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Vaquita. Photo Thomas Jefferson

Scientific Committee gives first ever official species extinction warning

Photo: Thomas Jefferson We have welcomed the urgent call by experts to protect the vaquita...
blue whale

Whale fossil from Peru may have been heavier than blue whale

Scientists examining the bones of a 39 million-year-old ancient whale have concluded that it may...
Humpback whale © Christopher Swann

Humpback whales breach in synchronisation

Humpback whales are renowned for their incredible acrobatic displays, but a family in the USA...
Long-finned pilot whale

Unusual activity witnessed before pilot whale stranding

Just days after a pod of long-finned pilot whales stranded on an island in the...
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  • All policy news
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Stop whaling
  • Strandings
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...

Minke whale hunts stop in Iceland

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

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...

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...

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...

Minke whale hunts stop in Iceland

Iceland’s commercial hunt of minke whales has ended for this year.

The common minke whale is the main species targeted by Japan, Norway and Iceland when they undertake ‘scientific’ and/or commercial whaling.

Iceland has continued to kill whales despite the International Whaling Committee’s ban on commercial whaling, using loopholes and its much-disputed move to take a so-called ‘reservation’ in 2002.

Out of a quota of 262, six minke whales were caught this summer which was the smallest number caught since 2003 when Iceland resumed whaling. 17 were caught in 2017 and 46 in 2016.

WDC’s view is that, since minke whale numbers in the region are steadily declining – with the reasons behind this decline still poorly understood – further quotas should be denied for that reason alone. Moreover, the hunts are extremely cruel as many of the whales do not die instantly.


Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson, CEO of minke whaling company IP-Utgerd Ltd said to Morgunbladid newspaper “We need to go much farther from the coast than before, so we need more staff, which increases costs”. Because of declining profits, the local industry is struggling and demand is diminishing.

Vanessa Williams-Grey, policy manager at WDC, comments “I am delighted that the cruel and unnecessary minke whale hunt has ended for this year, but fin whales are still being killed. WDC won’t stop until all whales are safe and free off Iceland.”

Kristján Loftsson, the world´s last commercial fin whaler, has already killed 57 of these gentle giants this year. His operations sparked even more international outrage when news broke of the illegal kill of an endangered and very rare blue whale or blue/fin whale hybrid in mid-July.