luvdance
06-24-2005, 03:12 AM
OSLO - Chinese whale stir fry? U.S.-style whale burgers? Italian whale with pasta? Whale with Mexican tortillas?
Whalers are scouring global recipe books to spice up the mammals' meat in Norway and Japan, the two main whaling nations where unenthusiastic demand may be a bigger long-term threat to the hunts than any amount of foreign criticism.
Norway's 2004 hunt of 670 minke whales started last week, but piles of frozen meat from the 2003 season is still in stores a decade after Oslo broke with an international moratorium and resumed commercial hunts in 1993, setting its own quotas.
And in Japan, which caught 440 minke whales for what it calls scientific research in a season ended in March, whale consumption is on a long-term decline despite slogans like "Save them. Eat them" meant to whet new appetites.
Whale meat has some fervent devotees but reminds many others of post-war austerity when it was a cheap source of protein. Many young people, meanwhile, have never acquired a taste for the tough and gamey sea mammal meat.
"I hated whale meat as a child growing up in the 1950s and 1960s when it was cheap and my family ate it once a week. It tasted like cod liver oil," said Bente Sund, 48, who lives in Oslo. She said she had not touched whale since the 1970s.
In Norway, supermarkets have turned to brochures suggesting novel recipes from stroganoff to hamburgers. Whale in Mexican tortilla wraps, for instance, suggests strips of fried whale with taco sauce and accompanied with red pepper and lettuce.
In Japan, one whale recipe book includes whale kebabs, whale with noodles, sushi, whale soup, whale fried rice or even canned whalemeat sandwiches.
WHALE STOCKS PLENTIFUL?
Whaling nations say that stocks of minke whales are plentiful, unlike endangered species such as the giant blue whale, and do not need protection under a moratorium on all hunts by the International Whaling Commission since 1986.
They reject arguments by many nations that harpooning whales is cruel or that humans should respect the largest creatures on the planet - bigger than any dinosaur - after driving many close to extinction.
Environmentalists opposed to the hunts say that whale demand is falling and that the hunts will halt for lack of interest.
"In the end the market will finish off the hunts," said Frode Pleym at Greenpeace. Greenpeace says that whale watching would bring in far more money than the hunts.
No one has an overview of how much whale meat is still left from 2003 in Norway. Whalers sold their catch to supermarkets, who decline to divulge stocks.
Norwegian whalers say that warnings last year from health authorities that pregnant women should avoid whale meat because of high mercury content did not help sales. Scientists also said the blubber had toxic chemicals known as PCBs.
"I think sales are going relatively well. But there is a lot of work to do on marketing," said Rune Froevik, spokesman for the High North Alliance which lobbies for Arctic hunters.
Norway's total whale meat production is about 1,000 tonnes, or roughly 200 grams (7.0 ounces) or one meal a year for each of Norway's 4.5 million inhabitants. "It should be easy to triple consumption," Froevik said.
In Japan, consumption has been falling since World War II.
And 440 minke whales among 125 million Japanese means per capita consumption is tiny. From being an important source of cheap protein served in schools as recently as the 1960s or 1970s, it has become a costly item for gourmets.
Japan, Norway and whaling newcomer Iceland, which harpooned 36 minke whales last year after a 14-year break, have said that they have felt minimal economic impact - for instance on tourism - from foreign criticisms of the hunts.
Apart from minkes, Japan also does so-called survey whaling often to catch more controversial species like sperm whales, sei whales and Bryde's whales. Those surveys are due to start in June, an official at the Fisheries Agency said.
MACHO FOOD?
"Some people look at it as a tough, macho food," said Thor Edvard Kalsaas, spokesman for Norway's fish sales association which advertises whale recipes on the Internet at "http://www.hvalbiff.no."
He said men liked whale meat more than women.
And some look to Japan for culinary inspiration.
"In the summer I eat it raw as sashimi with wasabi sauce," Froevik said. "Grilled is also very good."
Story by Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent
Whalers are scouring global recipe books to spice up the mammals' meat in Norway and Japan, the two main whaling nations where unenthusiastic demand may be a bigger long-term threat to the hunts than any amount of foreign criticism.
Norway's 2004 hunt of 670 minke whales started last week, but piles of frozen meat from the 2003 season is still in stores a decade after Oslo broke with an international moratorium and resumed commercial hunts in 1993, setting its own quotas.
And in Japan, which caught 440 minke whales for what it calls scientific research in a season ended in March, whale consumption is on a long-term decline despite slogans like "Save them. Eat them" meant to whet new appetites.
Whale meat has some fervent devotees but reminds many others of post-war austerity when it was a cheap source of protein. Many young people, meanwhile, have never acquired a taste for the tough and gamey sea mammal meat.
"I hated whale meat as a child growing up in the 1950s and 1960s when it was cheap and my family ate it once a week. It tasted like cod liver oil," said Bente Sund, 48, who lives in Oslo. She said she had not touched whale since the 1970s.
In Norway, supermarkets have turned to brochures suggesting novel recipes from stroganoff to hamburgers. Whale in Mexican tortilla wraps, for instance, suggests strips of fried whale with taco sauce and accompanied with red pepper and lettuce.
In Japan, one whale recipe book includes whale kebabs, whale with noodles, sushi, whale soup, whale fried rice or even canned whalemeat sandwiches.
WHALE STOCKS PLENTIFUL?
Whaling nations say that stocks of minke whales are plentiful, unlike endangered species such as the giant blue whale, and do not need protection under a moratorium on all hunts by the International Whaling Commission since 1986.
They reject arguments by many nations that harpooning whales is cruel or that humans should respect the largest creatures on the planet - bigger than any dinosaur - after driving many close to extinction.
Environmentalists opposed to the hunts say that whale demand is falling and that the hunts will halt for lack of interest.
"In the end the market will finish off the hunts," said Frode Pleym at Greenpeace. Greenpeace says that whale watching would bring in far more money than the hunts.
No one has an overview of how much whale meat is still left from 2003 in Norway. Whalers sold their catch to supermarkets, who decline to divulge stocks.
Norwegian whalers say that warnings last year from health authorities that pregnant women should avoid whale meat because of high mercury content did not help sales. Scientists also said the blubber had toxic chemicals known as PCBs.
"I think sales are going relatively well. But there is a lot of work to do on marketing," said Rune Froevik, spokesman for the High North Alliance which lobbies for Arctic hunters.
Norway's total whale meat production is about 1,000 tonnes, or roughly 200 grams (7.0 ounces) or one meal a year for each of Norway's 4.5 million inhabitants. "It should be easy to triple consumption," Froevik said.
In Japan, consumption has been falling since World War II.
And 440 minke whales among 125 million Japanese means per capita consumption is tiny. From being an important source of cheap protein served in schools as recently as the 1960s or 1970s, it has become a costly item for gourmets.
Japan, Norway and whaling newcomer Iceland, which harpooned 36 minke whales last year after a 14-year break, have said that they have felt minimal economic impact - for instance on tourism - from foreign criticisms of the hunts.
Apart from minkes, Japan also does so-called survey whaling often to catch more controversial species like sperm whales, sei whales and Bryde's whales. Those surveys are due to start in June, an official at the Fisheries Agency said.
MACHO FOOD?
"Some people look at it as a tough, macho food," said Thor Edvard Kalsaas, spokesman for Norway's fish sales association which advertises whale recipes on the Internet at "http://www.hvalbiff.no."
He said men liked whale meat more than women.
And some look to Japan for culinary inspiration.
"In the summer I eat it raw as sashimi with wasabi sauce," Froevik said. "Grilled is also very good."
Story by Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent