Category: Iceland whaling

Following last week’s news that Fin whaling would not take place in Iceland in 2020 it is now reported that Minke whaling will not go ahead either. Minke whaling in Iceland is mostly for domestic consumption – in restaurants (often for tourists) and sold in supermarkets. Today it is reported that thanks to increases in…

It’s been confirmed that there will be no Fin whaling in Iceland this summer. Kristján Loftsson’s reasons for not going ahead, he says, include the difficulty of competing in the Japanese market now that the Japanese government supports its own whaling industry. According to Kristján, prices are low and costly testing for chemical analysis doesn’t…

According to the usually reliable Reykjavik Grapevine, there will be no whaling at all in Iceland this year – the first time since 2003. Earlier this month it was reported that Fin whaling would not go ahead and now Minke whaling is off the menu too.

It seems that Fin Whales off the coast of Iceland will have at least a year’s reprieve according to this story in The Reykjavik Grapevine. This is excellent news. I would take with a pinch of salt the explanation given by the sole Iceland commercial whaler about the licence arriving too late, although I have…

The news that whaling may occur in Icelandic waters from 2019-24 is very disappointing. I’m not suggesting that a 15-minute chat with the Icelandic Prime Minister is likely to have made that much difference but it did feel, when I was in Iceland in September, that the movement was in the right direction. We’ll have…

A Minke Whale steak. This report in Icelandreview, of a report on the economics of whaling in Iceland (see account in Icelandic here), suggests that the hunting of whales for their meat is of net economic benefit to the Icelandic economy and that it is not putting off whale-watching tourists. The latter suggestion is difficult…

An update on Icelandic whaling: Náttúruverndarsamtök Íslands (a bit like our Wildlife Trusts) has made a formal complaint regarding cruel methods of hunting and has asked for a criminal investigation into whether animal welfare laws have been broken. They’re basing their arguments on photos taken by Sea Shepherd showing multiple harpoon wounds.

I wasn’t expecting to see lots of dung flies in Iceland – but I did.  On a cool day, and a short walk, I saw more Yellow Dung Flies in Iceland than I have all year in Northants. On the other hand, I was vaguely expecting to see a Puffin or two if I went…

I met this Raven in Iceland.  It seemed to have bought itself a kebab and was eating it on the top of this rock.  It was so engrossed that it let me get very close. Well, maybe it was quite a tame Raven – it was right in the centre of Reykjavik with people passing…