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A minke whale, one of the two species Iceland hunted commercially
and still hunts scientifically. |
In August 2007, less than a year after resuming a commercial whale hunt, Iceland announced that it would end the hunt. They listed low market demand and lack of access to the Japanese market for whale meat as reasons for the decision.
| Update |
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In May 2008, Iceland resumed its commercial whale hunt once again. |
The change in policy came nearly a year after an Oct. 17, 2006 announcement by the Icelandic Fisheries Ministry saying that Iceland was
resuming commercial whale hunts.
Iceland planned to kill 30 minke and nine fin whales by September 2007, while continuing to hunt additional whales for its "scientific" research program. Seven minke and seven fin whales were killed in the last year for the commercial hunt. Some of their bodies were left in a garbage dump due to lack of demand.
In late August 2007, Iceland's fisheries minister, Einar K. Guofinnsson, told Reuters that the country would not continue the commercial hunt after the current quotas expired on Aug. 31, 2007. However, on September 14, the minister announced that the commercial hunt would be extended until the first of November 2007 to give the whalers time to kill more minke whales, as there were still 23 remaining in this year's quota. A Capacent Gallup poll released in October 2007 showed that 66.3 percent of Iceland’s citizens agreed with Guofinnsson’s initial decision to put the whaling quota on hold.
Criticism, Faltering Iceland Industries Drive Decision
Iceland was subject to much criticism from concerned citizens around the world urging the country to end its commercial hunt. Iceland's whale watching and tourism industry were also negatively affected and the industries urged their government not to resume the hunt.
The United States and other conservation-minded countries have formally expressed their opposition to Iceland's whaling programs. And in June 2007, Iceland lost its bid for a scientific review of fin whale stocks by CITES. The bid, had it passed, would have undermined the International Whaling Commission's authority on whales and might eventually have led to the ban on commercial whaling being lifted—not a good prospect for faltering whale populations.
Whales Still Hunted Under "Scientific" Programs
Japan, meanwhile, continues to stockpile whale meat from its own scientific hunt due to lack of demand and increasing worldwide concern about the contamination of whale meat.
Iceland's scientific hunt will apparently continue. As of the end of August, 33 out of a quota of 39 minke whales had already been killed in 2007.
Updated Nov. 14, 2007
