Whaling in Norway

In 1865, Thomas Welcome Roys and C. A. Lilliendahl, tested their experimental rocket harpoon design and set up a shore station in Seyðisfjörður, Iceland.

In 1856, Phillip Rechten, of Bremen, Germany, together with the gunsmith Cordes, produced a double-barreled whale gun (and later claimed credit for Foyn's success) with a separate harpoon and bomb lance.

Whaling grew in economic importance to Norway, but by 1883, poor fishing catches brought renewed calls for a total ban.

The major shareholder, Thomas Amlie of Oslo, assumed the role of expedition manager and enjoyed great success.

[12][13] In 1894, Hans Albert Grøn of Sandefjord established the first of seven whaling station in the Faroe Islands at Gjánoyri, near Langasandur on Streymoy.

In 1908 he built a guano factory and used the product to endure seasons with poor yields or low whale oil prices.

After the World War I stoppage, Blacksod continued for one good season but its station burned down in February 1922, ending whaling out of Ireland.

[17] In 1903, A/S Ørnen, established by Norwegian shipowner Christen Christensen of Sandefjord, sent an expedition to Svalbard to conduct whaling with a steam powered floating factory.

[8][19] After the first season, local fishermen voiced opposition to the whalers with fears that their fisheries would be ruined, nets destroyed by panicked whales, and those who lived close to the shore stations complained of the stench.

While losses were incurred by local whaling companies, Norwegian catching equipment and crews were widely used which ultimately benefited Norway.

He traveled to Norway for harpoons and cannons, and returned to Japan to establish its first modern whaling company, Nihon Enyo Gyogyo K.K.

When the Olga was later sold, its gunner was sent to Oslo to contract the construction of a new catcher, the Togo, which was delivered in 1906 as the first of many whaling ships built in Norwegian shipyards for Japan.

[20][21] Norwegian and Scottish investors established the United States Whaling Co. in Sandefjord in 1910 with Peder Bogen as its managing director.

The factory ship was condemned by locals who claimed foreigners would destroy whale stocks with cheap Norwegian labor.

He later managed the Sociedad Ballenera de Magallanes (the Magellan Whaling Company) with a shore station in Bahía Aguila.

In 1914 he set out from San Pedro with a factory ship, Sobraon, and two catchers to hunt humpbacks along the coast from Chile, Peru, Ecuador and on to Colombia following the migrating animals.

[23][24][25] Encouraged by Andresen, another Norwegian whaler, Christen Christensen, sent the Vesterlide to San Pedro, captained by his own son, to hunt blue whales in the Bay of Corcovado.

Norwegian anti-whaling groups seem to prefer to hold a low profile and watch over the slow death of the industry, instead of raising their voice and polarizing the debate.

[27][28] Only minke whaling is currently permitted, from a population of 107,000 animals in the North East Atlantic and is argued by proponents and government officials to be sustainable.

[29] Still, it has been frequently criticized by the international community, environmentalists and animal rights groups as Norway, along with Iceland and Japan, is one of very few countries that still allows whaling.

The Ministry of Fisheries also initiated a satellite tracking program of various whale species to monitor migration patterns and diving behavior.

[41] When the dead minke whale is alongside of the boat a wire or rope is secured to the tail and the animal is pulled onto the deck through a gate on the gunwale.

Each year prior to the beginning of each hunting season, the hunters are required to pass obligatory shooting tests, both with rifle and harpoon guns.

The Norwegian College of Veterinary Science (Norges veterinærhøgskole - NVH) conducted experiments to develop a new explosive tipped harpoon that could reduce the average time to death.

In 2000, an improved model called Hvalgranat-99 (Whalegrenade-99), previously developed in cooperation with the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (Forsvarets forskningsinstitutt - FFI), was put into production and is currently used by Norway, Iceland, Greenland and Japan.

[41][49] A study in 1985-1986 showed that the introduction of the penthrite grenade prototype increased the instantaneous death rate (IDR) of minke whales from 17% to 45%.

[50] Animal rights, environmental and anti-whaling groups have commented that Norway's economic position makes it paradoxical that it is one of very few countries actively engaged in, and favoring the continuation of, commercial whaling.

[51] According to documents released by WikiLeaks, former US president Barack Obama, who promised to oppose whaling during his presidential campaign, used diplomatic channels to put pressure on Norway during his visit for the conferment of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

[52][dead link‍] Pro-whaling entities, such as the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission, have commented that it is a violation of sovereign rights to impose anti-whaling regulations on an independent state, and raise concerns about those nations' factory farming operations, which they see as considerably more harmful than whaling.

[citation needed] Arne Kalland argues[54] that international pressure against whaling is a form of cultural imperialism imposed on Norway.