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Minke Whale Hunting An Industry In Decline
More than half the minke whale hunting companies in Iceland have either quit the business or gone bankrupt since 2007. Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, in response to a formal question posed to him by Left-Green alternate MP Rósa…
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Fishing Ministry Silent On Fin Whale Hunting Moratorium
The US Embassy in Iceland has welcomed the news that Iceland will not hunt fin whales this summer, but the Ministry of Fishing is offering no statement on the matter. MBL reports that the US Embassy in Iceland has responded to recent…
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No Whaling This Summer
There will be no whaling at all this summer, and Iceland’s top whaler has expressed regret at even starting it again in 2009. In an interview with MBL, Kristján Loftsson – head of Iceland’s largest whaling company, Hvalur hf. – has announced…
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Sólon, And Thanks For All The Fish!
Hrefna: We visited Sólon on a particularly ordinary Wednesday afternoon. The place felt familiar. Maybe because I pass it every day on my way to work, envying the patrons who always seem so happy with their curly fries and drinks. The location,…
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Busted With Whale Bones In Luggage
A passenger coming from Iceland was stopped by customs at BWI airport and found to be in possession of whale bones. The Baltimore Sun reports that a passenger arriving at Baltimore-Washington International airport from Iceland was stopped by customs and found to…
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Tourist Stumbles On Whale Skeleton
A tourist stumbled upon the skeleton of a whale while walking on Seltjarnarnes beach yesterday afternoon, reports RÚV. After informing the local authorities of the skeleton’s location, the whale’s skeleton was investigated and the Icelandic Institute for Natural History notified for further…
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Baby Minke Whale Beaches Self, Is Later Freed
A baby minke whale that beached itself in south Iceland has been freed, and is back in the ocean. RÚV reports that the calf swam into a small boat harbour in Þórshöfn, south Iceland, yesterday morning, and got itself stuck. While it…
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Whale Saved From Netting
A humpback whale that was discovered tangled in netting has been rescued, and is expected to make a full recovery. RÚV reports that the whale was freed from the netting at about 11 o’clock this morning. Despite considerable entanglement, experts who arrived…
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Humpback Whale Rescue Underway
A group of Icelanders are headed out to sea to rescue a humpback whale that has been tangled in netting for as long as two months. RÚV reports that the whale is badly injured, entangled in netting in Faxaflói Bay, and has…
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Whaling Company Loses Money From Whaling
Iceland’s largest whaling company reported profits in the billions – but they didn’t come from whaling, which actually operated at a loss. Viðskiptablaðið reports that Hvalur hf. – Iceland’s largest whaling company – earned 3 billion ISK in the last fiscal year.…
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Humpback Whale Rocks The Boat – VIDEO
Some prospective whale watchers were met with a close encounter that, while momentarily scary, left no one harmed. RÚV reports that Benedikt Sigurðsson and his daughter took his friends, author C.B. McKenzie and his wife, out to sea near Hnífsdalur in the…
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Ship Bearing Fin Whale Meat Leaves Icelandic Harbour
A ship carrying 1,700 tonnes of fin whale meat has left Hafnarfjörður. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) calls the shipment “a bloody trade”. RÚV reports that repairs have been completed on the ship Winter Bay, which is carrying the frozen…
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Seasonal Beer Flavoured With Dung-Smoked Fin Whale Testes
The brewery Steðji by Borgarfjörður uses dung-smoked fin-whale testes to add flavour to its seasonal beer Hvalur 2—Whale 2. This was reported by Vísir. The occasion for the delicatessen variety is the mid-Winter old Icelandic month Þorri, which starts late January. Since…
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Likely Shortage Of Whale Meat This Winter
Whale hunters have fallen far under quota, making it very probable that there will be a shortage of whale meat in Iceland this winter. RÚV reports that minke whale hunting season will be drawing to a close on October 30. Only one…
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Humpback Whale Saved From Netting – VIDEO
The Icelandic Coast Guard rescued a whale that had been caught in netting, with the whole event recorded on video. A statement from the Icelandic Coast Guard announces that they received a call yesterday morning of a whale near Skagafjörður that had…
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Tangled Whale May Not Get Help
A humpback whale tangled in some fishing nets in Ísafjarðardjúp off the coast of Iceland’s Westfjord region may not receive the help it needs as there is no real system in place to assist it. Gísli Víkingarsson, a whale expert with Iceland’s Marine Research…
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Grilled Meat In The Summer Rain
Kol was somewhat of a puzzle to me: a restaurant that opened its doors early this year to some acclaim, but hasn’t yet reached its full commercial potential—or so I thought. My companion and I graced Kol with our presence on a…
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Call Me Arne
On the right side of the Old Harbour on June 5, Elding’s whale watching ships were returning with a shipment of tourists. On the other side, the Hvalur whaling ships were being cleaned and maintained by the crew, preparing them for their…
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Answers Wanted From Fishing Minister On Whaling Death
Both those who oppose and support the practice of whaling want answers from the Minister of Fisheries on how long it takes a whale to die once harpooned by an Icelandic whaler. “There is no point to supervising and conducting research on…
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How Long It Takes A Whale To Die Kept Secret
The results of ongoing research on how long it takes a fin or minke whale to die once harpooned will not be made public, the Minister of Fisheries has confirmed. In response to a question posed by Left-Green chairperson Katrín Jakóbsdóttir, Minister…
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Sixteen Fin Whales Hunted
The whaling company Hvalur hf. has landed sixteen fin whales, which international authorities say are an endangered species. Sixteen fin whales out of the seasonal quota of 154 have been hunted so far by Hvalur, RÚV reports, with the intent to export…
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Whales Are Cool, Seagulls Are Not
As the Life of Whales ship passes by the illustrious facade of the immaculate Harpa, its glass panes shimmer a multitude of colours. The intensive labour (not to mention the 27 billion ISK) expended in its construction is nothing short of breath-taking,…
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Whale Watching: You’ll Know When You See It
To many, no visit to Iceland is complete without a whale-watching trip. Few places offer a better opportunity to view the largest sea mammals on the planet. While tours out of Húsavík in northern Iceland are reportedly the best, the tours operated…