Whalers in Faxaflói bay have only killed 11 minke whales this summer, and the goal of hunting 46 animals this whaling season is unlikely to be met. The whales of Faxaflói can thank the poor weather for having kept the whalers in check.
Read more: No great whales to be hunted in Iceland this year
The whaling season started in early May, but the first animals were only caught in mid June. Two boats are currently hunting minke whales in Faxaflói, the only area where whaling is currently conducted in Iceland. No great whales will be hunted this year, but several fin whales have been killed each summer for the past several years. Last year whalers operating in Faxaflói bay caught 46 minke whales, the same number the whalers had planned to catch this year.
Read more: Chiefly tourists, not Icelanders, sustaining hunting of mink whales in Icelandic waters
The local newspaper Fréttablaðið reports that the two boats which are currently engaged in whaling are based in Hafnarfjörður, a suburban municipality of Reykjavík, and Keflavík. Gunnar Bergmann Jónsson, the manager of one of the two companies, told Fréttablaðið that the poor catch might force his company to import whale meat from Norway to meet domestic demand. Last year's catch just barely managed to meet the demand:
It just barely lasted through winter. We finished selling last year's catch in May, and then we got new meat in June. So, we have not yet had to import any whale meat.
Whalers in Faxaflói bay have only killed 11 minke whales this summer, and the goal of hunting 46 animals this whaling season is unlikely to be met. The whales of Faxaflói can thank the poor weather for having kept the whalers in check.
Read more: No great whales to be hunted in Iceland this year
The whaling season started in early May, but the first animals were only caught in mid June. Two boats are currently hunting minke whales in Faxaflói, the only area where whaling is currently conducted in Iceland. No great whales will be hunted this year, but several fin whales have been killed each summer for the past several years. Last year whalers operating in Faxaflói bay caught 46 minke whales, the same number the whalers had planned to catch this year.
Read more: Chiefly tourists, not Icelanders, sustaining hunting of mink whales in Icelandic waters
The local newspaper Fréttablaðið reports that the two boats which are currently engaged in whaling are based in Hafnarfjörður, a suburban municipality of Reykjavík, and Keflavík. Gunnar Bergmann Jónsson, the manager of one of the two companies, told Fréttablaðið that the poor catch might force his company to import whale meat from Norway to meet domestic demand. Last year's catch just barely managed to meet the demand:
It just barely lasted through winter. We finished selling last year's catch in May, and then we got new meat in June. So, we have not yet had to import any whale meat.
