Positive whaling news emerges from Iceland
News is emerging from Iceland that the company behind Iceland’s fin whale hunts, Hvalur hf, will not be venturing out to kill endangered fin whales this summer. According to Icelandic press reports, Hvalur hf’s owner, Kristian Loftsson, has said the hunts will not take place due to tough market conditions in Japan. This will be the…
Read MoreNo self-isolation for Norwegian whalers
While the world deals with the global issues around a pandemic, it seems that whalers in Norway will not be grounded by the coronavirus. The Norwegian whaling season starts on Wednesday, April 1st with a number of boats set to kill up to 1,278 minke whales. Last year, Norwegian whalers killed 429 minke whales, fewer than in 2018…
Read MoreNumbers emerge from latest dolphin hunt season in Taiji
Figures from the latest Taiji dolphin hunt season, which began last September, suggest that around 130 individual hunts took place with over 500 dolphins killed. Every year, starting on September 1st, fishermen in the Taiji region of Japan leave the shore to kill a range of different species. Once a pod of dolphins is spotted,…
Read MoreJapan’s government agrees to more funding for whale hunts
Japan’s Diet (parliament) has passed a law to help support commercial whaling through increased funding despite the falling demand for meat in the country. The government has said that it will promote the consumption of whale meat in schools as well as financially help the country’s whaling industry in securing hunting ships and crew. This…
Read MoreWhalers turn whale watchers
WDC and the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Environment Fund are celebrating the launch of two boats that will be dedicated to whale and wildlife watching tours. The two vessels will operate out of Barrouallie, a place that had been known for the taking of pilot whales, orcas and some species of dolphins. However, since 2014,…
Read MoreStunning new whale watching venue to be built in Norway
New plans to open a land-based whale watching attraction in Norway will promote the amazing opportunities to see whales in Norway. As a bonus, this could also help change the opinions of some Norwegians who still support whaling in the region. The stunning looking building will sit right on the shore around 300km (~185…
Read MoreNorway’s whaling future uncertain after survey shows little domestic appetite for whale meat
The future of Norway’s whaling industry appears to be in serious doubt as it struggles to deal with low catch numbers, falling prices for whale meat and declining interest in its products on the domestic market. The head of Norway’s Whalers’ Association, Truls Soløy, described the 2019 whaling season as “particularly disappointing” after a total…
Read MoreFinancial worth of whales revealed
Policymakers and economists at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have placed a substantial value on the benefits of having healthy whales in the ocean. The report looks at the economic benefits whales provide to industries such as ecotourism, and also the environmental benefits (such as how much carbon they remove from the atmosphere by absorbing…
Read MoreNo fin whales will be killed in Iceland this summer
According to an announcement by the company behind Iceland’s fin whaling, Hvalur hf, no endangered fin whales will be killed off Iceland this summer. Hvalur hf, owned by Kristian Loftsson, slaughtered over 146 fin whales last year, including at least two rare blue whale/fin whale hybrids and a dozen pregnant females. Whaling is increasingly unpopular…
Read MoreUS authorities put forward proposal for Makah gray whale hunt
Federal authorities in the United States have put forward a proposal that would allow the Makah, a Native American tribe, to resume the aboriginal subsistence whaling of gray whales in Washington State. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) made the announcement earlier this month. Under the proposal, the Makah would be allowed to…
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