Great News – Iceland Calls Off Its Commercial Whale Hunt For This Year
Icelandic whaling company Hvalur – the country’s only commercial fin whaling firm – has announced that it will not be hunting fin whales this summer, citing outdated regulatory standards in Japan, where its main market is located, as the reason for the decision. While this is obviously good news for those with an interest in protecting the marine mammal, it does not mean that the company won’t resume whaling again in the future, as it did in 2013 following a two-year break. According to Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), less than 2 percent of the Icelandic population regularly eats whale meat, although Japanese markets continue to offer a source of revenue for Hvalur, which killed 155 fin whales last year. However, the company’s chief executive Kristján Loftsson says that “endless obstacles” put in place by Japanese whale meat testing officials have forced the 2016 hunt to be called off, according to Iceland Monitor.