Iceland issues license for 128 fin whales to be hunted this year

There isn't even a cultural rationale for the slaughter.

Such a shame for what is generally known as a "green" country.

This is bullshit. Can I have a license to hunt and kill 128 U.S. politicians please? They're not as smart or empathetic as whales.

Even beyond the moral arguments, it’s just stupid. I went to Iceland last summer and I don’t know what 100 fin whales are worth but I guarantee just the people on the two boats I went whale watching on spent more money than Japanese whale meat fetishists. And that was only two boats from two companies. There were dozens of boats going out from Reykjavik and Húsavík every day, at least during the high season.

Minke whales aren’t endangered but even that hunt creates bad publicity for the country and probably harms the tourism industry. If you have bad luck on your whale watching day, you’ll still see a few minke whales and come away happy. It was mostly families with kids and the kids were stoked to spot any whale.

I get making exceptions for indigenous people in the Canadian Arctic or wherever but they have a cultural tradition, harvest like 4 whales a year, and use the meat and blubber themselves. But from what I read on my trip and was told by the guides, Icelanders didn’t even eat whale meat unless the whale beached themselves. It wasn’t some key cultural tradition.

Whalers were literally the oil companies of the 1800’s. I say “Fuck” to them just as much as I say “Fuck” to Exxon, Chevron, Aramco, et al.

Pretty interesting stuff. About 100 whales per year are hunted, but 2023 had over double the average since whale hunting resumed in 2006.

There was a 4 year hiatus until COVID hit, then tourism slumped and the hunters resumed. Now that tourism is up, hunters are being shunned again. Its roughly 150 people that would need new work, and could easily transition to whale tourism (lawl).

The Icelandic whalers say its only a small percentage of the estimated 30,000 whales that pass through, so its nbd.

These hunters account for roughly 3% of all whales hunted worldwide, raking in about $15m a year.

More info here: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/iceland-whaling-tourism/index.html

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Animal rights groups say that while the number is significantly lower than in previous years, the decision to allow the practice to continue is inhumane and disappointing.

was given a license to hunt 128 fin whales in Icelandic waters and parts of Greenland and the Faroe Islands during the 2024 season, which typically runs from June to August.

The quota was half that of 2023, when the Icelandic government allowed for the hunting of 264 fin whales, according to the nonprofit organization International Fund for Animal Welfare.

“Today’s announcement represents a significant reduction in the quota and the duration of the hunt,” said Patrick Ramage, the group’s director.

Iceland’s government temporarily suspended the commercial hunting of fin whales last year on animal welfare grounds.

The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority estimated in a May 2023 report that 67% of the 58 whales caught by boats it monitored died or lost consciousness quickly or immediately.

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Some seem familiar

Can someone explain why people care more about this than the killing of other animals?