Whaling has long been controversial, and the only countries in the world that allow commercial whaling are Iceland, Norway and Japan, and recently, Iceland announced that it will shut down the whaling industry from 2024.
Recently, Iceland's Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Swavas dottir, published an article saying that from 2024, after the expiration of the current whaling quota, "Iceland has no reason to authorize commercial whaling". She said there was little economic benefit from commercial whaling.
According to reports, the main consumer market for Icelandic whale meat is in Japan. After Japan resumed commercial whaling in 2019, demand for Icelandic whale meat has decreased significantly. For the past three years, Iceland's two major whalers have suspended operations, and one has withdrawn completely in 2020, and Iceland has only killed a minke whale in 2021 for three years.
There are multiple reasons why the benefits of commercial whaling are getting lower and lower. The closure of fishing off the coast of Iceland has expanded, and whalers have to travel deeper to hunt. Due to restrictions such as social distancing required by the COVID-19 pandemic, Iceland's whale processing plants have not been able to function properly. In addition, whales have become the star of Iceland's eco-tourism industry. In 2019, more than 360,000 visitors came to the North Atlantic waters near Iceland to see whales.
Swavasdotier also said that whaling has long been controversial, after Icelandic products have been boycotted by some U.S. merchants for suspected hunting of an endangered species, the blue whale.
According to CNN, the International Whaling Commission banned all commercial whaling in 1986. Iceland withdrew from the International Whaling Commission in 1992 and resumed commercial whaling in 2006. Once Iceland's decision takes effect, the only countries in the world that will allow commercial whaling will be Norway and Japan, according to reports.
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