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Whale and Dolphin Conservation partners with local artist for art auction

PLYMOUTH, MA - Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) has partnered with local artist Erik Simmons...
dolphin FB Fundraiser

e.l.f. Cosmetics announces new “porpoise-ful” initiative to benefit Whale and Dolphin Conservation

For Immediate Release, March 16, 2023 OAKLAND, CA - On the fins of its first...

Kiska the ‘world’s loneliest whale’ dies at Canadian theme park

Kiska, dubbed the loneliest whale in the world, has died at Marineland, a zoo and...
Grey seal is released from the kennel on the ocean side of Duxbury Beach

Why did the seal cross the road? WDC responds to a grey seal near Gurnet Point in Plymouth, MA

Grey seal is released from the kennel on the ocean side of Duxbury Beach For...

Desperate Icelandic minke whalers now have humpbacks in their sights

 

Iceland’s minke whalers have announced their interest in hunting humpback whales for ‘scientific research’. Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson, director of the  Minke Whalers’ Association, has declared his company’s interest in such a move, whilst Sverrir Daniel Halldorsson, whale expert at  HAFRO (the government institute responsible for conducting ‘research’ into Iceland’s marine resources and setting ‘sustainable’ catch levels), said that it makes sense to allow the hunts, which could be accompanied by population surveys and other research. The whalers want to take ten humpbacks a year over five years, with results used to inform future hunts.

The minke whalers have found it hard to locate sufficient whales this season and have incurred heavy financial losses.  By contrast, they say that humpback numbers have increased dramatically, especially to the north. 

WDC says: Humpback whales have not been killed in Icelandic waters for around 60 years.  Whilst a few are taken in indigenous hunts elsewhere, this species is not hunted either commercially or for scientific purposes anywhere else in the world. Humpbacks are protected by international conventions and there is no doubt that Iceland will face a barrage of international criticism, should it sanction such a hunt.