allow a reasonable margin of safety,
- all harvesting must be followed up by monitoring,
- effective control systems must be implemented to ensure compliance with regulatory decisions.
The purpose of the IWC is to regulate whaling in accordance with the principles of sustainable use. Norway's participation in the IWC is also based on these principles. Norway has played an active part in the development of a new, more reliable management procedure, and has conducted comprehensive research to obtain the necessary data on the Northeast Atlantic minke whale stock.
Provided that it is regulated to ensure that it is sustainable, minke whaling is an environmentally-sound way of producing food. The demands for a moratorium on all whaling are in fact obscuring the real environmental problems facing the world.
The minke whale – one of many whale species
In all, there are between 75 and 80 whale species. The minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) is the smallest of the baleen whales, and is found in all the world’s oceans. The minke whale can reach a length of 10 metres, and gives birth to roughly one calf per year. It feeds on both plankton and fish. In Antarctic waters alone, the IWC estimates that there are at least 750 000 animals. Minke whales are also abundant in the north Atlantic, where the Norwegian hunt takes place. The most recent estimates (2004) put the Central Atlantic stock at 72 000 animals and the Northeast Atlantic stock at 107 000 animals. In the spring, minke whales migrate northwards along the Norwegian coast to the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean to feed on the plentiful fish and plankton until the autumn, when they return southwards. Minke whales can be observed along the Norwegian coast throughout the winter.
The whale hunt and killing methods
In Norway, minke whales are generally hunted either from a boat that is lying still and waiting for the whale to come within firing range, or from one that is being manoeuvred carefully to the place where the whale is expected to surface next. If the whale moves away, the boat follows it slowly. Minke whales do not have a particularly characteristic spout, and a trained eye is needed to find the animals.
The methods used to kill minke whales have been criticised. A great deal of work has been done by the IWC and others to improve whaling methods to ensure that the animals are killed as quickly as possible. Norway has always played a leading role in these efforts. The methods now used in minke whaling are as good as or better than those in other forms of big-game hunting as regards both death times and the percentage of whales that are merely injured.
Studies show that most of the animals lose consciousness or die instantaneously or very quickly. A 1999 study showed that 72 per cent of the animals died instantaneously. In other words, they stopped moving and sank. However, lack of movement is a poor criterion for establishing the moment of death. Research is therefore being carried out to determine better criteria for establishing the moment of death with greater certainty. The results obtained so far indicate that around 80 per cent of the animals lose consciousness or die instantaneously. Around half of the remaining 20 per cent lose consciousness immediately, and thus do not suffer. However, around 10 per cent of the animals survive the first strike and must be killed by another shot or by a rifle shot to the head. Efforts are being made to reduce this percentage.
This situation is a clear improvement from the days when cold harpoons were used, and less than 20 per cent of the animals were killed rapidly. The use of grenade harpoons was made obligatory in 1984. A new and improved grenade harpoon has since been developed, and has been in use since 2000.
Every year, before the harvesting season begins, all gunners must attend a course on shooting and killing. In addition, all gunners must pass an obligatory shooting test using both a harpoon gun and a rifle. Each whaling vessel carries an inspector on board during the hunt. The inspectors report directly to the fisheries authorities.
The methods used by Norwegian whalers today for killing minke whales are probably the most strictly monitored and best registered methods used in any big-game hunting in the world. The methods used in Norwegian whaling also compare favourably to those used for livestock in slaughterhouses.
A brief history of minke whaling
Minke whaling has been carried out along the Norwegian coast for centuries. Whaling is mentioned in written sources from as early as the ninth century, and minke whaling with harpoons was widespread in the 1200s. The motorization of the fishing fleet in the 1920s resulted in the development of the modern form of minke whaling. Fishing boats were fitted out with harpoon guns in the bows, and equipment for hauling whales on board and flensing them was gradually developed. The meat and blubber were stored on ice in the hold.
Requirements for licensing were introduced in 1938. This was followed by other restrictions in the 1950s, such as a maximum catch per boat and a requirement that licence holders must be fishermen who owned the boats and themselves took part in the hunt. In 1976, annual catch quotas were introduced.
By the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs