Norway announced yesterday that it is extending its controversial whaling season for another month because hunters have not yet filled the year’s quota of 655 minke whales. Norway conducts commercial hunts in defiance of a moratorium by the International Whaling Commission. Johan Williams of the nation’s Fisheries Ministry dismissed the possibility that failure to reach the quota could indicate that stocks of minke whales are declining; instead, he blamed the shortfall on rough sea conditions. Meanwhile, Japan defended itself against international criticism for the recent expansion of its so-called scientific whale hunt to include Bryde’s and sperm whales in addition to minkes. Japan warned that if the U.S. imposes sanctions against the nation, as U.S. officials have threatened, Japan will take its case to the World Trade Organization.
