The High North Alliance was founded in 1991 as a result of cooperation by the Lofoten Regional Council and the Norwegian Whalers’ Union.
The organisation was established in response to the campaigns calling for a total ban on all commercial whaling and sealing; and the even more radical ones calling for a total ban on the killing of marine mammals for any reason whatsoever.
The High North Alliance’ task is to provide alternative information to these campaigns. The organisation's objective is to protect the rights of whalers, sealers and fishermen to harvest renewable resources in accordance with the principle of sustainable management. The High North Alliance also works towards consolidating the knowledge and skills necessary for the ecologically sound management of marine mammal resources.
The High North Alliance includes the following member organisations:
The Pilot Whaler's Association, Faroe Islands;
KNAPK (The organisation of Fishermen and Hunters in Greenland)
LÍÚ, (the Fishing Boat Owner's Association), Iceland;
Vélstjórafélag Íslands, (the Engineer Officers' Association), Iceland;
The Norwegian Whalers' Union, Norway; The Norwegian Fishermen's Union
The Lofoten Regional Council, Norway;
The Fishing Boat Owners' Association, Norway;
The Inuvialuit Game Council, Canada;
The Icelandic Seamen's Federation, Iceland;
The Icelandic Minke Whaler's Association, Iceland;
Sjávarnytjar, Iceland.