{"id":19943,"date":"2026-06-25T16:15:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T14:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/in-iceland-minke-whales-are-once-again-dying-killed-by-harpoons\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T16:19:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T14:19:18","slug":"in-iceland-minke-whales-are-once-again-dying-killed-by-harpoons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/in-iceland-minke-whales-are-once-again-dying-killed-by-harpoons\/","title":{"rendered":"In Iceland, minke whales are once again dying, killed by harpoons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On the night of June 21\u201322, the whaling ship Hvalur 9 returned to Hvalfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur with two fin whales on board<\/strong>. These were the first catches\u2014and, more importantly, the first two killings\u2014in Iceland since 2023. The news was confirmed<\/a>by the public broadcaster R\u00daV<\/strong> and prompted an immediate reaction from international animal rights organizations. The news was not unexpected: the ships had set sail from Reykjavik the previous Friday evening, with a valid five-year license issued by the Icelandic government in December 2024. <\/p>\n\n

The fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus<\/em>) is the second-largest animal on Earth after the blue whale<\/strong>. The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies it<\/a> as a species that is globally vulnerable to extinction<\/strong>. Despite this, Iceland has killed more than a thousand of them over the past twenty years<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

Between Breaks and Comebacks<\/h3>\n\n

The hiatus in 2024 and 2025 was not a decision based on principle. The hunting of fin whales in Iceland is managed by a single company, Hvalur hf., whose main export market is Japan. In recent years, Tokyo has accumulated stocks of whale meat that it cannot sell, as domestic demand is in structural decline, and at the same time has expanded its own whaling fleet. As a result, Icelandic whale meat cannot find buyers<\/strong>. The 2024 and 2025 seasons were canceled not due to diplomatic or environmental pressure, but because the numbers simply didn\u2019t add up. <\/p>\n\n

Reduced rates, but not enough<\/h3>\n\n

In April, the Icelandic Institute of Marine and Freshwater Research published its recommendations for the 2026 season: a maximum of 150 fin whales and 168 minke whales. Compared to the average quotas for the 2018\u20132025 period, these represent reductions of 28% and 23%, respectively. The five-year permit issued in 2024 theoretically authorized up to 209 fin whales and 217 minke whales per year through 2029. However, these numbers remain unacceptable, according to Humane World for Animals<\/a>, an organization formed by the merger of Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States. <\/p>\n\n

It is worth noting a statistic published in 2023 by the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority: 41% of the whales killed during Icelandic hunts suffer greatly before dying<\/strong>, with an average time to death of 11.5 minutes. In some cases, the agony has lasted up to two hours<\/strong>. The explosive harpoon, the standard method, does not guarantee immediate death. <\/p>\n\n

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