[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
[October 4, 1993]
[Page 1684]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Message to the Congress on Whaling Activities of Norway
October 4, 1993

To the Congress of the United States:
    On August 5, 1993, the Secretary of Commerce certified that Norway's 
resumption of commercial harvesting of minke whales has diminished the 
effectiveness of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The IWC 
acted to continue the moratorium on all commercial whaling at its most 
recent meeting last spring. Despite this action, Norway has recommenced 
commercial whaling of the Northeastern Atlantic minke, noting that it 
has lodged an objection to the moratorium. This letter constitutes my 
report to the Congress pursuant to section 8(b) of the Fishermen's 
Protective Act of 1967, as amended (Pelly Amendment) (22 U.S.C. 
1978(a)).
    The United States is deeply opposed to commercial whaling: the 
United States does not engage in commercial whaling, and the United 
States does not allow the import of whale meat or whale products. While 
some native Alaskans engage in narrowly circumscribed subsistence 
whaling, this is approved by the IWC through a quota for ``aboriginal 
whaling.'' The United States also firmly supports the proposed whale 
sanctuary in the Antarctic.
    The United States has an equally strong commitment to science-based 
international solutions to global conservation problems. The United 
States recognizes that not every country agrees with our position 
against commercial whaling. The issue at hand is the absence of a 
credible, agreed management and monitoring regime that would ensure that 
commercial whaling is kept within a science-based limit.
    I believe that Norway's action is serious enough to justify 
sanctions as authorized by the Pelly Amendment. Therefore, I have 
directed that a list of potential sanctions, including a list of 
Norwegian seafood products that could be the subject of import 
prohibitions, be developed. Because the primary interest of the United 
States in this matter is protecting the integrity of the IWC and its 
conservation regime, I believe our objectives can best be achieved by 
delaying the implementation of sanctions until we have exhausted all 
good faith efforts to persuade Norway to follow agreed conservation 
measures. It is my sincere hope that Norway will agree to and comply 
with such measures so that sanctions become unnecessary.

                                                      William J. Clinton

The White House,
October 4, 1993.