a win for whales: Icelandic minister suspends fin whaling due to animal welfare violations

20 June 2023 - Icelandic Fisheries Minister, Svandís Svavarsdóttir, announced the suspension of the fin whale hunt in Iceland until 31st August. This decision follows the conclusions made by Iceland’s Animal Welfare Board experts, that methods used to hunt whales does not comply with the Icelandic Animal Welfare Act. 

This news will come as a major blow to the last commercial whaler in Iceland, Kristjan Loftsson, and his whaling company Hvalur hf, who have fought tirelessly to keep the hunt alive.  

“It’s a kill shot - Mr. Loftsson’s whaling season has been scuttled before his ships have even left the harbor. This is fresh thinking for Iceland and bold action by the Minister of Fisheries and we commend her and the Icelandic government for it” said Patrick Ramage, Senior Director at IFAW.   

Long-time IFAW Icelandic representative Sigursteinn Masson said “This is tremendously encouraging news and a very important step toward the end of whaling in Iceland.” 

Just last month, an unprecedented Icelandic government study showed that over 40% of whales killed during the whaling season last year suffered slow and painful deaths. 

Following a report that analyzed surveillance footage showing that whales could take as long as two hours to die during the hunts, it was agreed a quick death cannot be guaranteed on whale hunts. 

“This could be the final curtain call for commercial whaling in Iceland,” said Sharon Livermore, IFAW Director of Marine Conservation. “An instant death cannot be guaranteed for these whales, and the suffering is unimaginable. Clearly, the Icelandic government can see no future in this outdated practice.” 

 “IFAW has always affirmed that there is simply no humane way to kill a whale. Now, Iceland’s Animal Welfare Board has concluded that it is not possible to hunt a whale without causing huge amounts of stress nor to determine if the whale is a lactating mother – key requirements of the country’s Animal Welfare Act.” 

The current whaling quota is due to expire at the end of 2023, after which a new five-year quota would need to be authorized by the Fisheries Minister. This, alongside the timely decision to pause whaling this summer, signals that this could be a critical turning point for the Icelandic Government to assess the future of whaling in the country.

Notes to Editors:

• More than 1,900 fin and minke whales have been killed in Iceland since the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling came into effect in 1986.
• Fin whales are the second largest mammals on earth, growing on average up to 20 meters long and weighing about 38 to 50 tons. They are fast swimmers and are only surpassed in size by blue whales. Globally the species is considered Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
• In 1982, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) took a decision to set zero catch limits for all commercial whaling (i.e. the commercial whaling moratorium). This came into force in 1986, but unlike other whaling nations, Iceland did not take out an ‘objection’ to this decision – instead, once the ban was in place, it continued a small “scientific whaling” program until 1989. Iceland abruptly left the IWC in 1992 but re-joined in 2002, this time taking out a ‘reservation’ against the moratorium. Iceland recommenced commercial whaling under its IWC moratorium reservation in 2006, resulting in a self-allocated quota of fin and minke whales.
• Further renewals of the five-year whaling quotas could continue to strain Iceland’s international relations including with the US, which has had diplomatic sanctions (so-called Pelly Amendment sanctions) in place against Iceland since 2014 due to its commercial whaling activities and international whale meat trade. 
• IFAW scientists analyzed footage of Japan killing whales in the Southern Ocean which tells a similar story of the inherent cruelty of whaling. The resulting scientific paper is entitled “Is Japan’s whaling humane?” which can be accessed here.