Posts Tagged ‘Minke whale’
Scottish government proposes new protected areas for marine life, including whales and dolphins
After years of campaigning by WDC and others, the Scottish government announced today that it is considering the creation of four new marine protected areas (MPAs) around its coastline, which will now go out for public consultation. WDC first proposed the three sites that include Risso’s dolphins and minke whales back in 2011. Thanks to…
Read MoreVisiting Iceland? How to ensure whales are saved and not served up
Tourism to Iceland is definitely booming! A recent article in Al Jazeera which has been widely picked up by other media, both within and outside Iceland, boasts the headline: ‘tourism boosts Iceland’s whaling industry’. The article goes on to say that last year, Iceland welcomed a record 1.8 million visitors, an increase of 40% on…
Read MoreReally, Norway, you want to kill even more whales though no one wants to eat them?
Norwegian Fisheries Minister, Per Sandberg, has confirmed that Norway has allocated itself a quota of 999 minke whales for the 2017 catch, an increase of 119 whales on last year’s quota of 880. Norwegian whalers hunt minke whales for commercial purposes, exploiting a loophole around the Norway’s ‘objection’ to the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) global ban…
Read MoreWhale meat given away in Norway – philanthropy or expediency?
The Norwegian press is widely reporting a story of apparent philanthropy on the part of the whaling industry. Retired chef, Bjorn Martin Eklo, has announced that 5,000 boxes (around 60 tons) of minke whale meat will be freely distributed to needy people in Norway. The whale meat has been donated by Myklebust Hvalprodukter (Myklebust Whale…
Read MoreWhy minke whale meat is far from traditional in Iceland
I was really sorry to see minke whale meat included in a recent list in the Icelandic press of ‘top delicacies that are favourites amongst locals’. The author starts by exorting readers to “forget about the fermented shark used to shock tourists” but after listing lamb, local bread and freshly-caught fish, ends with a dish…
Read MoreHow your restaurant order can save whales!
We are fortunate to have A-level student, Xavier Tobin, working with us as a volunteer with the Stop Whaling team. Here, Xavier introduces some new resources which ask visitors to whaling regions not to be tempted to eat whale meat or purchase whale products during their stay. I am currently working with WDC (Whale and…
Read MoreJapanese whaling fleet kills 333 minke whales – most of the adult females were pregnant
The Japanese whaling fleet returned today to its home port in Shimonoseki. The Japanese Institute for Cetacean Research confirmed the killing of 333 minke whales: 103 males and 230 females – over 90% of the adult females were pregnant. The whaling ships had set sail for the Antarctic on December 1st, despite failing to…
Read MoreIceland’s minke whaler vows to continue hunting this year
Whilst fin whales off Iceland have a reprieve from the harpoons this summer, minke whales in those waters are less fortunate as minke whaler, Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson, defiantly declares ‘business as usual’. His company, Hrafnreydur ehf, killed 29 minke whales last year although he could have taken as many as 229 under Iceland’s self-allocated quota,…
Read MoreWhy whales can help save our planet – if we let them
As Icelanders spend today assessing the damage caused by last night’s “double hurricane force” winds which battered their island, and people in north west England and southern Scotland begin the grim process of mopping up after widespread flooding in the wake of Storm Desmond, few are likely to link these extreme weather events with whales…
Read MoreMinke whale baby boom
Increased sightings of juvenile minke whales off western Scotland during 2015 could be down to a mini baby boom according to experts. A survey team from the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) have recorded 28 young minke whales in the area, three times the average compared with previous years. They also recorded the highest…
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