Iceland Kills Whales Again After 2-Year Pause
By Mark J Palmer
Today, three countries continue to hunt and kill whales for commercial purposes: Japan, which both conducts commercial whaling and imports whale meat from the two other whaling countries, Norway and Iceland.
The whole enterprise is more political than practical. Surveys have shown that less than 5% of Japanese people have any interest in eating whale meat, mostly older generations. Norway and Iceland have no history of eating whale meat, and, aside from offering whale meat in tourist restaurants as a gimmick, most of the whale meat butchered by both nations is exported to Japan.
For two years, the Icelandic whale hunt for endangered fin whales in the North Atlantic had been paused for a variety of issues, including public opposition and a government split on the viability of whaling. But two fin whales lost their lives on Sunday, June 21st, just two days after the summer whaling season began. Another whale was reportedly shot four times with exploding harpoons before it expired after 30 minutes. These are the first of a quota of 150 whales issued by the Icelandic Marine and Freshwater Research Institute.
Behind the new whaling is Iceland’s politically connected whaling company, the Hvalur hf Company and its boss, Kristján Loftsson, sometimes called the Iceland Ahab. Despite economic losses and the damage whaling costs, Loftsson continues to press forward with killing fin whales and sending the meat to Japan.
Hvalur has killed, according to our colleagues at Humane World for Animals, more than 1,000 fin whales over the past ten years, a huge loss to the ocean ecosystem in the North Atlantic.
Fin whales are the second-largest whale on Earth, second only to blue whales in size. A major controversy in the past has been the appearance of protected blue whales, also endangered and not part of any quota, that have been butchered in view of the public. The Icelandic government claims these whales are hybrids of blue and fin whales, and therefore fair game. The fact that the two species would be willing to interbreed suggests seriously low populations with individuals desperate for mates.
The International Whaling Commission has paused commercial whaling globally; Iceland ignores the consensus. Fin whales are considered endangered by the United States and listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
According to Arne Feuerhahn of the Icelandic nonprofit Hard to Port: “There is nowhere left to hide. No one in Iceland wants this. We must bring this needless and senseless suffering to an end. The minister knows what she needs to do. It is my hope that she will do it,” referring to Ministry of Industries Hanna Katrín Friðriksson’s pledge to introduce a bill in Parliament in August to end the whaling. (Oceanographic Magazine)
The Icelandic government must end whaling permanently in that country, especially if the Japanese expect other nations to respect and cooperate with them.
The International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute is opposed to all commercial whaling and urges Iceland, Norway, and Japan to end the practice.
What You Can Do:
Please send a polite message to the Icelandic embassy in Washington DC, and urge the government of Iceland to end commercial whaling permanently. Whaling is a terrible stigma for Iceland. And terrible for the Atlantic Ocean ecosystem. Urge them to end whaling now.
Phone: (202) 265-6653
Email: washington@mfa.is
The Embassy of Iceland
2900 K Street N.W., Suite 509,
Washington, DC 20007
Remember to be polite. Icelandic politics is moving to end whaling, so help push it along.
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You can further help fin whales and other endangered dolphins and whales by making a donation today to the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute. Your donation helps end the killing and incarceration of whales and dolphins around the world. Thank you!
