There will be no whale hunt in the waters around Iceland this summer. Hvalur hf, the only remaining whaling company of the country, says to Iceland media it is economically not viable at this moment.
However, the license to operate continues. Last December, Hvalur got the green light to kill 209 fin whales respectively 217 minke whales. Whaling is only legally allowed by Iceland, Japan and Norway.
In June 2023 the whale hunt was temporarily halted, as the Icelandic government wanted the whaling company to uphold the rules of the game, and implemented stricter overview of the whaling activities so that the animals would not die over an hour or more. | © 2025 Marcel Burger, nordicreporter.com. Featured image: 18th century whaling (Artist unknown – Public domain)