Environment

Iceland's whale hunt set to start

by Rachel Nixon | May 19, 2008 at 03:18 pm

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Iceland's commercial whale hunt is set to begin on Tuesday after whalers were allowed by the government to hunt a quota of 40 minke whales.

Whalers had been seeking a quota of about 100, but ministers settled on 40, which they say is commercially viable.

The decision came after weeks of delay, reportedly because of disagreements within government.

Environmental groups said the decision would further damage the Icelandic economy which is already badly affected by the international debt crisis.

The decision was expected a month ago, and whalers had been asking for a swift decision so they could begin hunting.

Finally, the govenment gave the go-ahead on Monday morning, and whalers said they would launch as soon as possible.

"It all depends on the weather, but if the weather is good then we hunt tomorrow (Tuesday) morning," said Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson, head of the minke whaling association.

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nalicehillstrom

at 17:07 on May 19th, 2008

Having grown up the daughter of an Alaskan subsistence hunter and become something of an environmentalist as an adult, my perspective is somewhat unique. I approve of hunting for food purposes, especially when the game is plentiful or culturally significant. Commercial hunting should be tightly controlled or disallowed, due to the unnecessary strain it puts on the ecosystem.

nalicehillstrom has contributed a photo to this story.

jtweedie1976

at 09:57 on May 20th, 2008

On a wildlife trip to the west coast of Scotland, I was pleased to see a few Minke Whales, as well as lots of Common Dolphins and Porpoises. The boat's engine was switched off and we just sat watching and listening to a Minke Whale as it circled round the boat, it was one of the finest experiences of my life.

jtweedie1976 has contributed a photo to this story.

jtreid12

at 04:13 on May 21st, 2008

This photo was taken as a pair of Minke whales swam around our Zodiac boat for about 10 minutes. It was take in Antarctica in December 2007.

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jtreid12

at 04:20 on May 21st, 2008

I was in Iceland when they restarted hunting a couple of years ago. One of the film companies pulled out in protest and cost the Iceland economy over $500K. In Husavik they offer superb whale watching and were very worried about the effect the hunting would have on their tourist image.

Not everybody in Iceland is in favour of hunting whales.

Rissamaria

at 14:15 on May 21st, 2008

A Minke Whale in Faxaflói, close to Reykjavík ... they come often very close to the whale-watching boat, and every single encounter is amazing, again and again!

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Gógó

at 15:31 on May 21st, 2008

I find these huntings of Minke Whale to be a positive thing as long as they are able to sell the meat, Minke Whale meat is absolutely delicious! These huntings are well controlled and the Icelandic Minke Whale population is closely watched by the Icelandic Marine Research Institute. Common misunderstanding is that people think all whales are endangered but the Minke Whale around Iceland is NOT threatened, the Icelandic Minke Whale population is in a good condition.

I find it irrational to protect all species of whales just because some of them are endangered, it's as if we would protect all the birds or all species of fish just because some species of them are endangered.

Of course it is very sad that too many species have been over-exploited through the centuries but that shouldn't make us make irrational decisions today, such as to protect species that are in good numbers.

Janvantwillert

at 21:57 on May 21st, 2008

This photo was taken in the St. Lawrence River, Quebec Canada. One of the few places in the world where you can watch Minke Whales from shore.

Jennyvantwillert has contributed a photo to this story.

sicurtis

at 08:15 on June 2nd, 2008

Having seen these great creatures in Iceland's Faxaflói Bay, off Reykjavík I agree that they should not be hunted for large scale economic reasons. The animals should be hunted only for the Icelandic peoples' usual diet. By creating a managed environment where a limit supports replenishing of stocks, man and nature can live side by side in an eco-friendly way.

sicurtis has contributed a photo to this story.