From Ambassador (Visiting a whaling boat for fin whaling)
2021/7/6
Invited to visit a whaling boat for fin whaling!
Mr. Krisján Loftsson, CEO of Hvalur hf., kindly invited us aboard his whaling ship “Hvalur 9”. Hvalur hf. is the only company who has a lisence to hunt fin whales in Iceland and owns two whaling ships, Hvalur 8 and Hvalur 9. Both ships are so called catcher boats with harpoon guns. The total number of crew is 13, including the captain. After hunting fin whales migrating in offshore waters, the ships bring them to the whaling station for cutting, afterwards the meat is frozen.
Hvalur 9, moored at the port of Reykjavik, is unfortunately not scheduled to depart for the time being.
Fin whale meat is exclusively for export and the destination is Japan.
I was told that there are various obstacles to export whale meat to Japan. To name a few, in prior to an export to Japan, samples of red whale meat need to be tested for PCB contamination and go through DNA analysis to prevent illegal trade. Furthermore, some shipping company do not want to transport whale meat for fear of damage to its reputation.
Actually Hvalur hf. used to own 4 whaling ships. However, a radical group against Icelandic research whaling destroyed 2 of them by blowing holes in the side of the ships in 1980s.
According to Mr. Loftsson, the number of fin whales in the waters around Iceland is increasing, and there are sufficient resources. The question is how smooth the procedures of export to Japan can be. For your information, the last time whale meat was exported to Japan was in 2019.
If you are against whaling, all these might sound “unbearable”. Fin whale meat is rather rare even in Japan (I believe), since they are not hunted in the waters around Japan. Norway also exports whale meat to Japan, but they are minke whales, smaller types for cetaceans.
Japan was once a whaling powerhouse. Fin whale meat caught in the Antarctic Ocean used to be served for school lunch but commercial whaling was banned under the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium in 1980s. Japan withdrew from the IWC in 2018 and resumed whaling within 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone. However, due to its small stock size, the number of permitted catches is small and I believe that fin whales cannot be caught around Japan yet.
I hope someday Japanese people can enjoy fin whale meat exported by Hvalur hf.
Mr. Krisján Loftsson, CEO of Hvalur hf., kindly invited us aboard his whaling ship “Hvalur 9”. Hvalur hf. is the only company who has a lisence to hunt fin whales in Iceland and owns two whaling ships, Hvalur 8 and Hvalur 9. Both ships are so called catcher boats with harpoon guns. The total number of crew is 13, including the captain. After hunting fin whales migrating in offshore waters, the ships bring them to the whaling station for cutting, afterwards the meat is frozen.
Hvalur 9, moored at the port of Reykjavik, is unfortunately not scheduled to depart for the time being.
Fin whale meat is exclusively for export and the destination is Japan.
I was told that there are various obstacles to export whale meat to Japan. To name a few, in prior to an export to Japan, samples of red whale meat need to be tested for PCB contamination and go through DNA analysis to prevent illegal trade. Furthermore, some shipping company do not want to transport whale meat for fear of damage to its reputation.
Actually Hvalur hf. used to own 4 whaling ships. However, a radical group against Icelandic research whaling destroyed 2 of them by blowing holes in the side of the ships in 1980s.
According to Mr. Loftsson, the number of fin whales in the waters around Iceland is increasing, and there are sufficient resources. The question is how smooth the procedures of export to Japan can be. For your information, the last time whale meat was exported to Japan was in 2019.
If you are against whaling, all these might sound “unbearable”. Fin whale meat is rather rare even in Japan (I believe), since they are not hunted in the waters around Japan. Norway also exports whale meat to Japan, but they are minke whales, smaller types for cetaceans.
Japan was once a whaling powerhouse. Fin whale meat caught in the Antarctic Ocean used to be served for school lunch but commercial whaling was banned under the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium in 1980s. Japan withdrew from the IWC in 2018 and resumed whaling within 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone. However, due to its small stock size, the number of permitted catches is small and I believe that fin whales cannot be caught around Japan yet.
I hope someday Japanese people can enjoy fin whale meat exported by Hvalur hf.