Norwegian minke whaling – background and determination of catch limits

Background information

There is a widespread misunderstanding that in 1982 the International Whaling Commission (IWC) adopted a total, categorical ban on commercial whaling. In fact the IWC adopted a temporary moratorium in two parts: 1) a zero quota for catches of all the great whale species for commercial purposes, and 2) a decision to undertake a comprehensive assessment, at the latest by 1990, of the effect of the zero quota on whale stocks, and to consider its modification and the establishment of other catch limits. However, the second part of the moratorium decision has never been followed through, and as of 2002 has still not been put into practice.

Although Norway never accepted the 1982 decision (because it did not meet the necessary scientific standards) and is therefore not bound by it, we have made active efforts to put the IWC in a position to meet its commitments according to the decision. In accordance with the IWC rules, the task of revising the procedure for setting catch limits was assigned to the Scientific Committee. Norway acted as a driving force in this work and contributed the major part of the research, and these intensive efforts resulted in the presentation by the Scientific Committee in 1991 of the Revised Management Procedure (RMP) as a basis for setting catch limits for the Northeast Atlantic minke whale stock. However, the Commission did not make a decision to replace the moratorium with the RMP, and the former remained in force in spite of the fact that it was already outdated. However, Norway began independently using the RMP for setting quotas for minke whale catches after it decided in 1992 to resume commercial catches of the Northeast Atlantic minke whale stock.

Catch limits and tuning level

To put it simply, the RMP is an advanced, complex model for calculating catch limits, which includes factors that take into account the current and original size of the stock concerned, the rate of reproduction, the management objectives, etc. The following three management objectives have been set: i) catch limits should be as stable as possible; (ii) the risk that a stock will not be depleted below a safe biological level should be acceptable; (iii) the highest possible continuing yield should be obtained from the stock. The second of these objectives has been given the highest priority. To achieve this objective, a final population tuning level is used. Tests of the RMP using different tuning levels have shown that a level in the range from 0.60 to 0.72 gives satisfactory protection against overexploitation of the stock.

At the annual meeting of the IWC in 1991, the RMP was presented in the report of the Scientific Committee to the Commission (report IWC/43/4). It was recommended that the tuning level should be set in the interval between 0.60 and 0.72. The IWC accepted the Revised Management Procedure, but as mentioned above, did not make any decision on its implementation. Instead, the Commission adopted a resolution on the RMP that included a sentence specifying that “The “high tuning” level of 0.72 shall be adopted”. Norway voted against the resolution, and stated that it would only consider itself to be bound by the recommendations of the Scientific Committee, not by the resolution. Norway has reiterated this standpoint at meetings of the IWC a number of times since, most recently during the 2002 meeting in Shimonoseki in Japan. Nevertheless, Norway used the high tuning level of 0.72 in setting annual quotas for its minke whale hunt up to the year 2000. In 2001, the quota was set using a tuning level of 0.66, and for 2002 a tuning level of 0.62 was used. Thus, the adjustments made in these two years did not involve a change of policy, but were technical adjustments within an already existing framework.

The quota for 2003 has also been set using a tuning level of 0.62, which thus shows the continuity of our policy. The 2003 quota is nevertheless somewhat higher than this year’s quota because 34 animals from this year’s quota, which was not filled, have been transferred to next year.

It should be noted that the current level of harvesting is still allowing the minke whale stock to grow. The quotas we have set up till now have resulted in a catch level that is markedly lower than it would be under an ecosystem-based management regime. However, Norway also considers it important to keep its management of the minke whale stock within the framework laid down by the IWC.