Iceland exports fin whale meat to Japan

According to a report in the Icelandic daily Frettabladid, 60 tons of fin whale meat has been exported to Japan from Iceland.  Kristjan Loftsson, director of the Hvalur whaling company, has been quoted as saying that the fin whale meat has been shipped, along with an unknown amount of Norwegian minke whale meat.  Loftsson is said to be pleased with the price that he got for the whale meat, and that the “products” will be on sale in stores and fish markets in Japan shortly.

It was also reported that when questioned as to whether he would be issuing a new quota for fin whales, Fisheries Minister Einar Gudfinnsson said that he felt it was “too soon to say”.  This announcement comes on the heels of the decision by Gudfinnsson on May 19th to issue a commercial minke whale quota for 40 animals.

With the next meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) just weeks away, Sue Fisher of WDCS said: “This is an outrage and shows just how naïve it is to trust the whaling nations. We are just weeks away from the next meeting of the IWC, where countries will be asked by the chair to consider a ‘deal’ on commercial whaling with Japan that would effectively overturn the IWC’s moratorium on commercial whaling. This decision by the whalers to defy the will of the international community and start trading shows just what they are capable of. We call on all conservation-minded parties to the IWC, and the US chair in particular who will lead the negotiations to condemn this move by the whaling nations and tell them that all deals are off.”

This latest trade in whale meat flies in the face of international opinion and conservation measures. Chris Butler-Stroud, CEO of WDCS added:  “In addition to flouting the IWC ban on commercial whaling, with this export Iceland is also challenging the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the body which governs trade in animal products.   Last year, CITES overwhelmingly voted against proposals by Iceland and Japan that sought to open the way to a renewed trade in whale products.  The whalers are showing no signs of respect for international decisions.  As the conservation movement has said for decades now, they cannot be trusted. For them, profit is always more important than conservation”

Six fin whales were killed in 2006, after the Fisheries Minister issued a commercial quota of nine fin whales and 30 minke whales.  That hunt drew widespread international criticism, and eventually the hunt was closed far short of the total quota.  Loftsson, owner of a fleet of four whaling vessels, is also linked to the Icelandic fishing industry, and in 2006 when the fin whales were brought ashore, the animals were butchered and processed at the Hb Grandi fishing plant in Akranesi, Iceland. Loftsson is one the Board of Directors for Grandi, one of Iceland’s largest fish producers.

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