Despite talks of compromise at the International Whaling Commission (IWC), Norwegian whalers plan to kill as many as 1286 whales, six more than the Japanese quota and the highest quota set by the Norwegian government in over 25 years.

These recent figures indicate how little whaling nations are prepared to compromise when it comes to whaling. The figure of 401 whales includes the quota carried over from 2009, when Norwegian whalers ended their season prematurely due to failing demand for the meat. Norges Rfisklag - the Norwegian Fishermen's Sales Organisation and responsible for annually setting the minimum prices for whale meat, had seen prices for Norwegian whale meat fall to as little as 30 Norwegian kroner per kg, far cheaper than beef or reindeer meat.

Meanwhile activists recently attempted to sink a whaling ship in a Norwegian port, removing a valve in the hull of the vessel to let water in, but the ship's owners quickly detected the leak and closed it before pumping the water back out. The incident happened in the northern port of Svolver, some 1,000 kilometres north of the capital Oslo.