Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1944, General: Economic and Social Matters, Volume II

562.8F4/45: Telegram

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State

London, January 14, 1944—10 p.m.
[Received January 14—9:06 p.m.]

376. From the Delegation to the Whaling Conference. The validity of the Final Act forwarded in Embassy’s 354 of January 14 is limited, at the express desire of the Norwegian Delegation, to the first Antarctic whaling season in which operations are resumed (which delegates agree refers to 1944—45). Professor Bergersen¹² stated in confidence to the members of the drafting committee that the Norwegian Government in Exile had an agreement with the resistance movement in Norway that the Government would make no international commitments for a period of more than 1 year at a time under present conditions.

It was also desired in the interests of security to give no public indication in the document that resumption of whaling is contemplated in 1944—45.

Winant

12. Berger Bergersen, Norwegian whaling expert.