Throughout history, whaling and sealing have been essential to Norway's coastal population. In 1992, after a five-year ban on whaling, the Norwegian Government decided that in 1993 it would permit catches of the minke whale, the smallest of the baleen whales. This decision was based on the work of the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which estimates the population in the North East Atlantic at c. 112,000 individuals and the central Atlantic at c. 72.000 individuals. The current stock is capable of supporting a sustainable harvest, in keeping with internationally accepted principles for the management of renewable resources.
Whaling and sealing have always been an important means of livelihood for Norwegian coastal communities. Minke whales are caught by fishermen, who turn to whaling in summer when fishing activities are at their lowest ebb. Most whaling vessels are ordinary fishing boats, 50-80 feet long, specially fitted out for whaling. The boats are generally family owned and operated and carry a crew of three to eight persons, including the owner.
Minke whale meat and blubber is used for human consumption. Only the meat has a marked in Norway, where it is a traditional part of the diet. The meat and the blubber make a similar traditional part of the diet in other parts of the world.
Minke whaling is thus essentially different from the industrial, capitalintensive whaling of former years, the most important product of which was whale oil. This form of whaling has long been relegated to the history pages and Norway has no desire to resume industrial whaling.
The income from Norwegian minke whaling may seem small for the nation's economy, but it is of great importance to the families and local communities directly involved. Whaling has generally accounted for about half the income from each vessel and constitutes an important part of the processing plants' summer operations.
Norway has succeeded in maintaining a very decentralized pattern of settlement, with many small communities scattered along the coast. This is the result of a deliberate policy which has broad-based support. Fishing and hunting constitute the principal means of livelihood of the coastal population, particularly 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 exploit the living, renewable resources of the sea. At the same time, such resources must be protected against over-fishing and pollution.
A "green" industry
The use of selective equipment to catch fish and marine mammals is perhaps the most environmentally-sound way of producing food for human consumption today: the environment remains unaffected, energy consumption is low in relation to yield, and there is no pollution from fertilizers, pesticides or other chemicals.
All hunting 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. The Norwegian authorities have long experience in the management of marine resources, and now pursue a restrictive policy in which the emphasis is on protection.
Research
The uncertainty surrounding the size of the Northeast Atlantic minke whale stock was one of the reasons why the Government introduced a temporary ban on catches of the species from 1987. The IWC had decided to define the Northeast Atlantic minke whale as a protected stock as early as 1985. The Norwegian authorities did not consider the decision to be justified, and therefore entered a formal reservation against it.
At that time, stock sizes were estimated on the basis of catch per unit effort (CPUE), which is a very inaccurate technique. In order to improve our knowledge of the stock as a basis for its management, the Norwegian authorities initiated a research programme which included sighting surveys during a three-year period. From 1989 onwards, these surveys were incorporated into a more extensive five-year research programme concerning seals as well as whales. This programme is intended to provide better information on the various stocks of marine mammals and, in addition, knowledge of their role in marine ecosystems and interactions between them and the various fish stocks, in order to provide a basis for the management of all living resources in the Norwegian Economic Zone.
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 accordance with the RMP (Revised Management Procedure), new expeditions to count minke whales were carried out in the summer of 1995. The counting expeditions in 1995 were far more comprehensive and thorough than previous missions. Based on the 1995 expeditions, the Scientific Committee of the IWC estimated the Northeast Atlantic stock to number about 112,000 animals and the Central Atlantic stock at about 72.000 animals. That estimate was fully supported by the Scientific Committee at the IWC annual meeting in Aberdeen in 1996.
Norwegian authorities set an annual quota based on RMP criteria with the strictest protective limitations. Norway's quota for 2001 is 549 animals.
Norway in the IWC
In 1982, the IWC adopted a moratorium on all commercial whaling, to take effect from 1985. This 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, in this regard of its own 1982 descision been unwilling to re-evaluate the moratorium and establish catch quotas. Instead, it has specified new conditions which must be fulfilled before catch quotas can be discussed.
During the preparations for the Commission's annual meeting in 1992, it became clear that it would still not be possible to discuss catch quotas. The whaling nations could only interpret this as delaying tactics. It was against this background that the Norwegian Government made its independent decision to resume whaling in 1993.
Norway's legal right to carry out minke whaling is not in question, since Norway formally reserved its position on the IWC moratorium. 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 utilization 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.
Thus, the position of member countries of the IWC which oppose whaling on principle regardless of the size of the stocks is in fact in conflict with the Commission's own objectives.
Norway has been an active member of the IWC ever since the organization was established in 1946.
Environmental protection and management of natural resources
Norway has taken on a leading role in efforts to devise an international environmental policy for the future. A central element of this policy must be cooperation concerning the protection and rational management of renewable natural resources and their environment. The Norwegian Government's decision to resume traditional minke whaling is wholly consistent with its desire to make a positive contribution to the protection of the global environment.
Controlled hunting is not the greatest danger to marine mammals today; they are threatened far more seriously by the use of drift nets, lost fishing equipment, oil pollution and habitat destruction. Since the beginning of the 1970s, Norway has been at the forefront of efforts to develop binding international cooperation to control pollution from industry and shipping, sewage discharges and dumping of radioactive and other waste. Several international agreements on the protection of the marine environment have been concluded at Norway's initiative, and the country has taken an active part in drawing up others. Examples of such agreements include the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention), the 1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL Convention), and the 1983 Agreement for Cooperation in Dealing with Pollution of the North Sea by Oil and other Harmful Substances (Bonn Convention).
Main principles
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, i.e. 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.
Renewable resources are essential to human survival. Environmental protection must first and foremost focus on protection of species diversity and productivity to enable people to harvest natural resources today and continue to do so in the future.
The purpose of the IWC is to regulate whaling in accordance with the principles of sustainable exploitation. 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.
If correctly regulated, minke whaling is an environmentally sound way of producing food. Today, the demands for a moratorium on all whaling are in fact obscuring the real environmental challenges facing mankind.
The minke - one of many whale species
The minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) is one of the 75-80 species of whale found in the ocean. It is the smallest of the baleen whales and is found in all of the world's oceans. The minke whale can grow up to 10 metres long and gives birth to one calf per year on average. In the waters surrounding the Antarctic, the IWC has estimated that the stocks total at least 750,000 animals and in the Northeast Atlantic where Norway whales, the IWC has estimated the stocks at c. 112,000 animals. In the spring and summer, the whales migrate northwards along the Norwegian coast to the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean, where they graze on the abundant fish and plankton until autumn, when they migrate southwards. Minke whale can, however, be observed along the Norwegian coast all winter longHR>
The Scientific Committee of the IWC
The Scientific Committee was established in accordance with Article III, paragraph 4 of the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling and the procedures of the IWC.
The members of the Scientific Committee are appointed by the commissioners of the member states for one year at a time. The Committee's chairman may also invite other scientists to take part in meetings, but they are not entitled to vote. There is no limit to the number of members, and the Committee currently includes about 90 scientists.
The Committee's task is to provide expert advice on the issues put before it by the IWC. Advice is provided in the form of reports from the Scientific Committee to the Commission.
It was thus at the request of the IWC that the Scientific Committee in 1992 submitted its recommendation concerning a Revised Management Procedure (RMP), which would allow for commercial whaling in restricted areas of the Northeast Atlantic and in the southern hemisphere. Instead of following these recommendations, the Commission chose to delay resolutions which could have provided catch quotas until a so-called Revised Management Scheme (RMS) could be drafted. No such resolution has been adopted at subsequent IWC meetings, in spite of the fact that a recommended estimate had been submitted by the Scientific Committee. The RMS would include the RMP and various other elements, such as an inspection system. Work with the RMS has still not been concluded.
Whaling and killing methods
Minke whale hunting usually proceeds at a slow pace either by having the vessel stand by and wait for the whale to come into range or by manoeuvring to the site where it is expected to resurface. If the whale swims away, the vessel will follow slowly behind. No sonar or other instruments are used to find minke whales. The species does not have a particularly distinct spout, and a trained eye is needed to find the animals.
Pioneering country
The methods used to kill minke whales have been criticized. For many years, the IWC has given high priority to efforts to improve whaling methods in order to minimize unnecessary, protracted suffering, and Norway has always led the way 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.
Catch records show that most animals normally lose consciousness or die momentarily or very quickly. In 1999, c. 72 per cent of the animals died instantly, i.e. they stopped moving and sank. Movement, however, is a poor criterium for determining the time of death. Research is currently being carried out to find better criteria for determining the time of death more accurately. Preliminary results from this work provide reason to assume that a far higher number (probably nearly 75-80 per cent) lose consciousness or die momentarily. A good 10 per cent of the animals do however survive the first shot and must be put down with a second shot or rifle shot to the brain. Whalers are working to reduce this percentage. The results are clearly an improvement on hunting with cold harpoons, in which under 20 per cent of the animals died quickly. A new and better grenade harpoon for minke whales has been developed and introduced in the hunt as from the season 2000.
Inspector on board
Each year before the hunt begins, all gunners are required to take an obligatory course on shooting and killing. In addition, the gunners have to pass obligatory shooting tests with canon and rifle. All whaling vessels have an inspector on board as long as the hunt lasts to ensure compliance with the regulations, which inter alia stipulate that animals shall be slaughtered in such a way that they do not suffer unnecessarily. The inspectors are veterinarians and they report directly to the fisheries authorities.
A brief history of minke whaling
Hunting for minke whale along the coast of Norway is an ancient practice. Whaling was mentioned in written sources as early as the 800s and hunting minke whales with harpoons was common in the 1200s. A unique way of hunting minke whales that does not appear to be described anywhere else in the world took place in certain places in Western Norway, where the animals were trapped in coves and killed with the aid of bacteria-infected arrows. This form of whaling went on all the way up to this century.
The motorization of the fishing fleet in the 1920s and 1930s resulted in the development of the modern form of minke whaling. Small 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.
Licensing began in 1938 and the 1950s saw the introduction of other restrictions, such as a maximum catch per vessel etc. Other regulations stipulated that the licensees had to be fishermen who owned the vessels and took part in the hunt. Annual maximum quotas were introduced in 1976.
Cold, or non-explosive harpoons were used until the early '80s. On the initiative of the Norwegian authorities, a new type of explosive harpoon containing penthrite was developed and introduced in 1984. The cold harpoon was banned at the same time. Numerous improvements to equipment and hunting methods were introduced in the years that followed and today the killing method used on the Norwegian minke whale catch is the most controlled and best recorded method used on any wild animal in the world.
Produced by Nytt fra Norge for the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is responsible for the content of the article. Reproduction permitted. First edition April 1999. This page was last revised January 2001 by the editors.
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