Iceland To End Whaling By 2024 Because There’s A Lack Of Demand

For decades, activists and conservationists have been pushing the few remaining nations who hunt whales to put an end to the outdated practice. While most of the world has agreed that whaling is no longer necessary and is pushing whale species toward extinction, a few countries have refused to give it up – including Iceland.

However, that may be changing, but it’s not due to the country’s ethics or as a move of conservation. Instead, it seems there’s simply not enough demand for Icelandic whale to make whaling profitable any longer.

When licenses to hunt whales expire at the end of 2023, they will not be renewed for the following year.

Iceland’s Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Svandís Svavarsdóttir stated. “The current fishing rights will be valid until 2023. As before, whaling will not be allowed from 2024. It must be demonstrated that it is economically justifiable to renew fishing rights. In a historical context, these fisheries have had a negative impact on the country’s export interests. The reputational risk involved in maintaining this fishery is considerable, although it is illegible.”

It seems the decrease in demand for Icelandic whales is tied to Japan’s renewal of the practice. For years, Japan didn’t participate in whaling but that all changed in 2019.

According to CNN, Svavarsdóttir stated: “There are few justifications to authorize whale hunting beyond 2024…Japan has been the largest buyer of [Icelandic] whale meat, but its consumption is declining year by year. Why should Iceland take the risk of continuing fishing that has not yielded economic benefits, in order to sell a product that is in low demand?”

It’s unclear if the demand were to change if Iceland would renew the hunting licenses for whaling. Either way, it’s a huge win for conservationists, whale populations, and Iceland’s reputation as a country!

Hopefully the few remaining countries to whale, namely, Norway and Japan, will follow suit.