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New government marine wildlife code to help reduce dolphin disturbance

The launch today by UK Government of new guidance on how to act responsibly around...

UK government to extend ivory ban to stop the sale of orca teeth

Following the UK ban on the import, export and dealing of elephant ivory in 2022,...

Dead whale beauty products to be sold in Japanese vending machine stores

Antarctic minke whale alongside Japanese whaling ship. Photo © Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert Japanese whale hunting company,...

Arrests made following illegal whale meat smuggling from Japan to South Korea

Customs authorities in Busan, South Korea, have arrested six people for allegedly smuggling at least...

Fin whale death toll edges closer to a hundred in Iceland

 

Latest figures (August 12th) from the Iceland Fisheries Directorate give a total of 89 fin whales killed by Kristjan Loftsson’s fleet so far this season.

Loftsson could slaughter as many as 184 fin whales under a self-allocated quota, but the rationale behind the hunt is looking increasingly shaky. There is no domestic market for fin whale meat in Iceland and exports are proving difficult. Last month, fin whale meat destined for Japan made it as far as Hamburg before being turned back, amidst a blaze of public protests, prompting two shipping companies, Evergreen Line and Samskip, to renounce carrying any further whale meat.  

The returned containers of meat now sit in frozen storage for the foreseeable future, alongside numerous similar containers both in Iceland and Japan, and both fin and minke whalers are operating at a loss.

About Vanessa Williams-Grey

Policy manager - Stop Whaling and Responsible Whale Watching