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