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Norway
Lobbied by the powerful fishing industry, the Norwegian Government granted a quota of 885 minke whales to Norwegian whalers for the 2009 season.
In late June the Norwegian Fishermen's Sales Organisation announced that the hunt had been suspended four months early, with less than half the quota filled. The 350 minkes already taken were determined to be more than adequate to satisfy the reducing demand for whale meat in Norway. It is also understood that much of the catch from the previous year remains in cold storage.
Regardless of all this, the Norwegian Government has issued its whaling industry permits for 1,286 minke whales in 2010, the highest in a quarter of a century.
The whaling industry is subsidised by the government, which also funds media campaigns promoting whale consumption.
Meanwhile the whalewatching industry in Norway continues to grow, with many species of large and small cetaceans sighted regularly in local waters.
More information about Norway's whaling can be found under "Whaling today" .
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AWCS
Dedicated to
cetacean
conservation,
education and
research
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