A couple of more years and, from 2024, whaling will also be banned in Iceland, one of the only three countries in the world (together with Japan and Norway) where the practice is not yet illegal. On the other hand, the demand for whale meat has dropped dramatically since Japan, which was the main importer of the product from Iceland, in 2019 – after a three-decade hiatus – resumed whaling.
According to the Icelandic Minister of Fisheries, the green Svandis Svavarsdottir, this activity is no longer profitable: “There are few reasons left to authorize whaling beyond 2024. Why Iceland should continue an activity that no longer brings any economic gainto sell a product for which there is hardly any demand? », he wrote in an editorial in the newspaper Morgunbladid, explaining that the fact that only one whale has been killed in the last three years showed that the practice offers very little economic benefit to the country. And that would be a key factor in the North Atlantic island’s decision not to extend whaling beyond 2023.
Today, 209 fin whales are allowed to hunt in Iceland municipalities, considered endangered, and 217 minke whales, one of the smaller species. There are also other factors that have gradually hindered whaling. Social distancing rules have made Iceland’s meat processing plants less efficient and the extension of the coastal zone where fishing is prohibited has made increase the cost of the practiceforcing the whalers to travel farther and farther.
Furthermore, as Svavarsdottir explains, this practice can have a negative impact on the Icelandic economy also because it is an activity that is frowned upon in the rest of the world: for example, the US chain Whole Foods has stopped marketing Icelandic products since whaling in the country resumed in 2006.
“Extremely welcome news” to activists, says Vanessa Williams-Gray of the British organization Whale and Dolphin Conservation. “Icelandic whalers have killed hundreds of whales in recent years, despite the fact that domestic demand has almost gone to zero.”
Today, in Iceland, there are other whale-related businesses that are much more successful. Eg, hundreds of thousands of whale watcher they visit the island in the hope of being able to catch a glimpse of marine mammals. It is one of the main national tourist attractions, which generates over 11 million euros a year with more than 200 thousand tourists.
Other stories of Vanity Fair that might interest you:
Seven (very special) animals to see on a trip to Iceland
Japan reopens commercial whaling
Slaughter of dolphins in the Faroe Islands, what can we do to avoid it
Source: Vanity Fair
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