SVOLVAER, Norway (AFP) — In the Lofoten Islands, the main base for Norway's whaling industry, whalers adamantly defend the harshly criticised practice and reject claims that consumers are not buying whale meat.
In this cluster of islands nestled above the Arctic circle, the hunting season is over for this year. The whalers have all returned to their home ports, their vessels easily identified by the harpoons perched on the bow and an imposing watchtower that enables them to spot minke whales from afar.
The quota was hard to fulfill again this year, with whalers killing only half of the allowed catch of 1,052 whales. Since Norway resumed whaling in 1993, seven years after an international moratorium came into force, the hunters have only met their quota once.
They blame the low catch on the high fuel price, bad weather -- still waters are needed to harpoon a whale -- as well as quotas often distributed in regions far out to sea and a crunch in processing and distribution channels.
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