A War on Whales: Hvalur hf.’s ecocide on Fin Whales
IT’S FRIDAY MORNING, September 22nd, and a light breeze brushes over the huge carcass laying on the deck of the whaling station in Hvalfjörður. Even though it is an autumn day, the sun carefully peeks through the clouds that are covering the sky. Workers proceed quickly in their routine, cutting the large animal up before dragging the big pieces underneath the platform to be further processed – frozen and eventually shipped far away to Japan. Suddenly, the employees in their black working suits and bright blue gloves cut open the stomach of the female fin whale and a large foetus quickly slides out of the womb of its dead mother.
One of the last whaling nations
Iceland is one of three nations that are still whaling commercially. This continuation is in violation of the moratorium on commercial whaling set under the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which came into effect in 1986. The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries is responsible for giving out licences to whale and the licence has to be renewed every five years. Hvalur hf., the only Icelandic company still whaling, currently holds a licence that was granted in 2019 by Júlíus Þór Júlíusson, the minister of Fisheries and Agriculture at that time. This means that their licence is only valid until the end of 2023. The type of whale that Hvalur hf. is hunting is the fin whale, which is also the second largest animal species on our planet.
This year the public debate about whaling has been agitated, especially after a report by MAST, the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority, was released in May showing violations of the animal welfare act in last year’s hunt. In this report, it came to light that 24% of the whales had to be shot more than once, some even three or four times. What is just as shocking is the fact that one animal with a harpoon stuck in it was lost – most definitely suffering a painful death. The median time span for whales that did not die instantly, as required by the animal welfare act, was 11.5 minutes. This means Iceland is not only ignoring the international moratorium on commercial whaling by killing fin whales, who are listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), but is also violating its own act on animal welfare.
Temporary whaling ban in June
After the revelations from the report on the 2022 whaling season, people were anxiously waiting to see whether the report, which clearly highlighted many violations against animal welfare laws, would change the outcome of the approaching 2023 season. Usually, the whaling season starts in mid-June after Sjómannadagurinn, the Seaman’s Holiday. The closer June came, the more protests orchestrated by different activist organisations were filling the streets of Reykjavík, in the hope of swift action by Svandís Svavarsdóttir, current minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries. Meanwhile, as of September 2023, a petition on Change.org obtained over 600,000 signatures, with over 20,000 signatures from Iceland. Another survey in June indicated that merely 29% of Icelanders are in favour of whale hunting, with a majority being over 60 years old. On the other hand, the survey found that 51% of Icelanders are opposed to whaling.
Ultimately, the public pressure succeeded. In typical Icelandic manner, just one day before the initial hunt was planned, Svandís Svavarsdóttir put a temporary ban on whaling until August 31. The aftermath was immediate. Kristján Loftsson and his sympathisers in the Indepence Party, which he is notably one of the main benefactors of, were furious, the latter calling Svandís a “communist” and threatening to dismember the current government. Luckily, the famous summer break arrived shortly after and the situation did not escalate. While the two whaling ships, Hvalur 8 and 9, remained still at Reykjavík Harbour over the summer, Svandís’ decision on the possible continuation of whaling in September was looming over the bright summer days.
Belated whaling season in the autumn
Although protests against Kristján Loftsson´s whaling have continued, Svandís Svavarsdóttir decided to lift the ban on whaling on August 30th. Hvalur hf. was allowed to return to whaling on September 1st under strict conditions. This decision surprised the nation as Svandís Svavarsdóttir´s own party, the Left-Green party, had spoken out against whaling for years. A lot of people are disappointed in her, seeing that she had the power to end whaling and at the same time distance the Left-Green party from their coalition partner, but ultimately decided not to do so.
Many activists opposed the government's decision to lift the ban on whaling. Early in the morning on September 4th, just before the whaling ships were bound to set out to sea, two activists climbed the masts of the whaling vessels, hindering the whalers from leaving Reykjavík harbour. The activists Anahita Babaei and Elissa Bijou stayed up the masts for a total of 33 hours, enduring the cold and the lack of food and water. Early on the police had taken Anahita's bag leaving her without water and food. Eventually, the activists had to leave and the whaling boats set out to sea on September 6th. The first three whales were caught the following day.
Rather the rule than single mishaps
Kristján Loftsson eagerly insisted on his “right” to go out whaling in the autumn. First, to keep his company’s legacy alive, but also to prove that his workers could improve their whaling tactics in order to get a new whaling licence in 2024. During the summer he spoke of new “improved” hunting practices, such as electrocution of the whales, in case a single harpoon takes too long to kill the animal. While the initial thought of a quicker death for the animal seems logical, this practise is quite controversial as Japanese and Norwegian whale hunters have found it to be ineffective. Eventually, Svandís did not permit this questionable practice for the belated hunt.
The first three whales that were brought in Hvalfjörður on September 8th already indicated that not everything went according to plan. One of them was hit by two harpoons, the other two were hit outside the regulated target area, which aims to make their deaths quicker. Consequently, one of the whaling vessels was later banned from sailing out again due to breaking the regulation. Furthermore, the 15th hunted fin whale was lost at sea after shooting it, leaving it behind to suffer a slow death.
The whale’s role in oceanic ecosystems
Only 25 fin whales have been killed by Hvalur hf. this autumn, while approximately 184 others have been spared. But these 25 individuals are still 25 too many, considering the environmental impact that whales have. Each fin whale can sequester as much carbon dioxide as 1,500 trees. Moreover, whales positively impact wildlife numbers in the sea. When they defecate in large plumes at the surface, those plumes contain organic nutrients that are a food source for many oceanic organisms. Even in death, whales can paradoxically sustain life when their bodies sink to the bottom of the sea. The carcass brings scarce nutrients down to numerous organisms living on the seabed. However, this can only occur if the whale dies of a natural death.
War on whales - Ecocide
What is happening in Iceland can be understood as ecocide. Hvalur hf.’s whaling impact on nature cannot be described in other words: their practice shows a wholly uncaring attitude about preserving the world as a habitable planet for future generations. In a recent interview with Morgunblaðið, Kristján Loftsson even described whaling as “climate friendly”, as he “reduces the carbon emissions” of each animal’s natural footprint (or rather finprint) through killing them first. Hopefully, we don’t need to clarify that this statement is beyond any logic.
“ECOCIDE” is a word to describe what is happening to our planet; the mass damage and destruction of the natural living world. It literally means “killing one’s home”. And right now, in most of the world, no-one is held responsible.
(Stop Ecocide International)
But here in Iceland regarding this issue, we can make someone responsible. Kristján Loftsson is refusing to see that old times have passed, and Svandís Svavarsdóttir has to answer to her political decisions.
Is Iceland ready for a more sustainable future?
Svandís Svavarsdóttir and the Icelandic nation have an important decision to make. Is whaling and all that comes with it really something we want to continue in the future? Is it worth it, to kill such large creatures for the mere export to another nation thousands of kilometres away while sacrificing our own international image? Will future fin whale calves be safe from the fate of ending up on a wet wooden deck, only to be cut out of their mothers’ cold body before their time was due? Will Iceland choose to be the country that proudly shows off their flourishing wildlife rather than further exploiting the oceans as humans have done for way too long of a time?
Only time and politics can tell.