NORWAY announces a marked reduction in its annual whale quota – Fishupdate.com

NORWAY announces a marked reduction in its annual whale quota Published:  30 December, 2008

NORWAY has announced a marked reduction in its annual whale quota for 2009.

The Fisheries Ministry in Oslo said the number of minke whales that can by caught by commercial fishing companies is to be cut by 16 per cent. The new quota which is being introduced with almost immediate effect, will allow fishermen to catch 885 minke whales compared with 1,085 in 2008.

The Norwegian Fisheries Directorate said in a statement: “The quota is a little lower than in 2008. This is linked to the fact that in 2009, we will be launching a new (stocks) management programme, in which unused quotas can no longer be transferred from one year to another.” The Oslo Government also says that whaling helps local fishing communities and minke stocks are in a healthy state.

However, Norway is Europe’s largest exporter of fresh salmon and one of the largest exporters of white fish. Environmental groups have repeatedly call for a boycott of Norwegian seafood – with little effect. Greenpeace described the move as symbolic politics

According to Icenews.is, Norway is one of the only nations that still hunts whales commercially, although they haven’t met their quota in years due to the difficulty involved in catching minke whales. Environmentalists are still angry that Norway endorses whaling at all. Greenpeace released a statement that the annual hunt is pointless and should simply be stopped.

Although Norwegians eat the whale’s meat, there is no modern use for blubber, so all of that fat gets dumped. .

Printer friendly version Email this article to a friend • Back Bookmark this