Victory: Iceland’s only company that slaughters fin whales cancels this season’s hunt
The move, reportedly due to unfavourable market conditions, means that the country’s fin whales will be safe from whaling this year.
Iceland’s only remaining company that hunts fin whales has announced it has cancelled this year’s hunting season.
While Iceland is one of the few countries that still allow whaling, only two companies are permitted to do so.
This followed the country’s outgoing government’s decision last year that controversially issued whaling permits to two businesses.
Under those permits, the whaling company Hvalur hf is permitted to hunt fin whales, while the Tjaldtangi ehf company is allowed to hunt minke whales.
Estimates predicted that the permits could result in the deaths of more than 2,000 whales over the five year period which they apply to.
However, national media outlets in Iceland are now reporting that Hvalur hf has told its employees that this year’s whaling season will not be going ahead.
An Icelandic whaling ship. Credit: IFAW
With no other company legally allowed to hunt fin whales, the move means Iceland’s fin whales will be safe from whaling in 2025.
But the reason behind this year’s cancelled season could mean that they are safe in the future too.
While the vast majority of Iceland’s whale meat is typically exported to Japan, falling demand and rising costs are making exports unsustainable.
"Product price trends in our main market, Japan, have been unfavorable recently and are getting worse, making the price of our products so low that it is not justifiable to fish," Kristján Loftsson, CEO of Hval hf told Icelandic media in a statement.
Iceland’s whaling industry has long faced increasing pressure from animal welfare and environmental groups over its cruel killings of marine animals. A government report into the welfare of whales hunted by Hvalur hf revealed that the marine animals often suffer slow and painful deaths after being harpooned.
Icelandic whalers harvest their catch. Credit: IFAW
Public support for the sector is also falling, with national polling in the country indicating that the majority of Icelanders now believe that whaling hurts Iceland’s international image more than it helps.
These pressures have been compounded by falling demand in the main export market of Japan, where consumption of the delicacy is said to have steadily declined since the 1960s.
Critics of the whaling industry have displayed hope that these developments will see an end to whaling in Iceland, which is one of only three countries along with Japan and Norway that legally allow whaling.
“The news that Hvalur hf will not hunt fin whales this summer could signal the beginning of the end for whaling in the country,” the Whale and Dolphin Conservation group told Mongabay.
However, others noted that while fin whales will be safe for now, minke whales could still be hunted this year by the country’s one other whaling company, Tjaldtangi ehf.
Help protect whales by joining Species Unite in urging Iceland’s Prime Minister to take decisive action and ban whaling once and for all. Sign the petition here.
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