The fin whale, the second largest animal on Earth, faces renewed threats from whaling, despite being listed as endangered for over half a century. Iceland and Japan, two of the three countries that still permit whaling, recently added this species to their approved whaling quotas.
“The thing that’s really interesting to me is how the two announcements, one from Japan and one from Iceland, came within hours of each other,” Kate O’Connell, the senior policy consultant for the Animal Welfare Institute’s Marine Wildlife Program, said. “I’m not sure if I’m a person that believes in coincidence or not, but I’ll just say that was a very interesting coincidence.”
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Japan authorized the hunting of 59 fin whales, while Iceland approved the hunting of 128. This marks a significant shift for both nations. Japan had not allowed commercial fin whale hunts for decades. Iceland paused all whaling activities last year after the practice underwent an animal welfare investigation.
“They put video cameras on whaling vessels and veterinarians were analyzing the results of the hunt,” O’Connell said regarding Iceland’s whaling investigation. “And they found really disturbing times to death for a number of the whales, so very clearly showing that this is not a welfare-friendly hunt.”
These new whaling permits come amid record low demand for whale meat. A 2018 poll found that 84% of Icelanders have never eaten whale meat. The country has approximately 2,000 tons of unused whale meat in storage. Similarly, Japan recently reported the smallest domestic market for whale meat in its history.
“They’re trying to find ways to promote whale meat consumption in their own countries,” O’Connell said. “And it’s just failing, completely failing. And all three of the whaling countries, there’s just no domestic demand.”
Most of the world banned whaling, and the renewed hunts by Iceland and Japan have already drawn international criticism. The controversy is expected to be a topic of discussion at the upcoming annual International Whaling Committee meeting in September.
