Fishing

“We have to go much further from the coast than before, so we need more staff, which increases costs.”

One important Iceland tourism information you need to know is that Animals-Iceland has decided to stop fishing for minke whales, which are more profitable for local industry, the International Fund for Animal Welfare announced today.

The activity was experiencing a sharp decline: the number of catches fell significantly, from 46 harpooned cetaceans in 2016 to 17 last year, only 6 Minke whales were hunted in June 2018 (out of a quota of 262), and not a single one has yet been hunted in July, a traditionally good month for the harpooning of the cetacean, according to figures provided by IFAW.

The Icelandic exception

The Managing Director of IP-Utgerd Ltd, which specialises in minke hunting, has confirmed that harpooning will cease for …

It may be a hybrid species from a cross between a blue whale and a fin whale, a rare phenomenon.

Blue whale, fin whale, or hybrid ? The controversy is growing in Iceland, following accusations by an animal rights association that a blue whale has been harpooned for the first time in fifty years.

“Sea Shepherd volunteers monitoring the valuer HF whaling station in Hvalfjördur, Iceland, documented the killing of a threatened blue whale on the night of July 7,” The International Association said in a statement. The blue whale has been a protected species since 1966 and its hunting is prohibited by the International Whaling Commission.

However, many experts in Iceland question the claims made by Sea Shepherd. According to Straumar Website, the harpooned animal has characteristics similar to the blue whale… and the fin whale, the …