There are only three countries in the world that continue to openly hunt whales for commercial purposes: Norway, Japan, and Iceland. After a two-year break, the International Fund for Animal Welfare just reported yesterday that Iceland is poised to resume its whaling this summer by setting a quota of 168 minke whales and 150 fin whales.
This is very disappointing news for the whales themselves, since the killing of a whale may take as long as two excruciating hours of suffering and—in the case of fin whales—there is a danger that they will become extinct because they’re officially categorized as a “vulnerable” species. It is also a step in the wrong direction for those who have fought to bring an end to commercial whaling in Iceland and around the world. Next to the blue whale, fin whales are the second-largest animals in the world and losing them would be a great tragedy.
Due to America’s threats to “acquire” Greenland, Iceland has been debating whether to join the EU to give it some protection if Donald Trump decides to take over Iceland as well. Since the EU is strongly against commercial whaling, it could jeopardize their chances of gaining membership.
Even though the present Icelandic government has the goal of ending the practice of whaling, it may still go on until, at least, 2029 because current whaling licenses will be valid until then.
The arguments against continuing on with whaling have not changed. It is unspeakably cruel as the whales are painfully harpooned and then chased for up to two hours before they bleed to death. As was already mentioned, fin whales face extinction through a combination of hunting and threats to their environment. Also, Iceland doesn’t even consume the whale meat. It is mostly exported to Japan!
That brings up the question: Does Japan still hunt fin whales? Sadly, the answer is “yes.” Since Japan launched a new whale processing “mothership,” the Kangei Maru, in 2024, Japan’s Japan’s Fisheries Agency Council decided to allow the killing of fin whales. In 2024 the allowable quota was 59. Japan is doing this despite there being a global moratorium on commercial whaling, according to Ocean Care, an organization dedicated to marine wildlife protection.
Buergi, V. (2026, January 6). Japans whaling: Death sentence for fin whales, OceanCare. https://www.oceancare.org/en/stories_and_news/japan-whaling-expansion/
International Fund for Animal Welfare. (2026, June 10). Countdown begins: Iceland’s controversial whale hunt set to resume within days. IFAW. https://www.ifaw.org/au/press-releases/iceland-controversial-whale-hunt-resume-within-days
