17. July 2026

Keep Us in the Fjord. Keep Us on the Frontlines of Commercial Whaling.

A fundraising appeal by Arne Feuerhahn

Dear Community,

For more than a decade, Hard To Port – Marine Conservation has been at the forefront of the fight to end commercial whaling in Iceland.

When we launched our campaign in 2015, commercial whaling remained largely hidden from public view. Thousands of whales had already been killed in the North Atlantic with little scrutiny or public awareness. Through years of documenting whaling operations, reporting what we witnessed, and sharing the reality with the public, we helped bring this issue into the spotlight.

Today, the conversation around whaling in Iceland is profoundly different. Public awareness has grown, political attention has increased, and official inspections carried out by Icelandic veterinary authorities have exposed serious animal welfare concerns through a series of deeply concerning reports. While many people and organisations have contributed to this progress, I believe our campaign has played an important role in helping bring about this change.

Now, in our twelfth consecutive year in the field, we face challenges of our own.

Hard To Port is operating with extremely limited financial resources. To keep our campaign going, I am currently balancing our conservation and documentation work with a full-time job here in Iceland to help cover both our operational costs and my own living expenses. While this allows us to continue our work, it also comes at the cost of time and energy that would otherwise be spent documenting whaling operations, engaging with the media, and supporting our advocacy efforts.

Despite these constraints, we have already documented several suspected irregularities during the opening weeks of this year’s whaling season. Together with our Icelandic partner organisations and legal advisers, we have reported these incidents to the relevant authorities and are now awaiting their response.

Without independent teams on the ground, incidents like these – and much of what happens during Iceland’s whaling season – risk going undocumented.

As Icelandic policymakers review the outdated legislative framework that still permits commercial whaling, this year could prove to be a pivotal moment for the future of whaling in the country. With new legislation expected to be introduced to Parliament later this year, maintaining our independent presence in Hvalfjörður is essential to ensuring that commercial whaling remains under public scrutiny. Through our documentation and reporting, we provide reliable information to the authorities and contribute to the informed public and political debate that could help bring commercial whaling in Iceland to an end.

This is where you can help.

We are seeking to raise €5,000 to keep our campaign running over the coming months. Your support will help us:

• Bring a second photographer to Iceland, increasing our capacity to monitor and document whaling operations while reducing the pressure of operating as a one-person field team.

• Upgrade essential camera equipment needed for our field work.

• Cover part of the transportation costs required to maintain our presence in Hvalfjörður throughout the remainder of the campaign.

• Secure the remaining funding needed for Hard To Port to participate in this year’s meeting of the International Whaling Commission, where we will share first-hand documentation and insights directly with government representatives, scientists, and fellow conservation organisations.

If you are able to help, every contribution – no matter the size – will help keep us in the fjord and on the frontlines of commercial whaling.

Thank you for standing with us – and for standing with the fin whales of the North Atlantic.

Arne Feuerhahn 

Hard To Port – Marine Conservation