Tag: fin-whales

Japan’s plan to hunt whales within its own economic waters might lead to more whale meat exports from Iceland and Norway

New whaling quotas for the next five years announced by the Government of Iceland are a big step in the wrong direction..

During the 20th century, 2.9 million whales were killed by commercial whaling, likely the single largest removal of any animal in terms of total biomass in human history. As global pressure to end the slaughter mounted, the International Whaling Commission agreed a moratorium on commercial whaling from 1986

Iceland’s internationally condemned minke whale hunting industry has shut down, citing rising costs after just six whales were slaughtered in June and none in July, traditionally the peak time for hunting. Iceland operates in open defiance of an international ban on commercial whaling which was imposed in 1986

After a two-year hiatus, Iceland’s whaling kingpin announced he intends to resume hunting endangered fin whales. The last two killing seasons were scrapped, with Hvalur hf CEO Kristján Loftsson citing ongoing difficulties with Japanese customs on imports of his whale products and the strong krona

A new shipment of 1,700 tonnes of whale meat has been dispatched from Kristján Loftsson’s company Hvalur, in Iceland, to Japan where he has used his own funds to set up a company to import and market fin whale meat as a delicacy. This shipment adds to over 5,500 tonnes of whale products exported to Japan recent years