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Dolphins captured for captivity in Taiji. Image: Hans Peter Roth

Loved and killed – whales and dolphins in Japan

Protests and criticism from outside Japan in response to the slaughter of whales and dolphins...
Irrawaddy dolphin

Helping fishers protect dolphins in Sarawak, Borneo

Fishing nets are bad news for dolphins and porpoises, so we're working with local fishers...
Dolphin watching from Chanonry Point, Scotland. Image: WDC/Charlie Phillips

Discovering inner peace – whale and dolphin watching and mental wellbeing

Guest blog If you've ever seen whales or dolphins in the wild, you'll know that...
Whale tail

An ocean of hope

In a monumental, jaw-dropping demonstration of global community, the nations of the world made history...
The infamous killing cove at Taiji, Japan

Why the Taiji dolphin hunt can never be justified

Supporters of the dolphin slaughter in Japan argue that killing a few hundred dolphins every...
Image: Peter Linforth

Tracking whales from space will help us save them

Satellite technology holds one of the keys to 21st century whale conservation, so we're exploring...
Fishers' involvement is crucial. Image: WDC/JTF

When porpoises and people overlap

We're funding a project in Hong Kong that's working with fishing communities to help save...

Mindful conservation – why we need a new respect for nature

'We should look at whales and dolphins as the indigenous people of the seas -...
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Minke whale hunts stop in Iceland

Iceland’s commercial hunt of minke whales has ended for this year. The common minke whale is the...
Port River dolphins

New report reveals 100,000 dolphins and small whales hunted every year

When you hear the words ‘dolphin hunts’ it’s likely that you think of Japan or...

Japan set to resume commercial whaling

Reports from Japan suggest that the government they will formally propose plans to resume commercial...

End the whale hunts! Icelandic fin whaler isolated as public mood shifts

Here’s a sight I hoped never again to witness. A boat being scrubbed and repainted...

Australian Government to block Japanese whaling proposal

Japanese Government officials have reportedly confirmed that they will propose the resumption of commercial whaling...

Did Icelandic whalers really kill a blue whale?

*Warning - this blog contains an image that you may find upsetting* They say a...

Icelandic whalers breach international law and kill iconic, protected whale by mistake

Icelandic whalers out hunting fin whales for the first time in three years appear to...

Pregnant whales once again a target for Japanese whalers

Figures from Japan's whaling expedition to Antarctica during the 2017/18 austral summer have revealed that...

Doubts remain after Icelandic Marine Institute claims slaughtered whale was a hybrid not a blue

Experts remain sceptical of initial test results issued by the Icelandic Marine Institute, which indicate...

Norway's whaling season begins

April 1st saw the start of the whaling season in Norway. Despite a widely-accepted international moratorium...

SOS alert for whales off Norway!

I have to admit to bitter disappointment when I arrived in Tromsø, northern Norway, a...

Icelandic fin whale hunting to resume

Iceland’s only fin whaling company, Hvalur hf,  announced today that it will resume fin whaling...

Whale meat given away in Norway – philanthropy or expediency?

The Norwegian press is widely reporting a story of apparent philanthropy on the part of the whaling industry. Retired chef, Bjorn Martin Eklo, has announced that 5,000 boxes (around 60 tons) of minke whale meat will be freely distributed to needy people in Norway. The whale meat has been donated by Myklebust Hvalprodukter (Myklebust Whale Products), based in western Norway and one of the country’s largest whale meat processors and exporters.

In fact, this seemingly generous act is actually expediency dressed up as benevolence. Despite government subsidies and marketing campaigns, domestic demand for whale meat is declining within Norway and efforts to promote it to students and young people via music festivals and other outlets have largely flopped and many consider whale meat old-fashioned and merely a ‘niche product’. Despite this, Norwegian whalers continue to hunt hundreds of minke whales each year under an ‘objection’ to the global ban on commercial whaling.

In recent years, improved packaging and special discounts have somewhat improved sales of whale meat via supermarket chains, but tourists remain the main target and the meat is widely available at dockside fish markets, restaurants and on board cruise ships. Skincare products and supplements such as whale oil capsules and skin creams are also available and of course, WDC strongly recommends that visitors to this beautiful country are not tempted to sample any whale products – see our tourist information flyer for further information

Myklebust Hvalprodukter has also dominated the export market, mainly to Japan, with smaller exports to Iceland and the Faroe Islands.  In recent years, exports have even passed through EU ports, including Southampton, Rotterdam and Hamburg. However, in 2015, Norwegian whale meat  was dumped by Japan after routine safety tests discovered that it contained up to twice the permitted level of three potentially dangerous pesticides: aldrin, dieldrin and chlordane.

Given the clear lack of demand for Norwegian whale meat, either domestically or on the export market, it is hardly surprising that Myklebust is keen to offload meat which has been languishing, unwanted, on supermarket shelves for months.

“This is meat with a best-before date, which is not so very far away. The new [minke whaling] season starts in May, and therefore we think it makes sense to give away this meat directly to consumers, says Ole Mindoro Myklebust, the company’s managing director. 

Fine words, but it seems that the whalers would do well to heed the clear message from consumers: Norwegian whaling has long since passed its sell-by date.