Dolphins Saved from Norwegian Harpoons

By Kate O'Connell, CSI Board

In spite of all of the bad press from Norway on the whaling front, there was a glimmer of good news. The Norwegian Fisheries Department announced on April 6th, 2001 that it was denying a request from the Institute for Marine Research (Havforskningsinstituttet: HI) to kill up to 60 dolphins for scientific research. The HI had proposed that they be allowed to kill the dolphins (Atlantic white-sided dolphins and white-beaked dolphins) in order to determine contamination levels in the dolphins' bodies, as well as to determine their feeding habits.

The pilot study was based on a suggestion by the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO, a body composed solely of nations which support whaling) that more be done to assess the populations of these animals. The HI had actually posted to its web site a preliminary suggestion that the animals, once killed, be sold to offset the costs of the research, and had suggested looking to whalers as potential supporters to harpoon and shoot the dolphins, in a manner reminiscent of scientific whaling. Dolphin hunting is currently banned under Norwegian law.

When contacted to confirm the announcement, Johan Williams of the Fisheries Department stated that as no such permit had ever been issued in Norway, the application would be turned down. Also, Williams cited the fact that animals already taken as bycatch in fisheries - particularly Danish fisheries - could well provide samples of the animals without necessitating the killing of additional animals. In their official announcement, the government cited cost concerns, as well.

The outcry on this proposal had been huge, and according to an article in Aftenposten, a daily newspaper in Norway, embassies were being bombarded with protest calls, faxes and emails. In particular, after an article entitled "Massacre in the North Atlantic" ran in a popular magazine in Germany, the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin was overrun by complaints.