At the annual International Whaling Commission meeting this week, Denmark has applied to include humpback whales in the hunting quota for Greenland

Denmark has requested a hunting quota of 30 humpback whales for Greenland at the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which started Tuesday in Portugal.

According to documents submitted by Denmark to the IWC, the conversion rates for actual meat obtained from fin and minke whales – which Greenland currently has hunting quotas for – have significantly reduced from previous data submitted to the IWC.

Denmark, on behalf of Greenland, now claims that four tonnes of usable meat and edible products can be obtained from a fin whale, while 1.3 tonnes can be obtained from a minke whale.

Previous requests submitted to the IWC have not included the usable meat data. Instead, it listed the estimated amount of meat per whale, which was significantly higher at ten tonnes per fin whale and two tonnes for a minke whale.

The report, which was submitted to the IWC late Monday evening, said the new figures were due to the average number of whales landed during the last quota period in 2003-2007 being lower than the maximum allowed hunting limits.

The IWC accepts that Greenland needs 670 tonnes of whale meat as part of the aboriginal subsistence program. Aboriginal subsistence is classified as not increasing the risk of extinction of the mammal and meeting cultural and nutritional requirements of the people.

With the new conversion rates presented to the IWC, Denmark is arguing for the inclusion of a humpback whale quota to meet the aboriginal needs of the Greenlandic people.

Danish commissioner to the IWC, Ole Samsing, told The Copenhagen Post that Greenland’s population has increased since the aboriginal hunting needs were established in 1991 and the country now needs about 730 tonnes to meet its needs.

Greenland has previously argued for a humpback whale quota of ten per year for the last two years, but each time the application was rejected. This current application requests ten per year for the next three years.

The UK-based Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) said it does not object to aboriginal whale hunting but disputes Greenland’s need to include humpback whales in its annual quota.

According to the society, Greenland has not made full use of its quota in the past and argues that it should not include humpback whales if Greenland is already catching as many whales as it needs.

Last year, a quota of 200 minke whales and 19 endangered fin whales was given, but the Arctic country captured only 146 minke whales and 11 fin whales.

The society argues that the last minute application with new figures is designed to confuse the issue and gain a quota for humpback whales.

‘Greenland is getting desperate. How else can it be explained that they have now started to use different numbers every day to argue their case,’ said Nicolas Entrup of the WDCS. ‘Using these new conversion factors Greenland would suddenly need many more whales to supply its claimed meat demand.’

The humpback whale population was heavily decimated during the 20th century until a commercial whaling ban was introduced in 1966. This ban was extended to aboriginal subsistence hunting in 1987, ending Greenland’s capture of the whales.

The decision on whether to grant the new quota will be taken by the IWC this Friday.

Samsing explained that the controversial nature of whaling has drawn the spotlight on individual parts of Greenland’s application. Last year it was whether Greenland operates commercial whaling ventures and this year it is the conversion rates.

He said that while whaling is controversial and many are opposed to it, Denmark, and by extension Greenland, will adhere to the guidelines and recommendations set out by the IWC scientific committee, which are ‘often cautious’.

As long as the Faroe Islands and Greenland remain part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the will be represented by the Danish delegation at the IWC. Denmark is often drawn between its duty to the islands and its membership of the EU which has a strong anti-whaling stance.

Samsing said he had grown accustomed to the challenges in his three-year tenure as commissioner.

‘You have to know all the details and be observant. It’s a little difficult to fit the Greenland, Faroe Islands and Danish views all together but we have learnt to respect each other.’