Skip to content
All news
  • All news
  • About whales & dolphins
  • Corporates
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Green Whale
  • Prevent bycatch
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Science
  • Scottish Dolphin Centre
  • Stop whaling
  • Stranding

Norway ups whale kill numbers and removes whale welfare protections

The whaling season in Norway has begun on the back of disturbing announcements from the...
Image taken from an unmanned hexacopter at >100ft during a research collaboration between NOAA/SWFSC, SR3 and the Coastal Ocean Research Institute. Research authorized by NMFS permit #19091.

Southern Resident orca petition to list them under Oregon Endangered Species Act advanced

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted today to advance a petition seeking to protect...
Hysazu Photography

WDC and Conservation Partners Continue to Seek Oregon Endangered Species Protection for Southern Resident Orcas

On Friday, April 21st, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will determine whether the petition...
WDC Seal Rescue April 2023 (1)

WDC conducts milestone seal rescue in Marshfield

For Immediate Release, April 10, 2023 MARSHFIELD, MA - A young grey seal was found...

Success! Icelandic minke whale hunts end after years of WDC campaigning

Minke whale

Following on from the news that Iceland’s fin whaling vessels will not be leaving port this season to begin their annual hunts, it seems Iceland’s only minke whaling company is ending its hunts for good.

Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson, managing director of Icelandic company IP-Utgerd, which specializes in hunting minke whales, has told media that it was no longer profitable to hunt for the whales in Icelandic waters.

"I'm never going to hunt whales again, I'm stopping for good," Jonsson said.

The news represents a great success for WDC’s years of campaigning to stop whaling in Iceland and other nations across the globe.

Last week Kristian Loftsson, the owner of Iceland’s only fin whaling company, said that the fin whale hunts will not take place this season due to tough market conditions in Japan. However, whale meat popularity has been falling in Iceland, and commercial whaling has only survived because of government subsidies using taxpayers’ money to keep fleets afloat.

WDC CEO, Chris Butler-Stroud said, ‘This is tremendous news. It is also a turning point for Iceland and its people and something that WDC has campaigned for for years. An end to minke whaling, and the end in sight for fin whaling, gives Iceland the chance to position itself as the true green island of the North Atlantic.  The country can now build a new reputation for itself as one of the  best places in the world to watch whales and as host to the first ever sanctuary for formerly captive whales. WDC looks forward to continuing to work with Icelanders and celebrating a new ethical and sustainable relationship with whales and dolphins, one that values them alive.’

Icelandic whalers have killed more than 1,700 whales (finminke and sei whales) since the global ban on commercial whaling came into force in 1986.

Contrary to popular belief, whale meat is not a traditional dish and local people rarely eat it. A 2016 survey revealed that only 1.5% of the population regularly purchases whale meat. Most of the minke whale catch is served in restaurants to tourists.

Common minke whale

Be part of the solution - help us stop whaling!

Leave a Comment