Norway's Whaling Fleet Catches Only 1/2 Of Quota - Reuters

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OSLO - Norwegian whalers harpooned only half their quota of 1,052 minke whales in 2006, prompting hunt opponents to say that Norwegian demand for eating the meat had sunk.

"A total of 523 whales have been caught," Per Rolandsen of the fishing association in Svolvaer, north Norway, which handles the meat, told Reuters on Friday. "A few smaller whales might still be landed but we can say the season's over." Rough seas and high fuel costs with oil prices at US$75 a barrel had discouraged whalers, he said. Hunters need calm seas to spot the black and white minke whales when they surface to breathe.

Oslo, which resumed commercial hunts of minke whales in 1993 despite an international moratorium, angered many nations this year by raising its quota to 1,052 -- the highest in two decades and above recent years at about 750.

Opponents of the hunt said the 2006 shortfall indicated that Norwegians were going off whale meat despite Internet-based campaigns, such as http://www.hvalbiff.no, with recipes including whale wok, whale burgers or whale pasta.

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http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/37737/story.htm