PRESS RELEASE 

4 September 2008 

 

Regional management of whales and seals in the North Atlantic is the way 
forward 

 

Whaling and sealing nations in the North Atlantic, meeting in Sisimiut, Greenland this week, 
confirmed their commitment to ensuring the sustainable utilisation of marine mammals through 
science-based management decisions, stressing the vital importance whales and seals have as 
renewable resources for economies and cultures across the region. 

 

Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Norway are members of NAMMCO – the North Atlantic 
Marine Mammal Commission, an international body for cooperation on the conservation, 
management and study of whales, seals and walruses in the North Atlantic, which held its 17th 
annual meeting this week in Greenland. The Commission was established in 1992 through an 
agreement which provides the organisation with the international competence to make 
recommendations to member countries on conservation and management measures for all stocks 
and species of whales and seals in the region. 

 

In the light of interest expressed by Greenland in resuming a catch of humpback whales in its 
waters, the Cetacean Management Committee of NAMMCO recommended that the total quota of 
humpbacks in West Greenland in 2009, including by-catches, should not exceed 10 animals. This 
recommendation was based on the 2006 advice from the NAMMCO Scientific Committee that such 
a level of catch is well within sustainable limits, and noting that the most recent abundance estimate 
for West Greenland humpbacks from 2007 is higher than the previous estimate from 2005. 

 

New abundance estimates for a number of other key whale stocks in the North Atlantic, including 
fin whales, minke whales and pilot whales are also expected to be completed in the very near future. 
These will be based on data from the comprehensive Trans North Atlantic Cetacean Sightings 
Survey carried out in July 2007 and coordinated by the NAMMCO Scientific Committee. T-NASS 
was the largest contiguous cetacean sighting survey of its kind ever conducted, spanning the North 
Atlantic with participation by Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Norway and Russia, and 
in partnership with surveys carried out at the same time in the USA and in European waters. 
Regular monitoring of trends in the size of whale populations and their distribution through 
sightings surveys are an essential tool in the management of whale stocks. 

 

The results of the T-NASS survey, as well as the Icelandic minke whale research programme, 
fisheries surveys and other studies point to significant changes in North Atlantic marine ecosystems 
in recent years. NAMMCO has therefore requested its Scientific Committee to examine the latest 
information on these changes and the nature of predator-prey relations, and their implications for 
the management of all marine resources. 

 


Sealing was also a major focus of this year’s NAMMCO meeting. The Commission has requested a 
special meeting of experts to assess best practices in different forms of seal hunting. The 
NAMMCO Committee on Hunting Methods brings veterinary experts and hunters together on a 
regular basis to review and exchange experiences on methods and equipment used in whaling, 
sealing and walrus hunting and to make recommendations for improvements. 

 

Although NAMMCO does not deal formally with trade issues, moves within the European Union 
towards imposing import bans on seal products prompted all member countries at the NAMMCO 
meeting this week to express their serious concerns about the implications such trade barriers can 
have for the responsible management and sustainable use of abundant seals stocks across the North 
Atlantic, and the economies of the many communities dependent on these resources. 

 

The health benefits of consuming whale and seal oil were the subject of a specialist workshop 
organised by NAMMCO and its report on the most recent research findings and further research 
requirements was presented to the meeting. The health risks associated with high levels of 
pollutants in some species of small whales and seals warrants continued monitoring. But the 
documented health benefits of a diet rich in marine fats need to be balanced against these risks. 
NAMMCO members stressed that stronger global efforts to reduce pollution in the marine 
environment were crucial to ensuring that the high quality food provided by marine mammals can 
continue to contribute to both local and global food security. 

 

In summing up the meeting and concluding her term as Chair of the NAMMCO Council, Kate 
Sanderson from the Ministry of Fisheries and Natural Resources in the Faroe Islands, said: “For our 
nations in the North Atlantic, with a fundamental stake in conserving our marine resources and 
utilising them sustainably, it is clear that NAMMCO’s regional approach to cooperation on the 
management of whaling and sealing is a constructive and effective way to work, as is our regional 
approach to fisheries cooperation in the region. Hopefully this can also serve as a model for other 
regions around the world. “ 

 

Halvard P. Johansen of the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs in Norway was elected as the 
new chair of the NAMMCO Council. 

 

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For more details, see www.nammco.no or contact the NAMMCO Secretariat: 

 

NAMMCO 

Polar Environmental Center 

N-9296 Tromsø 

Norway 

Tel.: +47 77750180 

E-mail: nammco-sec@nammco.no

 

General Secretary - Dr Christina Lockyer mobil: +47 99 58 54 51