Whale Meat Iceland

March 17, 2018

Whale Meat Iceland

Environmentalists reacted angrily Tuesday to a controversial shipment of fin whale meat to Japan by an Icelandic whaling company saying it flouted international conservation agreements. The Icelandic whaling company Hvalur HF plans to ship 1700 tonnes of whale meat via Luanda in Angola repeating a similar controversial delivery of 2000 tonnes last year which sparked protests along its route.

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The film shows that the whale meat business isnt exactly lucrative.

Whale meat iceland. Whaling in Iceland began with spear-drift hunting as early as the 12th century and continued in a vestigial form until the late 19th century when other countries introduced modern commercial practices. When whaling resumed in Iceland in 2003 minke whale meat sold poorly. Despite there being no demand for fin whale meat in Iceland itself the government granted a quota of 191 fin whales for the season which starts in June while minke whales.

However their efforts have largely been unsuccessful and the consumption of minke whale meat by local people has declined steadily year on year. For Iceland Japans move to resume commercial whaling meant that the prior demand for Icelandic whale meat disappeared. Iceland had already been hunting whales commercially since 2006.

Whale meat is hardly a local Icelandic dish. Since the 1986 ban Iceland has hunted more than 1700 whales with minke whales and fin whales being the predominate whale species hunted. Meanwhile 12 percent of tourists ate whale meat during their stay in Iceland this past summer according to another survey by the International.

According to a poll done in conjunction by the IFAW and Capacent Gallup only 32 of Icelands population eats whale meat on a regular basis defined as six times a year or more and even fewer 17 eat whale meat at least once a month. Whale meat is traditionally consumed by Icelanders although the traditions haydays are long gone. Whale meat and other products are widely available in restaurants supermarkets and aboard cruise ships.

The lack of enthusiasm for whale meat in Iceland is mirrored in Norway where the number of whaling vessels dropped by almost half from 2016 to 2017. Minke whale is available at restaurants and in grocery stores. You may be offered it in buffets or barbeques but be aware that the meat may also appear unlabelled in dishes identified as traditional local specialities or A Taste of Iceland.

Meanwhile in Japan whale-meat consumption is falling largely owing to health concerns and the supply of Japanese-caught whales has also declined. In fact virtually no one in Iceland touches the stuff. International trade in fin whale is banned but another reservation to that ban allows Iceland to ship whale meat to Japan.

In April 2018 after a break of two years Iceland announced a resumption of fin whale hunting. Iceland recently began importing Norwegian minke whale meat much of which is sold to tourists who mistakenly believe that eating whale meat is an essential part of Icelandic culture she said. Fin whale is no longer consumed locally but caught by Hvalur hf.

A ship carrying 1700 tonnes of whale meat left Iceland on Thursday bound for Japan said a leading animal welfare group that is protesting against the controversial delivery. The government has added the warning to its advice on travelling to Iceland after being alerted to the fact that whale meat is on sale at Keflavik. Today Iceland is one of a handful of countries that formally object to an ongoing moratorium established by the International Whaling Commission in 1986 and that still maintain a whaling fleet.

And exported to Japan another whaling nation. The Icelandic government has gone to great lengths to develop new products and encourage the public to try whale meat.

Iceland Sends 2 000 Tonnes Of Fin Whale Meat To Japan Icenews Daily News