Archive photo: Hvalfjörður whaling station in Iceland. Seagulls feeding on the carcass of a fin whale.
Today, the Icelandic Fisheries Ministry issued a permit to hunt
39 whales for commercial purposes. Nine of these are endangered
fin whales - putting to lie claims that the hunt is sustainable.
The old Icelandic whale processing factory is also reportedly
being put back into service.
Prior to today, Norway was the only country openly conducting
commercial whaling. Japan conducts a large yearly hunt using the
pretence of "scientific whaling" to keep its industry alive. Since
2003, Iceland has also engaged in so called "scientific whaling".
In both cases the meat is sold, mostly as a luxury food.
Update Saturday, 21 October 2006
A lone Icelandic whale hunter licensed to kill 39 whales made
his first kill today: an endangered Fin whale.
"There is no economic or scientific justification for commercial
whaling. The fact that the first kill was an endangered whale makes
a nonsense ofclaims that the hunt is sustainable," says our
campaigner JohnFrizell. "Iceland has no market for whale meat
internationally and almost none domestically. This hunt is no more
than pointless posturing, which achieves nothing except the further
depletion of an endangered species," he added.
In addition to the Iceland hunt, next month the Japanese whaling
fleet will sail to Southern Ocean, with plans to kill nearly 1,000
whales - including endangered Fin whales. Japan has announced
plans to begin hunting humpbacks in future as well.
The question of why?
Kristjan Loftsson, managing director of the Icelandic whaling
company, is said to be "pleased" about receiving the hunt permit.
But the question remains: why kill whales? Why try to revive a
dying industry with a long history of deception and
There is a glut of unwanted meat in Iceland, Norway and Japan.
In Iceland, they haven't even sold the meat from earlier
"scientific" hunts. There simply is not much of a market for the
A Gallup poll, commissioned by IFAW and released last month,
found that, "Only 1.1 percent of Icelanders eat whale meat once a
week or more, while 82.4 percent of 16 to 24-year-olds never eat
whale meat." Not very optimistic numbers for a business
Whale watching and how you can help
Iceland has a choice. Most Icelanders are environmentally
conscious, and in favour of using marine resources in a way that
preserves them for future generations. Its whale watching industry
is known around the world, and brings in more revenue than whaling
possibly could. Yet, the Fisheries Ministry has done a favour for
a very small interest group, and granted a permit for commercial
This permit should be revoked before the first whale is killed.
You can help by signing the Icelandic pledge. Tens of thousands of
people have pledged to consider visiting Iceland as tourists and
whale watchers, but only AFTER the whale killing ends.
Lend your voice to Icelandic people opposing whaling.
Discuss this article in "Louder than Words," the