8. December 2024

Outgoing PM grants controversial whaling licenses

Iceland’s outgoing PM grants controversial whaling licenses

Acting Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries Bjarni Benediktsson has issued new whaling licenses despite widespread opposition in Iceland and his family ties to Hvalur hf., the last fin whaling company in the country.

The licenses permit Tjaldtangi ehf. to hunt up to 217 minke whales and allow Hvalur hf., led by whaling magnate Kristján Loftsson, to target 161 fin whales—classified as vulnerable—in their main hunting areas near East Greenland and West Iceland. While 48 additional animals could be hunted in the eastern region between Iceland and the Faroe Islands, they remain beyond Hvalur’s operational scope.

This last-minute decision coincides with ongoing coalition talks to form Iceland’s next government, following the conservative Independence Party’s historic electoral defeat under Benediktsson’s leadership.

Meanwhile, Hvalur’s two fin whaling vessels are being refurbished in Reykjavík, and construction at their whaling station north of the capital suggests that independent oversight from NGOs like Hard to Port may face new challenges during future hunts.