page_title: Whaling in Norway
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: Whaling in Norway / Production
caption_attribution_description: English: Whales caught (Greenland includes belugas since 1954, narwhals since 1970, large whales since 1986 and pilot whales 1998-2009), from: https://iwc.int/total-catches https://us.whales.org/whaling-facts https://web.archive.org/web/20080612233347/http://www.whaling.fo:80/numberswhalingandani.htm http://heimabeiti.fo/default.asp?menu=400 http://www.ssb.no/a/histstat/tabeller/15-7-en.html http://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/NAMMCOSP/article/viewFile/2840/2693 https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1111%2Facv.12315&amp;attachmentId=121968071 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2017/04/10/059691.full.pdf http://www.stat.gl/publ/en/SA/201007/tables/Catches.htm
context_page_description: Whaling in Norway involves hunting of minke whales for use as animal and human food in Norway and for export to Japan. Whale hunting has been a part of Norwegian coastal culture for centuries, and commercial operations targeting the minke whale have occurred since the early 20th century. Some still continue the practice in the modern day.
context_section_description: Modern minke whaling is conducted by many small to medium-sized fishing boats in spring and summer seasons. These vessels are equipped with a 50 mm (2.0 in) or 60 mm (2.4 in) harpoon cannon and penthrite grenade tipped harpoons designed to explode inside the whale. Each harpoon is connected to a nylon line and through a system of springs to a winch.
  The boats search known whaling grounds surrounding the coast of Norway at 4-6 knots watching for signs of feeding whales or flocks of birds eating krill. When a whale is spotted the gunner attempts to shoot the whale in its side, near the thorax, as the animal surfaces to blow. If the whale does not appear to die immediately the animal is hauled up to the boat where whalers with rifles will attempt to finish the animal with a shot to the head. In rare cases, a second harpoon shot may be necessary, but this is quite rare.
  When the dead minke whale is alongside of the boat a wire or rope is secured to the tail and the animal is pulled onto the deck through a gate on the gunwale. The whale is butchered at sea and the meat and blubber is then packed in ice and stored on the boat to be processed later on shore.
caption: Whales caught per year
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