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Resolution on whale hunting in Norway

2017/2712(RSP)

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on whale hunting in Norway.

The text adopted in plenary was tabled by the EPP, S&D, ECR, ALDE, GUE/NGL, EFDD and Greens/EFA groups.

It called on Norway to cease all its commercial whaling operations and to abide by the 1982 the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on all commercial whaling, which came into effect in 1986 and is still in force. Norway has killed over 13 000 whales since the moratorium came into effect in 1986 and media sources estimate that approximately 90 % of these whales are female, most of them pregnant, by reason of their slower response time.

Parliament also called on Norway to withdraw its reservations concerning the CITES Appendix I listings of large whale species and to cease all trade in whale meat and whale products. The Commission was asked to look into all possible ways of ensuring that whale meat is no longer legally allowed to transit through EU ports, including by recommending a ban on such transits as an exceptional measure. In this regard, Parliament noted that Norway’s exports of whale meat have increased sharply. In October 2016 alone, 2 948 kg of Norwegian whale products were found to have been exported to Japan, transiting through at least three EU ports. For the 2017 whaling season Norway increased its unilaterally established quota of minke whales to 999 (up from 880 in 2016).

Members regretted that Norway has so far not reconsidered its decision, despite diplomatic reactions and widespread international protests, and they called on the Commission, the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the Council to make use of bilateral and multilateral channels to urge Norway to stop all commercial whaling. In addition, the Council and Commission, at the forthcoming IWC-67 meetings, should take a common approach to whaling that is at least as precautionary as the present common position, and to engage with third countries in order to achieve majority support for the creation of whale sanctuaries.