COLLAPSE OF WHALE MEAT MARKET STOPS HUNT IN NORWAY

7 July 1999

Amsterdam/ Oslo -- Greenpeace have documented that Norway's two largest whale-meat warehouses are full, with some boxes dating back to 1986, the year when the international moratorium on commercial whaling was taking effect. Norges Rafisklag - the Norwegian wholesaler controlling the entire raw fish market in the country - asked whalers to stop providing whale meat because it has not been selling well this year.

Norwegian whalers have stopped whaling in most areas, although some are still hunting in the North Sea whaling grounds.

"Norway has been subverting international agreements to carry on a hunt when no one wants the meat", said Greenpeace Campaigner Lars Haraldstad. "Clearly whale meat is not needed for subsistence".

The President of the Whalers Association, Jan Kristiansen, has demanded that the government allow the export of the meat to cash markets and subsidise the sale of meat within Norway.

"The international trade in whale meat has led to the depletion of one population after another to service high value export markets", said Haraldstad. "Norway does not need whale meat for subsistence and its healthy economy does not need export sales of whale meat. We are pleased that the hunt has, in effect, been stopped for 1999 and we hope it will not be resumed in the new millennium".

In 1986, the IWC introduced an international moratorium on commercial whaling to put an end to decades of uncontrolled whaling and collapsing whale populations. This is also supported by The Law of the Sea (in art 65) which requires all countries to cooperate with the IWC for the conservation of whales. Norway recommenced commercial whaling in 1993, openly flouting the IWC moratorium. Every year since, the IWC has condemned Norway for continuing to hunt whales - and every year the Norwegian government has ignored that ruling.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- Lars Haraldstad or Mats Holmberg, Greenpeace Nordic, tel. +46 8 702 70 74, +46 70 772 64 10 (mob)
- Luisa Colasimone, Greenpeace Communications, tel. + 31 20 52 49 546

Stills available from Rene Papavoine, Greenpeace Picture Desk, tel. +31 20 52 49 580

Updated information to be found on www.greenpeace.no/english