The whaling season is officially over. One of the whaling boats of Hvalur hf. brought the last two fin whales caught in 2018 to the whaling station in Hvalfjörður fjord, north of Reykjavík. A total of 146 fin whales were caught during the 98 day long hunting season. The minke whale hunting season came to an end in late August when only 6 minke whales had been caught.
Read more: Minke whale hunt a near total failure, thanks to expanded whale sanctuaries
According to Icelandic law Icelandic whalers were permitted to catch 238 fin whales and 262 minke whales. The primary reason for the small number of minke whales caught during the 2018 season is the expansion of whale sanctuaries in Faxaflói bay, the main hunting ground of both fin whales and minke whales. Poor weather during the spring and early summer also kept whalers away from the hunt.
Whalers feeding foreign visitors
The meat and other products from the fin whales are all exported to Japan, while the meat from the minke whales has traditionally been consumed domestically. Domestic demand has been shrinking rapidly in recent years: A 2016 poll (the most recent poll to ask the question) found that only 1.5% of Icelanders say they consume whale meat regularly, 81% say they had not tasted whale meat in at least 12 months. Dropping popularity of whale meat among Icelanders has hit whalers hard, but the hunt has been sustained by strong and growing demand from restaurants who cater to foreign travelers. More than half of all minke whale meat caught in Iceland in recent years has been sold to Restaurants.
The failure of the 2018 minke whale season means domestic supply of minke whale meat is not large enough to meet demand from restaurants, forcing these to import minke whale meat from Norway, or alternatively to switch to fin whale.
Growing opposition to whaling
It is not just changing consumption patterns and dropping popularity of whale meat that bode changes for the Icelandic whaling industry: A growing number of Icelanders is opposed to whaling.
Read more: Support for whaling continues to drop: Only 34% of Icelanders now in support
The most recent poll shows that only 34% of Icelanders support whaling, down from 60% in 2013. A major driver of these changes, according to many commentators, is the growing importance of tourism and whale watching. While Hvalur hf. employs 150 people during the hunting season, from May to September, the whale watching industry employs at least 400 people during the summer months and 150 people during the rest of the year.
The current law on whaling in Iceland was passed in 2013. This law expires at the end of the year and will have to be renewed by parliament if whaling is to continue next year. MPs are split on whether to renew the law. The Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir has expressed her opposition to continued whaling, as well as the Minister of the Environment. Both are members of the Left Green Movement.
Controversial, loss making industry
Whaling does not appear to be a very profitable industry. According to the latest publicly available figures from Hvalur hf. the company is operated at a significant financial cost to its owner, Kristján Loftsson and other shareholders. In 2014 Hvalur hf generated 7.5 million USD in losses.
Kristján Loftsson can find some comfort in the fact that he has been announced as the recipient of the Freedom Prize handed out annually by the Young Conservatives SUS, the youth wing of the conservative Independence Party. SUS announced recently that Hvalur hf would be recognized for its contribution to the advancement of freedom and libertarian ideals.
Read more: Whaling company Hvalur hf receives annual Freedom Prize, awarded by Young Conservatives
The whaling season is officially over. One of the whaling boats of Hvalur hf. brought the last two fin whales caught in 2018 to the whaling station in Hvalfjörður fjord, north of Reykjavík. A total of 146 fin whales were caught during the 98 day long hunting season. The minke whale hunting season came to an end in late August when only 6 minke whales had been caught.
Read more: Minke whale hunt a near total failure, thanks to expanded whale sanctuaries
According to Icelandic law Icelandic whalers were permitted to catch 238 fin whales and 262 minke whales. The primary reason for the small number of minke whales caught during the 2018 season is the expansion of whale sanctuaries in Faxaflói bay, the main hunting ground of both fin whales and minke whales. Poor weather during the spring and early summer also kept whalers away from the hunt.
Whalers feeding foreign visitors
The meat and other products from the fin whales are all exported to Japan, while the meat from the minke whales has traditionally been consumed domestically. Domestic demand has been shrinking rapidly in recent years: A 2016 poll (the most recent poll to ask the question) found that only 1.5% of Icelanders say they consume whale meat regularly, 81% say they had not tasted whale meat in at least 12 months. Dropping popularity of whale meat among Icelanders has hit whalers hard, but the hunt has been sustained by strong and growing demand from restaurants who cater to foreign travelers. More than half of all minke whale meat caught in Iceland in recent years has been sold to Restaurants.
The failure of the 2018 minke whale season means domestic supply of minke whale meat is not large enough to meet demand from restaurants, forcing these to import minke whale meat from Norway, or alternatively to switch to fin whale.
Growing opposition to whaling
It is not just changing consumption patterns and dropping popularity of whale meat that bode changes for the Icelandic whaling industry: A growing number of Icelanders is opposed to whaling.
Read more: Support for whaling continues to drop: Only 34% of Icelanders now in support
The most recent poll shows that only 34% of Icelanders support whaling, down from 60% in 2013. A major driver of these changes, according to many commentators, is the growing importance of tourism and whale watching. While Hvalur hf. employs 150 people during the hunting season, from May to September, the whale watching industry employs at least 400 people during the summer months and 150 people during the rest of the year.
The current law on whaling in Iceland was passed in 2013. This law expires at the end of the year and will have to be renewed by parliament if whaling is to continue next year. MPs are split on whether to renew the law. The Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir has expressed her opposition to continued whaling, as well as the Minister of the Environment. Both are members of the Left Green Movement.
Controversial, loss making industry
Whaling does not appear to be a very profitable industry. According to the latest publicly available figures from Hvalur hf. the company is operated at a significant financial cost to its owner, Kristján Loftsson and other shareholders. In 2014 Hvalur hf generated 7.5 million USD in losses.
Kristján Loftsson can find some comfort in the fact that he has been announced as the recipient of the Freedom Prize handed out annually by the Young Conservatives SUS, the youth wing of the conservative Independence Party. SUS announced recently that Hvalur hf would be recognized for its contribution to the advancement of freedom and libertarian ideals.
Read more: Whaling company Hvalur hf receives annual Freedom Prize, awarded by Young Conservatives
