Whaling begins, while ban remains

Due to the Whaling Commision’s ban on commercial whaling activities, the likes of Norway and Iceland, main players in the Whaling industry, have not been exporting Whale meat since the 90’s.

According to new reports, this has recently been changed, and Norway and Iceland are said to be fully active in Whaling, and the export of Whale meat in the form of Minke and Fin, to Japan, despite the fact that current Whaling commissions ban hasn’t been lifted.

The whole activity doesn’t make sense; due to the increase in tourism for Iceland, its Whale watching industry has grown over 500% over the last 10 years, and continues to grow.

To add to the fact that Whales are doing a lot for tourism, the fact of the matter is Whale meat doesn’t have the demand it used to have, due to its 20 year absence, which is a good thing for such an endangered species.

According to reports, around 85 tonnes has been shipped to Japan between the two countries’ efforts, and more is on the way, although catches are scarce, due to previous over hunting.

The bulk of the meat, 80 tonnes in fact, came from Iceland, from its 2006 catch, while 5 tonnes came from Norway.