Whalers in Iceland kill first minke whale of season

Reports from Iceland suggest that whalers have started this year’s hunt after nearly 2 tonnes of minke whale meat were offloaded by the Hrafnreydur whaling vessel on Monday.

Iceland’s whaling season opened once again against a backdrop of opposition from within the country. IceWhale, the whale watchers’ association of Iceland, has strongly criticized the hunt which is taking place in Faxaflói Bay, one of the main whale-watching destinations for tourists from around the world.

Following a question on the economic value of a dead whale in the Icelandic Parliament by the Green Party, the Fisheries minister revealed the figure to be just 6700 euros ($7550 / £4900). IceWhale noted that it takes only one whale watching trip with 125 passengers to generate the same amount of income. Ticket sales in Reykjavik alone generated over $7 million in 2014.

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