Whales are climate warriors!

A group of environmental organizations in Iceland have sent an open letter to their Parliament protesting the Government’s decision to allow whale hunting until at least 2023.

“With the success of whale watching in Iceland it is clear that a whale alive is worth more than a dead whale, especially when whale meat is not an Icelandic tradition, but one acquired from Norwegians a few decades ago,” states the letter. “Polls have shown that less than one percent of Icelanders eat whale meat on a regular basis and 81 percent said they had never eaten it.”

The letter is signed by Gaia Iceland, Jarðarvinir, Reykjavik Animal Save, Reykjavik Whale Save, Samtök grænkera á Íslandi, Sea Shepherd Iceland, SEEDS Iceland and Stop Whaling in Iceland.

Julie Lasserre, one of the founders of Reykjavik Whale Save, Vice-President of Sea Shepherd Iceland and the marine biologist quoted in the letter, said media coverage of their protest in Iceland has been limited despite the ecological importance of whales. 

“During the past decade scientists have been showing the importance of whales in marine ecosystems and their role against climate change. The “Whale Pump” concept explains that more whales means more phytoplankton, then more zooplankton and finally more fish. Whales are not only increasing the primary production of the oceans they also increase carbon storage which mitigates climate change. 

“By continuing whaling the Icelandic government is going against its own climate action plan that aims to increase carbon sequestration. We are asking the government to cancel its decision to renew the whaling permit for five years, a decision made by one minister, Kristjáns Þórs Júlíusson.” Whales are hunted by just one company in Iceland, Hvalur hf.

Lasserre says that a poll conducted in 2018 showed that around 17 percent of Icelanders were strongly opposed to whaling, around 17 percent were strongly pro-whaling and that about 30 percent had no opinion. “We hope and think that the amount of Icelanders who are anti-whaling has increased especially with the increasing interest of people for environmental issues,” she said.

Link to letter and original story on The Maritime Executive: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/letter-whale-meat-is-not-an-icelandic-tradition