Iceland whaling: Fisheries minister calls stop from 2024
Key takeaways:
- Iceland's whaling boats seldom set sail these days.
- After a government minister stated, there was little reason for the practice, commercial whaling in Iceland could be restricted within two years.
Iceland whaling could be banned:
The northern European country, an island in the North Atlantic, is rare to let whale hunting.
But order for the mammals' meat has dropped dramatically since Japan - Iceland's primary need - restarted commercial whaling in 2019.
Iceland's fisheries minister says whaling is no longer advantageous.
"Why should Iceland take the chance of keeping up whaling, which has not got any economic growth, to sell a product for which there is barely any demand?" Svandis Svavarsdottir reported on Friday in the Morgunbladid newspaper.
Iceland's most current annual quotas permit the hunting of 209 fin whales, which are deemed endangered, and 217 minke whales - one of the most miniature species.
But Ms. Svavarsdottir, a member of the Left-Green Movement, stated that only one whale had been killed in the previous three years, indicating that the practice had a little financial help for the nation. She noted this would be a critical element in determining whether to expand whaling past 2023.
After a three-decade break, Japan restarted commercial whaling in 2019, inducing a substantial reduction for Iceland's whale exports, making hunting less profitable.
Other factors have also created whaling more difficult. Social distancing practices made Icelandic whale meat processing works less efficient, and the wing of a no-fishing coastal zone drove up the price of whale hunting.
Ms. Svavarsdottir also stated that Iceland's whaling actions could negatively affect the economy; for instance, the US-based chain Whole Foods discontinued Icelandic marketing products when commercial whaling restarted there in 2006.
Campaigners have received the news, who have reached an ending to whaling in Iceland for numerous years.