Iceland’s last whaling operation has resumed the slaughter of endangered fin whales after a four-year hiatus, with shocking images showing bodies of the giant sea creatures being dismembered.
Two ships of the shipping company Hvalur hf. left Reykjavík harbor in late June to kick off the whaling season, when dozens of fin whales — the second largest whale species on earth after the blue whale — are slaughtered for their meat and other materials.
Pictures – taken from a whaling station in the village of Midsandur near the Icelandic capital – last week showed workers from the controversial company hauling the bodies of several whales ashore, washing them down and dismembering them with large tools.
Iceland’s last whaling operation has resumed the slaughter of endangered fin whales after the practice was suspended for four years, with shocking images showing bodies of the giant sea creatures being dismembered (pictured).
Picture: A worker hoses down a fin whale August 6 in preparation for slaughter at the whaling station in the village of Midsandur, Iceland, some 70 km north of Reykjavik.
The harpoon vessel Hvalur 9 transports two fin whales in Hvalfjördur fjord on August 6, 2022
Workers dismember a whale at the whaling station in the village of Midsandur on August 3, 2020
Although a single minke whale was hunted down in 2021, Iceland has not officially allowed commercial whaling for four years. However, the break ended in June – so Hvalur hf. return to the seas.
The company’s license expires next year and the Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries has indicated that whaling in the Nordic country could be halted once the license expires.
Whaling is limited by a quota issued by the Icelandic Marine and Freshwater Research Institute. In this year’s season, Hvalur hf. allowed to hunt 161 fin whales and 217 minke whales.
Image: Two fin whales are pulled from the ship to the whaling station in the village of Midsandur on August 6
Pictured: A volunteer from marine conservation organization Sea Shepherd UK watches staff slaughter a whale at the whaling station in the village of Midsandur
A whaling company employee dismembers a whale at the station in the village of Midsandur, Iceland, on August 3
Pictured: Workers dissect the carcass of a fin whale in Iceland, August 3
According to Iceland Review, the quota is based on assessments by the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission and the International Whaling Commission. The company must keep a log of all its catches.
While fin whale numbers in Icelandic waters have steadily increased since 1987, Icelandic hunting of the creatures has often been criticized.
According to the World Wildlife Foundation, the species is thought to live between 50,000 and 90,000 worldwide and is listed as “Vulnerable.”
Much of the fin whale products produced by Hvalur hf. – including meat and bones – are exported to Japan, where the meat is considered a delicacy.
Blue whales have been hunted to near extinction over the last century and there are only 10,000 to 25,000 left alive. The species is now protected.
The harpoon ship Hvalur 9 transports two fin whales on the Hvalfjordur fjord near the village of Midsandur on August 6
Although a single minke whale was hunted down in 2021, Iceland has not officially allowed commercial whaling for four years. However, the break ended in June – so Hvalur hf. return to the seas
Whaling is limited by a quota issued by the Icelandic Marine and Freshwater Research Institute. In this year’s season, Hvalur hf. allowed to hunt 161 fin whales and 217 minke whales
Pictured: Staff dismember a whale at the whaling station in Midsandur village, Iceland, August 5
Hvalur hf., led by multi-millionaire CEO Kristján Loftsson, has been embroiled in controversy in the past. In 2018, the company was criticized for killing both a pregnant fin whale and a rare hybrid whale.
The company was also close to losing its whaling license for failing to file captain’s records for the 2014, 2015 and 2018 seasons. In addition, Hvalur hf. was sued by three of its own shareholders and by activists.
Iceland is one of the few countries, along with Norway and Japan, where whales are still commercially hunted.
Conservationists hope Iceland’s whaling industry will shut down in 2024 when Hvalur hf. expires.
While the number of fin whales in Icelandic waters has steadily increased since 1987, Icelandic hunting of the creatures has often been criticized
According to the World Wildlife Foundation, fin whales are believed to have a global population of between 50,000 and 90,000 and are classified as “Vulnerable”.
Pictured: A worker prepares a whale for slaughter at the whaling station in the village of Midsandur August 3
Much of the fin whale products produced by Hvalur hf. – including meat and bones – are exported to Japan, where the meat is considered a delicacy
Svandis Svavarsdóttir – a member of Iceland’s Left-Green Party – wrote for the Morgunblaðið newspaper in February that whaling had little economic benefit for the country.
“There are few reasons to allow whaling beyond 2024,” she said, according to The Guardian. “There is little evidence that this activity has any economic benefit.”
Demand for Icelandic whale meat has declined since Japan restarted its own commercial whaling industry in 2019 after withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission.
Hvalur hf. was one of only two companies to hold a commercial whaling license, but its only competitor in the country ended the practice in 2020. Meanwhile, whale hunting has become increasingly expensive after a no-fishing zone was expanded – forcing the company to travel further offshore to hunt.
With the addition of new security measures, exporting became increasingly difficult as well. The Covid-19 pandemic has also temporarily halted whaling as processing plants have been unable to operate.