Iceland will soon no longer be one of the few countries to still practice the controversial whaling. Within two years, the harpoons should be put away for good and the only ones approaching the cetaceans will be the tourist observation boats that flock to the island.
With our correspondent in Reykjavík, Jeremy Richard
For three years now, no Icelandic whaler has set sail in the waters of the North Atlantic. “ The simplest explanation is that significant financial loss from hunting is the most likely outcome. writes the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries in a column in a major local daily.
Despite quotas that allow a total of more than 400 catches every year until 2023 for both minke whales and fin whales, only one marine mammal has been harpooned in the past three summers.
Due to lack of profitability, one of the two main license-holding companies permanently put its harpoons away two years ago. The other is still officially in operation but its two boats remain moored in the port of Reykjavík, for lack of an outlet to sell the meat. the Japan, its only market, has indeed resumed hunting since 2019.
Negative impact on the country
Marine biologists indicate that whaling does not harm stocks from a scientific point of view as long as catches remain within legal limits.
But the minister stresses that the practice is controversial and has a negative impact on Iceland. A study should be carried out this year to better assess it.
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