Norwegian Whalers Get Increased Quotas

Johansen said that next year’s quota had been set lower than what is biologically justifiable and that the market had also been taken into account. He also indicated that quotas will be increased in years to come.

The quotas allocated by the Norwegian authorities are based on the IWC’s quota calculation model as submitted by the IWC Scientific Committee. This model operates on the basis of 6-year periods, for which a total quota is allocated for the entire period. The model imposes the implementation of obligatory counting surveys and the recalculation of stocks at the beginning of each period. As far as the North Atlantic minke whale stock is concerned, the 6 year period begins this year. The Ministry of Fisheries has yet to decide on the size of the total quota for this period. The IWC Scientific Committee submitted three different recommendations with regard to the quota calculation model, providing three different catch levels, all of which, however, satisfy the demands made on safety against depletion.

So far, Norway has employed the most cautious of these recommendations, but Johansen made it clear that no decision had yet been made as to whether this would be the case for the present six-year period.

He emphasised that the 1997 quota of 580 minke whales “is lower than the maximum quota that would have been allowed by the Scientific Committee’s quota calculation model.” The six-year quota is expected to be fixed prior to the 1998 season. Should the total quota allow a higher average annual quota than that which will have been taken in 1996 and 1997, then the difference will be added at some time later in the six-year period.