hunting of minke whales in 1993, although the IWC had not lifted its ban.
Sealing: in the past seals have been hunted as intensively as whales in the Nordic region. Several arctic pinniped species, including the bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) and the walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), are protected, following heavy overexploitation. In recent years, restrictions and slackening demand have also reduced the scale of hunting for species of seals that are still comparatively common. Seals hunted in Norway are mainly the harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) and the hooded seal (Cystophora cristata). Currently, pups are no longer killed in either the Jan Mayen area or the White Sea, and the greater part of the catch has consisted of harp seals that are one year old or more (Central Bureau of Statistics of Norway, 1993). In Iceland the catch of seals consists mainly of the young of both the common seal (Pocha vitulina) and the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) (Icelandic Ministry for the Environment, 1992). Even if the pressure from hunting has eased, the populations of seals in Northern European waters are still threatened by toxic pollutants (eg, PCBs) and virus epidemics, possibly related to human activities (eg, the 1988 phocine distemper virus in the Kattegat and Skagerrak): both are cause for concern.
See also the case study on monk seals in the Mediterranean in Chapter 9.