Posts Tagged ‘Iceland’
Is this the beginning of the end for whaling off Iceland?
I’m feeling cautiously optimistic after Iceland’s Fisheries Minister Svandís Svavarsdóttir wrote that there is little justification for authorising any further whaling when the current permits expire in 2023. Stating unequivocally that ‘it must be shown that it is economically justifiable to renew fishing rights’, Svandís reminds readers that whaling has damaged Iceland’s reputation and negatively…
Read MoreIcelandic fin whales win a reprieve this summer
I can’t tell you how delighted I am at the news that fin whales will swim in peace off Iceland – this summer at least. Last summer’s whaling season was particularly chaotic and distressing as the whalers killed 146 fin whales, including two rare blue whale/fin whale hybrids, and numerous pregnant females. A majestic fin…
Read MoreIcelandic whalers breach international law and kill iconic, protected whale by mistake
Icelandic whalers out hunting fin whales for the first time in three years appear to have killed a rare, protected blue whale (or blue/fin hybrid) by mistake. Images documenting the slaughter of what is an iconic symbol of the natural world have deeply concerned international whale experts and confirm the indiscriminate and cruel nature of…
Read MoreEnd the whale hunts! Icelandic fin whaler isolated as public mood shifts
Here’s a sight I hoped never again to witness. A boat being scrubbed and repainted on Reykjavik harbour will generally arouse little attention from passing tourists, but this is different and far more chilling. This is the Hvalur 8. It is a fin whaling vessel and it is being readied to return to the high…
Read MoreIceland: A new dawn for whales and dolphins?
Will 2018 be the year that I can finally visit beautiful Iceland purely as a tourist, rather than a campaigner? Maybe it’s not surprising that this fabled ‘land of fire and ice’ should offer visitors a host of contradictions, but the juxtaposition of whale watching and whale hunting in the same waters is surely one…
Read MoreIcelandic whalers bank on tourist ignorance – don't be fooled!
Iceland’s commercial hunt of minke whales opened in early June and as many as 264 whales could be killed this season, including a permitted carry-over of unused quota from last year. Yet, as of today, the Fiskistofa website (Iceland’s Fisheries Directorate) which – perhaps tellingly – has not been updated since June 13th, indicates that…
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