Will Iceland Stop Whaling?

A recent report in Oceanographic suggest that they are planning to stop whaling in 2024. Iceland are one of the few countries (alongide Norway and Japan) that still hunt whales for their meat. Having killed and eaten whales for such a long time and often in the face of protest and international condemnation why the sudden change of heart? According to the report demand for whale meat has fallen significantly – people just don’t want to eat it anymore. But it wasn’t just that: the extension of no-fishing zones has resulted in increasing costs in terms of time and energy in order to be able to catch whales legally. In addition the pandemic had a massive impact on the sale of fresh goods due to the restrictions on travel. As a result many whaling businesses went out of business.

According to the Icelandic fisheries minster, without a demand and without any positive gain there seems little point in continuing to hunt whales beyond 2024. Let’s just hope that the Icelandic whaling industry feels the same.

David Jones

Author David Jones

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