Tara Van Hoorn is an intern with the International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute and majors in Conservation Resource Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.
For the second year in a row, there will be no whaling in Icelandic waters, putting a halt, and possibly an end, to the nearly two decades of commercial whaling in the nation. One of Iceland’s largest whaling companies IP-Utgerd claims they will hang up their harpoons for good because whaling is no longer economically viable due to an extended no-fishing zone. With Iceland halting its whaling business again, now only two countries are taking part in commercial whaling this year: Norway and Japan.
Following stark declines in whale populations during the 19th and 20th centuries, the International Whaling Committee (IWC) decided on a moratorium on the whaling industry to go into effect in the 1986 southern hemisphere whaling season. This was an attempt to put a halt to commercial whaling to help the struggling populations of numerous species recover. However, Iceland decided not to participate in this moratorium and continued to hunt whales, claiming to do so for scientific purposes. In 1992, Iceland left the IWC, then rejoined in 2002 to hunt whales commercially again. Icelandic whalers were killing hundreds of whales per year, mainly minke whales and fin whales -- the latter listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Whale meat and blubber were coveted for years in Iceland for their proported medicinal and preservative properties.
Whaling, which is restricted to the summer months in Iceland, stopped in 2019 due to a decreased demand for whale meat in Japan and logistical issues such as finances and boat repairs, but was expected to return in the summer of 2020. However, Icelandic whalers, like the rest of us, did not expect the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the entire global economy. This year, commercial whalers will not hunt whales because of social distancing restrictions and heightened competition with Japan’s regulations regarding the testing and sale of imported whale meat. With IP-Utgerd claiming to end its hunting of fin whales completely, that only leaves one major whaling company left in Iceland -- "Hvalur hf." Facing two years of no whaling, the company, which mainly hunts the endangered fin whales mostly for export to Japan, will likely need to reconsider their business approach.
Amid the global devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, small victories persist. Hundreds of whales will be kept safe due to Iceland’s decision this year.
Another whale hunt curbed by COVID-19 is the pilot whale drive hunt in the Faroe Islands. This bloody drive hunt have been halted due to social distancing concerns in the Faroe Islands. Let us hope this hunt does not return next year.
Sign our petition to end Japan’s whaling and dolphin hunting.
