2010-12-17
Norway Sets 2011 Whaling Quota
The Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs has set the minke whale quota for 2011 at 1286, which is the same quota that was given out as last year. There can be open hunting of minke whales (that is, no restrictions on per vessel quotas or area quotas) with the exception of the Svalbard area, which has a limit of 65 whales.
Despite the fact that Norwegian government and industry have invested millions in new product development and marketing, the whaling industry is struggling both with sales in the domestic market and trying to get meat exports to Japan resumed. In 2010, according to the Norwegian publication FiskeribladetFiskaren the whale hunt "wound up with fewer buyers, fewer vessels and fewer distributors who are willing to invest in such a narrow sector as whale meat."
In 2010, 468 whales were killed -- only 36% of the 1286 quota the whalers had been given. This was the lowest number of animals killed by Norway in ten years.
Sources:Ministry of Fisheries and FiskeribladetFiskarenYou can find out more about the Norwegian whaling industry by reading our subsidy report and our trade report
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