Norway to sell whale meat

Norway plans to defy the international ban on commercial whaling and sell whale meat to Iceland.

Norway will issue an export license for 10 to 15 tonnes of minke whale meat.

In 1993, Norway started commercial hunting of minke whales, ignoring the global moratorium. Last year, the Norwegian government said it would export whale meat to pro-whaling countries, including Japan and Iceland, for the first time since 1988.

Icelanders eat mostly fried whale meat.

Iceland, which stopped whaling in 1990, says whales are consuming its fish stocks. The Icelandic Marine Research Institute recommends 250 minke whales and 100 fin whales be killed every year, out of a stock of 70,000 animals.

But the International Whaling Commission has vetoed Iceland’s requests for a system of regulated whale hunts.

Norway, in defiance of the IWC, has set its own quota of 674 minke whales for this season.