Iceland, Norway and Japan are the only countries in the world that allow whaling, despite recurring criticism
Iceland, one of the last three countries still commercially whaling, plans to end this activity from 2024in the face of sharply falling demand, the government announced on Friday.
Since three consecutive summers -the usual catch season- the harpoons are practically stopped in the waters of the immense North Atlantic island, despite the large quotas for the current period (2019-2023).
This is due to the resumption of commercial hunting in Japan -the main market for cetacean meat-, as well as the entry into force of a coastal zone in which fishing is prohibited, which forces people to go deeper into the sea.
“Unless otherwise stated, there is little reason to allow whaling from 2024,” when the current quotas expire, said Fisheries Minister Svandis Svavarsdottir, a member of Iceland’s governing leftist green party.
“There is little evidence that this activity has any economic benefit,” he wrote in an article published by the Morgunbladid daily. And the decision was celebrated by environmental protection organizations.
“Is a excellent news for Iceland, the whales that live in its waters and its world-renowned whale-watching industry,” International Fund for Animal Protection (IFAW) Marine Conservation Director Sharon Livermore said in a statement. .
Iceland, Norway and Japan are the only countries in the world allowing whaling, despite recurring criticism from environmental activists and animal advocates, warnings about the toxicity of the meat and a declining market.
The Icelandic oddsa, which were re-evaluated in 2019, allow a total of 209 fin whales to be captured annually and until the end of 2023 – the second largest marine mammal after the blue whale – and 217 minke whales, one of the smallest cetaceans.
A single capture in three years
However, due to lack of demand, the two main license holders have been paralyzed, with one of them, IP-Útgerd, announcing in early 2020 that he would definitely leave his catches. The other, Hvalur, had decided not to participate in the last three campaigns.
During the last three seasons in Iceland, just an animal -a minke whale, in 2021- was captured. Japan, by far the largest market for whale meat, resumed commercial whaling in 2019 after a three-decade hiatus.
Although the archipelago he sold his own merchandise through “scientific” catches, whaling – under a quota – was able to resume after the withdrawal from Tokyo of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
This body banned commercial whaling in 1986, but Iceland, which had opposed the moratorium, resumed it in 2003. Blue whale hunting, banned by the commission, is also banned in Iceland.
In 2018, the last summer of significant whaling in Icelandic waters, 146 fin and six minke whales were killed.
Iceland, an island of 370,000 people with its economy increasingly geared towards tourism, is seeing a booming whale-watching industry for foreign visitors.
For marine biologist Gisli Vikingsson, whaling can be sustainable if quotas are respected, but the acceptability of this practice goes beyond scientific considerations.
Stagnant market
“Although whaling be biologically sustainable, it may not be socially or economicallyand that is outside our sphere of competence,” this expert from the Institute of Marine and Freshwater Research told AFP.
The hunting situation in Norway is also stagnant several years.
Whalers are struggling to cover the quotas granted by the government and the number of ships engaged in this internationally controversial activity continues to decline.
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In 2021, 575 cetaceans were caught, less than half of the authorized quotas, by the 14 vessels that are still active in Norwegian waters.
In the North Sea, the Faroe Islands allow the ritual hunting of dolphins, the so-called “Grind”, for local consumption, despite the fact that their meat is loaded with heavy metals and is the subject of international controversy.