this whaling quota is within a range that researchers believe provides adequate security with regard to protecting the whale stocks moreover the quota is based on scientific evidence from the iwc scientific committee the quota for was composed of a basic annual quota of and the addition of unused quota from in norwegian whalers were permitted to catch up to animals in coastal areas the north sea along the coast from stad to finnmark in the barents sea and around svalbard the rest of the quota could be caught in the zone surrounding jan mayen island conservationists feared that legalising any form of commercial whaling would open the door to other nations and ultimately lead to more not fewer whale deaths morell