Whaling in Iceland
[citation needed] Additionally, the 13th century document Konungs skuggsjá describes a number of marine mammals, including several types of whales and dolphins.
In open boats, hunters would strike a whale with a marked spear with the intent of later locating the beached carcass and claiming a rightful share.
[9] Research shows that Basque whalers appeared in Iceland and set up whaling stations there at the earliest in the early 17th century.
[1] Since 2005, historian Magnús Rafnsson and archaeologist Ragnar Edvardsson have been excavating the remains of a 17th-century Basque whaling station in the northwest of Iceland.
[16] Contemporary sources show that Icelanders were interested in starting whaling operations but lacked access to capital and did not have government support for innovation.
[16] Whalers from the United States and from Norway and other European nations expanded their activities into Icelandic waters with new techniques and technology in the late 19th century.
In 1865, Americans Thomas Welcome Roys and C. A. Lilliendahl tested their experimental rocket harpoon design and set up a shore station in Seyðisfjörður, east Iceland.
Norwegian Svend Foyn (famous for later inventing the modern whaling harpoon) also studied the American method in Iceland.
The major shareholder, Thomas Amlie of Oslo, assumed the role of expedition manager and enjoyed great success.
An Icelandic merchant named A. Asgeirsson was its promoter and major stockholder but the company was heavily dependent on Norwegian personnel and equipment.
[24] The Keflavík base would later become a point of diplomatic contention between the United States and Iceland due, in part, to disagreements over whaling.
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Convention any Contracting Government may grant to any of its nationals a special permit authorizing that national to kill, take and treat whales for purposes of scientific research subject to such restrictions as to number and subject to such other conditions as the Contracting Government thinks fit, and the killing, taking, and treating of whales in accordance with the provisions of this Article shall be exempt from the operation of this Convention.
Despite a domestic campaign to encourage Icelanders to consume more whale meat, most of the supply was used as feed on fur farms or spoiled in warehouses.
[32] On November 6, 1986, Rodney Coronado and David Howitt, activists linked to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, sabotaged a whaling station at Hvalfjörd by destroying machinery and computers.
[33] They also unbolted the engines' raw water intakes on two of Iceland's four whaling ships and sank the vessels, still anchored, in Reykjavík harbour.
[36] Burger King reduced its purchases of Icelandic fish by 20%, leading to lost sales worth an estimated $1.5 million per year.
Fisheries Minister Þorsteinn Pálsson claimed the IWC had abandoned all interest in exploiting whales giving Iceland the right to withdraw.
This does not apply, however, in case of the so-called moratorium on whaling for commercial purposes, contained in paragraph 10(e) of the Schedule not being lifted within a reasonable time after the completion of the RMS.
The Federation of Icelandic Fishing Vessel Owners claimed whales had reduced local cod stocks by 10–20 percent.
Twenty-five nations delivered a formal diplomatic protest (called a "demarche") to the Icelandic government on 1 November 2006 concerning resumed commercial whaling.
The protest was led by the UK and signed by nations including the United States, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Finland and Sweden.
[citation needed] In March 2010, environmental organizations accused Iceland of illegally exporting whale meat to Denmark and Latvia.
It is troubling that Iceland continues to pursue commercial whaling outside the boundaries of the IWC, without member oversight or analysis by the Commission’s scientific committee.
[65] In 2020, Iceland announced that whaling activities would cease as coronavirus pandemic restrictions and decreasing sales to Japan limited the feasibility of a harvest.
This decision was criticized by the ombudsman for being disproportionate and lacking legal basis, causing political tension within the ruling coalition.
A working group is reviewing the law and regulatory framework surrounding whaling, with findings expected before the end of the year.
A report commissioned by the Ministry of Food and Fisheries concluded that whaling had a negligible impact on Iceland’s economy, accounting for less than 1% of marine exports in 2022.
They are now stored on dry land next to the company's whaling station in Hvalfjörður, north of Reykjavík, where they are securely anchored and connected to electricity and heating.
[71] Each caught whale is secured to the side of a harpoon ship with rope and later towed to a shore station located at Hvalfjörður.
"[75] Gunnar Bergmann Jónsson, managing director of Hrefnuveiðimenn ehf.Minke whale meat is sold in restaurants and markets within Iceland.
