Photo Credit: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Photo Credit: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

You Can Help End Icelandic Whaling

Topics: Dolphin and Whale Trade, Iceland, Whaling, Fin Whale

By Mark J. Palmer

The International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute has joined forces with our friends at the Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS) to mount a special appeal from the public to the government of Iceland, encouraging them to put an end to Iceland’s whaling industry.

OPS is best known for the Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove, which details the efforts of IMMP in Japan to end the dolphin slaughter.

Also joining the campaign with OPS and IMMP are OceanCare and LegaSeas.

As background, Iceland has been one of the world’s scofflaws, continuing to kill whales in spite of the moratorium on commercial whaling approved by the International Whaling Commission back in 1982. (The moratorium went into effect in 1986.) Iceland, along with Norway and Japan, has continued to kill thousands of whales, including endangered and depleted species, since the moratorium was approved.

Back in February 2022, Iceland’s Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Svandís Svavarsdóttir, wrote in an op ed for the publication Morgunblaðið that whaling was likely to end for that country.

"It must be demonstrated that it is economically justifiable to renew whaling rights. In a historical context, these whale hunts have had a negative effect on the country's export interests," the minister wrote. "All things being equal, there is little justification for authorizing whaling after 2024. This year, an assessment will be made of the potential macroeconomic and social impact of such a decision."

However, likely in part in response to the Minister’s widely-read op ed, the richest man in Iceland, Kristján Loftsson, announced his whaling company would go back to killing fin whales – many fin whales – this summer after a hiatus of two-and-a-half years.

As good as his word, Loftsson’s whaling company killed 148 rare fin whales this past summer in the North Atlantic Ocean. The species is still listed as endangered under US law, because of the species’ depletion by commercial whaling.

In August, The Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries issued new regulations on whaling, related to the welfare of these marine mammals. Responding to reports of fin whales suffering from prolonged efforts to kill them, the agency established a review program of whaling practices to ensure that Iceland’s animal welfare laws were being adhered to by the whalers.

OPS, IMMP and our partners are urging the public to send letters to the Icelandic Minister, Svandís Svavarsdóttir, urging her to end Iceland’s whaling permits as soon as possible.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Send a letter directly to the Icelandic Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries.

Urge her to end Iceland’s commercial whaling industry, for the good of whales and for the oceans. Iceland does not need the whale meat, and killing whales deprives the ocean of the ecological benefits of whales, including sequestering carbon and circulating nutrients for the health of the ocean ecosystem.

Thanks for your help!

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Donate now to help end whaling in Iceland, Norway and Japan! These three nations continue to kill hundreds of whales annually, despite repeated objections from many nations and international bodies around the world. The International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute continues to pressure these countries to end whaling now. Your letters and financial contributions will help turn the tide. Thank you for your support!