321. Telegram From the Embassy in Norway to the Departments of State and Commerce1
4207. Subj: Norway To Stop Commercial Whaling After 1987 Season.
1. (U) Begin summary: The GON announced July 3 that it will stop all commercial whaling after the 1987 season and will implement an IWC-approved scientific whaling program after that date. MFA officials said the plan, which includes establishment of an independent committee of internationally recognized scientists to study the whale stock, was specifically designed to satisfy USG criteria for stopping the imposition of sanctions against Norwegian fish products. End summary.
2. (U) MFA State Secretary Kari Gjesteby invited DCM to the Ministry late July 3 to announce that the GON has decided to stop all commercial whaling following the 1987 hunt. The invitation immedi[Page 898]ately followed a similar public announcement and press conference by Foreign Minister Frydenlund, Fisheries Minister Eidem, and Commerce Minister Mosbakk. Text of GON statement sent septel.2
3. (C) The GON program includes the establishment of an independent committee of internationally recognized whaling scientists to study the status of the whale stock and deliver its first report by November 15.3 That report will form the basis for establishment of the 1987 whaling quota. MFA Economics Division Director General Bjorn Barth, accompanying Gjesteby, said the 1987 quota will definitely be lower than the 1986 quota of 400 animals. He did not, however, specify a figure.
4. (C) Gjesteby noted that the GON decision included a statement that as part of its ongoing scientific studies the GON envisaged authorizing a program for scientific whaling. Gjesteby went on to say that the GON had no intention of using such a scientific program as a subterfuge for commercial whaling. Whatever program was eventually developed would be fully consistent with the IWC provisions concerning scientific whaling.
5. (C) Gjesteby and Barth took pains, as did the Ministers in the press conference, to point out that the GON decision was made unilaterally and on the basis of the best scientific evaluation of available information. Barth said Norway is an environmentally conscious country and wants to maintain that posture. He added that the GON is “tired of being criticized.” The establishment of an independent scientific committee will be both a way to increase the overall body of scientific knowledge about this whale stock, and a means to assure that the GON is not in conflict with the best scientific opinion. In response to a question from the DCM, Barth said the actual makeup of the scientific committee had not yet been determined, but he reiterated that it would be composed of experts working independently of any institutions which have previously been involved in this debate.
6. (C) Barth said the overall program was specifically designed to meet what the GON perceives as the USG criteria for stopping the imposition of sanctions. He said the GON expects that Commerce Secretary Baldrige will take this GON decision into account.
7. (C) Barth also noted that the unilateral announcement of the GON’s plan perhaps deprived the two countries of an opportunity to negotiate the fine points of an agreement. He stressed, however, that it was important for the GON to be able to say that it acted on its own [Page 899] after lengthy and deliberate evaluation. Foreign Minister Frydenlund and Fisheries Minister Eidem struck a similar tone at the press conference. Asked to what extent the decision was the result of USG pressure, Eidem responded that decision was the result of further analysis of the best scientific data available and of Norway’s longstanding belief that all living marine resources must be managed in the most scientifically responsible and defensible manner possible.
8. (U) Both the Ministers in the press conference and Barth and Gjesteby confirmed that the decision does not technically shut the door on a resumption of commercial whaling at some time in the distant future. In response to a direct question, Eidem told reporters that such a resumption could become a reality, subject to an increase in whale stocks, evaluation of newly developed data, and continued discussions within the IWC. When specifically asked for clarification of this point, Barth responded that such an answer was necessary to satisfy whaling interests. He added, however, that after a hunting ban of several years, the likelihood of a resumption was almost zero.
9. (C) Comment: Interministerial discussions leading to the decision continued until this morning, and until the last moment, it was feared that Fisheries Minister Eidem would resign rather than agree to stopping the hunt. The compromise decision to continue the hunt for another year and to implement a scientific whaling program allowed Eidem to remain in office. Foreign Minister Frydenlund reportedly played a central role in working out the compromise which avoided Eidem’s resignation. Embassy believes that this politically courageous decision by the GON meets the criteria which the Ambassador presented to Gjestery last week that commercial whaling be terminated before 1988. End comment.
10. (U) Should we receive press and public inquiries about the GON decision, we plan to answer as follows, pending more specific guidance:
Q. Has the USG been officially informed of the GON decision?
A. Yes, the Embassy was called in by the MFA July 3 and informed of the GON decision to terminate minke whaling at the end of the 1987 season and to establish an international scientific commission to assess the whale stock.
Q. What impact will this decision have on the USG certification of Norwegian non-compliance with the IWC ban on minke whaling and the prospect of USG imposed sanctions?
A. The USG has already certified that Norway has not abided by the IWC decision. This certification was prompted by US legislation, particularly the Pelly Amendment to the Fishermen’s Protection Act.
The USG has not yet decided what, if any, further actions will be taken. The recent decision by the GON will, of course, be taken into account in the ongoing USG deliberations.
- Source: Department of State, Dumping; Arctic; Whaling; Antarctic; Scientific Research, 1976–1987, Lot 94D419, Whaling—Norway 1985–86. Confidential; Immediate. Sent for information to Moscow, Tokyo, Reykjavik, Copenhagen, and Stockholm.↩
- Telegram 4201 from Oslo, July 3. (Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, D860514–0814)↩
- Not found.↩