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.

Hvalur 9 and Hvalur 8 dock together at the whaling station ahead of an approaching storm. © Arne Feuerhahn | Hard To Port

The body of a killed female fin whale is turned in the water for processing. © Arne Feuerhahn | Hard To Port

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.

Two harpoon impact wounds are visible on a fin whale’s body, outside the recommended target area. This suspected irregularity has been reported to the relevant authorities.
© Arne Feuerhahn | Hard To Port

The body of a female fin whale is secured alongside the starboard side of the Hvalur 9 whaling vessel. © Arne Feuerhahn | Hard To Port

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

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Three lives lost

Iceland’s controversial fin whaling season has begun, with the first three fin whales of the season landed at the whaling station in Hvalfjörður over the past few days. The catcher vessel Hvalur 9 arrived on Tuesday morning at around 4:30 a.m. with two male fin whales secured alongside its port side. Hvalur 8, after spending almost 100 hours at sea, returned yesterday evening with a third fin whale.

Despite having witnessed this procedure countless times before, it remains profoundly distressing. How can such an archaic practice still have a place in 2026?

These three whales are the first animals hunted by Hvalur hf. since the company’s shortened whaling season ended in September 2023. At that time, significant animal welfare concerns led to a temporary suspension of whaling operations. The regulatory framework was subsequently tightened, allowing the hunt to resume only under stricter conditions.

Over the last couple of days, we have resumed our independent monitoring and documentation of Hvalur’s activities, work that we have carried out since 2015.

It is certainly not a pleasant task to point a camera at a slaughterhouse for whales. Nevertheless, we believe this work remains essential. Monitoring and documentation have exposed disturbing aspects of the whaling industry in the past that many people would otherwise never have seen. If we identify potential irregularities or apparent breaches of regulations, it is important that these are brought to public attention.

Catcher vessel Hvalur 8 returned to the whaling station with the third whale of the 2026 hunting season. Photo credit: © 2026 Arne Feuerhahn | Hard To Port

In the case of the whale brought ashore yesterday, a request has been submitted to the relevant authorities seeking clarification regarding three impact wounds visible across the animal’s body. Given the attention these injuries received from several observers who were not members of staff, it seems likely that something unusual occurred. At this stage, we can only speculate, but we hope to learn more about what this animal endured during its struggle for survival. Judging from our photographs, this was unlikely to have been an instantaneous death, and prolonged suffering appears, regrettably, to have been very likely.

The hunt for fin whales resumed last Friday, and it feels somewhat unreal that we are here again, witnessing these almost daily atrocities. Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, Iceland’s Minister of Industries, has repeatedly stated that a review of the country’s whaling legislation is underway and that a proposal to prohibit commercial whaling altogether is expected to be introduced this autumn. For these three whales, and for those that will follow in the coming weeks, such plans sadly come too late.

Particular attention was drawn to several impact wounds visible across the animal’s body. Photo credit: © 2026 Arne Feuerhahn | Hard To Port

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From Ægisgarður to Hobart – The Long Road to the IWC

Appeal by Arne Feuerhahn

When the International Whaling Commission voted to implement a global moratorium on commercial whaling, I was just three months old. Needless to say, whales and whaling were not yet on my mind at that time.

Today, 44 years later, I find myself standing before two ships that embody the brutal and destructive chapter of human history that led to the moratorium. These two steam-powered relics are tied to the decimation of whale populations across our oceans and to unimaginable suffering inflicted on highly intelligent and sentient marine animals.

As I write this appeal, both of these ships are being prepared for what may become another, potentially their last, summer hunt off the coast of Iceland. While I have witnessed this process many times before, it remains a troubling and deeply upsetting sight.

Yet despite this current troubling development, I remain hopeful that we may finally be witnessing the beginning of the end for this industry here in Iceland. Following years of meticulous documentation work that helped spark a political reassessment of commercial whaling and shift public perception regarding the continued exploitation of these animals, we may now be witnessing the final attempt by the whaling industry and its political enablers to resist a development that increasingly appears inevitable.

As we have reported on before, Iceland’s current Minister of Industries has repeatedly hinted at significant legislative changes in the second half of the year. Should this Government remain in power, and should these promises be fulfilled, it could permanently close the chapter on commercial whaling in Iceland. It is a hopeful and potentially historic moment – one that I, together with Hard To Port and many others, have worked passionately toward for years.

At this critical moment, it feels more important than ever to remain present here in Iceland over the coming months – while also ensuring that our voices on behalf of the whales in these waters are represented internationally.

Earlier this year, as some of you may know, Hard To Port – Marine Conservation was granted observer status at the International Whaling Commission (IWC), thus enabling us to participate in future Commission meetings. This unquestionably marks an important milestone for Hard To Port and allows us to engage directly in the international forum where the future of whaling is debated and shaped. It also gives us the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and organizations, while deepening our understanding of the many cetacean-related issues within the IWC’s scope.

For our non-profit, after years of engagement here in the North Atlantic, joining the international conversation on whaling is an essential next step – and the International Whaling Commission provides that global platform.

With this message, I am calling on my friends, long-time whale conservation companions, Hard To Port’s community and supporters, to help us make this important journey possible.

From Ægisgarður – home to Iceland’s notorious fin whaling fleet and the birthplace of Hard To Port – Marine Conservation – to the conference halls of IWC70 in Hobart, Australia, it is a long road ahead.

17,553 kilometers, to be precise, as my self-crafted Icelandic road sign indicates.

If you would like to help me & Hard To Port take this journey, please consider contributing toward our fundraising goal of approximately €2,500 to help cover registration, participation, and transportation costs.

Thank you for your continued support, trust, and belief in our work for the whales of the North Atlantic.

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International Whaling Commission Grants Observer Status to Hard To Port

We are proud to announce that Hard To Port – Marine Conservation has been accredited with NGO Observer Status at future meetings of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

This acknowledgment marks an important milestone in the continued development of our non-profit organisation and recognises more than a decade of dedicated work in marine conservation. We are sincerely grateful to the Commission and its Secretariat for the opportunity to participate in this vital biennial forum.

As outlined in our application:

“The International Whaling Commission provides a central forum for global discussion on the future of whaling and wider cetacean conservation issues. Over the years, the Commission has benefited from the valuable input and perspectives of third-sector initiatives working locally and internationally to advance whale conservation efforts.

Over the past twelve years, our organisation has demonstrated that we can contribute constructively to these discussions by providing accurate, evidence-based information, fostering public engagement, promoting transparency, and highlighting ethical and welfare considerations that complement scientific and policy perspectives.”

Observer status at the IWC will enable us to engage directly in the international conversations shaping the future of whale and cetacean protection. We look forward to contributing meaningfully, collaborating with partners, and building strong, productive relationships at future Commission meetings.

The next biennial meeting of the IWC will take place from 27 September to 2 October 2026 in Hobart, Australia.

To learn more about the work and history of the International Whaling Commission, please visit the IWC website.

If you would like to support Hard To Port’s participation at future Commission meetings, please consider making a manageable donation to our non-profit organisation.

Photo credit: © Boris Niehaus | Hard To Port

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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.

Election campaign ad from Iceland’s Social Democratic Alliance “Samfylkingin” prior to their win on November 30th. Photo: © Hard To Port

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.

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Iceland’s shortened 2023 fin whaling season ends

Iceland’s 2023 fin whaling season is over.

23 animals have been landed and butchered at the whaling station in Hvalfjörður. One animal was struck and lost at sea. An almost fully developed calf that was cut out from its mother’s womb brings the total number of dead whales to 25 in this year’s shortened whaling season.

Thanks to the temporary suspension of fin whaling (20.6.2023 – 31.08.2023) by the Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, the collective efforts of conservationists/activists and stormy September weather, over 120 fin whales could be saved this summer.

The one month whaling season was marked by numerous scandals, such as the immediate violation of animal welfare laws by the crew of the harpoon ship Hvalur 8 on day one of the hunting season, which resulted in a suspension of their operations, or the killing of a pregnant fin whale with her almost fully developed unborn calf.

An almost fully developed fin whale calf is pulled away from the butchered mother whale. Photo credits: © Arne Feuerhahn | Hard To Port

Hard To Port brought some of these disturbing incidents to the attention of the media and public, which left many people speechless and outraged in Iceland and abroad. The sad and disturbing fate of the unfortunate mother fin whale and her unborn calf reached over 1.1 million people on our (and our colleague’s) Instagram within days. We will continue to tell their moving story.

Hvalur hf’s, the last active whaling company in Iceland, 5 year hunting license expires at the end of the year. It is now up to Iceland’s Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Svandís Svavarsdóttir to make a decision about the future of this archaic and inhumane ‘industry’.

We at Hard To Port would like to express our gratitude to everyone who has been working tirelessly and constructively for this cause over the past year and to everyone who supported our efforts financially and in other ways.

23 fin whales (conservation status: vulnerable) were hauled up the slipway of Iceland’s last whaling station during the shortened 2023 whaling season. Photo credit: © Boris Niehaus | Hard To Port

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Hvalur hf. violates animal welfare regulations

The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) has temporarily stopped the harpoon ship Hvalur 8 due to serious violations of animal welfare regulation.

In a short statement on their website, MAST explains their decision as follows:

“During surveillance, it was found that the first shot of Hval 8 on September 7 hit the animal outside the specified target area, with the result that the animal was not killed immediately. In such cases, hunters must, according to new regulation, shoot the animal without delay again. It wasn’t done until almost half an hour later, and the whale died a few minutes after that. Such a delay is considered a violation of the Animal Welfare Act and the regulation on fin whaling.” (automatically translated).

Hard To Port’s photographer Boris Niehaus gathered important evidence of this incident in the early morning hours of September 8th when the animal was brought to shore. Hard To Port immediately informed the media about the observed irregularities and forwarded our footage to Katrín Oddsdóttir, lawyer at Réttur – Aðalsteinsson & Partners ehf. who sent a request to MAST to stop whaling immediately.

The Icelandic police monitor the area and check people who arrive at the gates of the whaling station. In the picture in conversation with the managing director Kristján Loftsson.
Photo credit: © Boris Niehaus | Hard To Port

Whaling station staff start the butchering process shortly after Hvalur 8’s arrival in Hvalfjörður.
Photo credit: © Boris Niehaus | Hard To Port.

Icelandic newspaper Heimildin reported about the incident.

UPDATE: Video footage of this particular hunt / incident was published in Icelandic media. The whale in the video was inaccurately shot with the first harpoon, which pierced the head of the animal. A delayed shot was fired almost 30 minutes later. (Viewer discretion advised)

Despite the incident during the first hunting trip of the 2023 whaling season, operations of whaling ship Hvalur 9 were allowed to continue.

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Long-awaited whaling report released

The whaling report of the 2022 fin whaling season has been released and its results have sparked outrage in Iceland and abroad.

Last Monday the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) released a statement and short summary of the long-awaited report on their website. The results of on-board monitoring of the catch of 58 fin whales between 24 August – 28 September 2022 revealed that:

35 (59%) whales died instantly according to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) definition ofwhen a whale is considered dead during whaling.

In addition, five whales that exhibited convulsions are believed to have lost consciousness immediately or very quickly, and therefore it is estimated that 67 % of the whales died or lost consciousness quickly or immediately.

14 whales (24%) were shot more than once.

Two whales had to be shot four times, killing one whale took almost an hour and the other two hours. (Some of the footage of this particular case has been published in Icelandic media.)

The median time from first shot to death of non-immediately killed whales was 11.5 minutes.

One whale with a harpoon in its back was chased for 5 hours without success.

The Food and Veterinary Authority stated that the fin whale hunt does not comply with the objectives of the Icelandic Animal Welfare Act.

(Short summary taken from the MAST news release)

Whaling station staff remove the lower jaw of a fin whale. © Arne Feuerhahn | Hard To Port

Used explosive-tipped harpoons in the Icelandic fin whale hunt. © Arne Feuerhahn | Hard To Port

Hard To Port has been working towards this outcome for many years. Arne Feuerhahn, CEO of Hard To Port comments:

“The recently published report on the 2022 fin whale hunt has substantiated our revelations from the past summer. It also shows that the cases that we brought to the public’s attention through our investigative work are only the tip of the iceberg.

As a result of the new regulations on whaling that came into effect last August, the public has now been given a detailed insight into this controversial industry that, until now, has been highly inaccessible to the general public.

The findings of the report are deeply troubling. As the report details, the agony of some animals lasted up to one hour. In one case, a whale even suffered for two hours before it finally died. The report also states that a quarter of all fin whales had to be shot at least twice, and several whales were hit with three or four harpoons. One animal even escaped with a harpoon stuck in its body, after it had been chased for 5 hours. These details sound like they were taken from the script of a horror movie, but sadly, this is the reality of commercial whaling in Iceland today.

With only 59% of recorded deaths considered instantaneous, and a median time to death of 11,5 minutes in whales that survived the first harpoon strike, these hunts have a shockingly poor killing efficiency.

This independent report paints a very grim picture of the reality of the whaling operations at sea. It is our firm conviction that the Fisheries Minister Svavarsdóttir ought to take immediate action to ensure that the fin whales who move through the waters around Iceland will no longer be subjected to this senseless cruelty.”

Hard To Port has spearheaded efforts to monitor and investigate Iceland’s commercial whale hunt since 2014. © Boris Niehaus | Hard To Port

You can help us making a difference for these animals. Please consider supporting our effective whale conservation efforts in the North Atlantic by making a small contribution towards our work. Thank you, Danke and Takk Fyrir.

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Whaling Transparency petition calls for release of fin whaling footage

After Hard To Port’s disturbing revelations of the mistreatment of fin whales during the 2022 whaling season in Iceland, the Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries responded with a revision of the regulations on whaling. The video documentation of all fin whale hunts became mandatory in August 2022.

With our new project ‘Whaling Transparency’ we are asking for the release of this footage.

Joined and supported by the talented, Hamburg-based illustrator Sarah Heuzeroth, we will highlight some of the most disturbing aspects about these hunts in a short series of illustrations.

We kindly ask you to participate in this petition letter to Iceland’s current Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries by adding your name to the list of signatories who demand full transparency about the treatment of whales.

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Hvatningarverðlaun 2022 – Incentive Award for Hard To Port

Hard To Port has received the 2022 Incentive Award from the Icelandic Vegan Society for “outstanding and effective efforts in bringing media’s and authorities’ attention to whaling in Iceland”.

We are incredibly happy and honored that our investigative work is positively acknowledged and valued with this award.

Thank you to Samtök grænkera á Íslandi and congratulations to the other 2022 recipients.

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