End Of whale Hunting In ICeland
Commercial whaling in Iceland could be banned within two years, after a iceland minister said there was little justification for the practice.
The Northern European country, an island in the North Atlantic, is one of the few places to allow whale hunting.
But demand for the mammal’s meat has decreased dramatically since Japan-Iceland’s main market-resumed commercial whaling in 2019.
Iceland’s Fisheries Minister says whaling is no longer profitable. “Why should Iceland take the risk of keeping up whaling, which has not brought any economic gain, in order to sell a product for which there is hardly any demand? ”
Iceland’s not recent annual quotas allow for the hunting of 209 fin whales, which are considered endangered and 217 minke whales – one of the smaller species.
When Japan resumed commercial whaling in 2019 after a three decade hiatus, it caused a significant drop in demand for Iceland’s whale exports, making hunting less profitable.
Social distancing rules made Icelandic whale meat processing plants less efficient, and the extension of a no-fishing coastal zone pushes up the cost of whale hunting.
The news has been welcomed by campaigners who have been calling for an end to whaling in lceland for many years.
Icelandic whalers have killed hundreds of whales in recent years, despite almost zero domestic demand, said Vaness Williams Grey of the U K Charity Whale & Dolphin Conservation.
Other whale related industries are now more successful in Iceland,with hundreds of thousands of whale watchers visiting the Island in 2019, hoping to catch a glimpse of the marine mammals.
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