Fin Whaling Ban Decision By Iceland Minister Implemented Until Aug 31

Until August 31, the Icelandic Minister of Food has temporarily banned fin whaling.

Fin Whaling Ban Until Aug 31

When addressing the fin whaling restriction until August 31 at the meeting of the Union of Akranes with Svandís Svavarsdóttir, the Minister of Food, tensions were high. Svavarsdóttir responded to those there and steadfastly stuck by her choice.

The employees of Hvalur hf., an Icelandic whaling company, and holding firm, were not the target of Svavarsdóttir's decision, she insisted. However, based on a team of experts' investigation, portrayed a dire image of Iceland's fin whaling scenario. She said that facts, not "opinion," had guided her choice.

At the opening of the meeting, Vilhjálmur Birgisson, the Union manager, had some choice words for Svavarsdottir, saying that her decision affected many people who would be losing 1.2 billion ISK in wages. This is in addition to wage-related taxes to be paid to the government.

The minister could hardly speak at the meeting without receiving jeers from the audience. He asserted that Hvalur hf was definite. would file a lawsuit against the government over this prohibition, with the result being that the ban was not implemented in a way that was required by the law of the nation.

The conference was attended by between 300 and 400 individuals, and today there are further meetings on the subject scheduled, Iceland Monitor reports.

Fin Whaling in Iceland

Iceland, one of the few nations that currently permit commercial whaling, restarted fin whale hunting in 2006 after a 1986 whaling ban was lifted and has done so every year since. Iceland now only has one active whaling operation, and its hunting permit will run out in 2023. 2020 saw the closure of another whaling firm owing to the industry's declining profitability.

The whaling season in Iceland typically lasts from mid-June to mid-September, but as it has been suspended until the 31st of August, it is most likely over for this year.

Currently, quotas permit Iceland to shoot 217 minke whales yearly in addition to 209 fin whales. However, due to declining demand for whale flesh, catches have substantially decreased recently, and disapproval of the practice has grown - including inside Iceland itself. Although Iceland has historically relied on fishing and whaling, 51% of Icelanders are currently against whaling, Oceanographic reports.

Fin Whales and Minke Whales

Both fin and minke whales are hunted by Icelandic whalers in their territorial seas. The majority of minke whale meat was supplied to visitors until outreach activities by WDC and others significantly reduced demand. In contrast, almost all fin whale meat and its derivatives are sent to Japan.

Because of the pandemic and other demand-related reasons, neither fin nor minke whaling occurred in 2019 or 2020, nor was there any fin whaling in 2021, however, one minke whale was killed in that year. According to Whale and Dolphin Conservation, the hunt for fin whales restarted in June 2022, and over the course of the following months, whalers from Hvalur hf., Iceland's only fin whaling business, killed a total of 148 whales.