In 1988 Norway ended its export of whale meat with a final shipment to Japan. Fourteen years later, Norway is preparing to resume the international trade in whale meat with a 10 ton shipment of meat and blubber from minke whales destined for Iceland.
International trade in minke whale meat is banned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, but Iceland, Norway and Japan hold reservations on that designation and claim that decision is based on politics rather than science and apparently intend to defy the ban.
Norway is also apparently in negotiations with Japan to resume whale meat shipments. Like Iceland and Norway, Japan maintains the ban on the trade in minke whale meat is politically motivated.
Sources:
Iceland, Norway Resume International Whale Meat Trade. High North News, June 21, 2002.
Whale’s on menu. The Sunday Times, June 23, 2002.