Icelandic whale meat unmarketable

This video from the USA says about itself:

30 Dec 2012

On Sunday whale watching passengers got the show of a lifetime when a fin whale nicknamed Farley “mugged” (circled very closely) our catamaran repeatedly and left behind a heart-shaped footprint!

Fin whales are the second largest baleen whale and are seen throughout the year off the coast of Orange County, California. In a very unusual display of affectionate behavior Farley the fin whale came almost within arm’s reach of whale watchers and allowed us the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see it underwater from our Eye to Eye Underwater Viewing Pods. During the “mugging” our boat remained stationary and in neutral so we did not disturb the animal.

We are the first whale watching boat in the world to broadcast our trips live on the internet. Thrilled viewers in New York, whose family were on board our Dolphin and Whale Safari, watched LIVE as Farley the fin whale swam directly at our bow during our live trip broadcast on WhaleWatchingTV.com!

Dana Point whale watchers have seen Farley for a few days now and the whale seems to enjoy the company of our sailing catamaran. Farley is here feeding on krill, a small shrimp-like crustacean that was seen in long ropes on the surface of the water. Fin whales can eat up to two tons of food each day.

From Wildlife Extra:

Iceland whale meat returned to Iceland

Shipping lines and ports refusing to carry Iceland’s whale meat

July 2013. Mr Loftsson, the lone, obstinate Fin whaler in Iceland, seems to be in trouble.

For years the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has been asking “what’s the point?” of his whaling operation. Besides being cruel, his whaling has never looked profitable. His only possible market, Japan, has never been particularly inviting and now he’s having trouble finding anyone who will carry the products of his cruel trade.

Whaler meat found in Rotterdam Harbour

Mr Loftsson‘s most recent troubles began at the beginning of July when whale meat was discovered in a merchant vessel in Rotterdam harbour. It was labelled as “fish”, but the six containers were estimated to contain the meat of between five and six Fin whales. After a huge on-line Avaaz campaign deluged a million emails on the port authorities, they announced that no further whale meat would be allowed into their port as such a trade was in breach of their corporate responsibility policies.

Attention then turned to the exporter, Samskip. Within days they issued a statement saying they would not carry the six containers to Japan and that “for the sake of avoiding any misunderstanding, Samskip confirms that it does not plan to ship whale meat in the future.”

Containers returned to Iceland

Mr Loftsson then had to sit and accept that his six containers of whale meat were put back on a ship to Reykjavik. As if that wasn’t enough, he then had to watch his cargo televised on national TV being received into Reykjavik harbour by a welcoming flotilla organised by IFAW and Ice Whale – the Icelandic Federation of Whale Watchers. They held up a huge pointing finger beside their banner which read “what’s the point of whaling?”

Mr Loftsson may have not been happy, but he likes to put a brave face on things. His shareholders may be complaining in public that the whaling loses money, ports maybe closing to his cruel trade and carriers refusing to carry it, but Mr Loftsson was recently reported in the media as not worried and intent on continuing to kill Fin whales.

Mr Loftsson is Iceland’s lone, obstinate Fin whaler, and now he seems to be losing the plot.

Someone needs to put a friendly arm around his shoulder and say, “enough is enough, Mr Loftsson”.

A SCOTTISH university has been criticised by conservationists for studying data from whales killed as part of Iceland’s whaling programme: here.

Related articles

• More shipping companies refuse to handle whale meat (wildlifenews.co.uk)
• Are whaling companies looking to use UK ports? (wildlifenews.co.uk)
• BAD NEWS FOR WHALES : Iceland resumes fin hunting (environmentaleducationuk.wordpress.com)
• Greenpeace Successfully Blocks Whale Meat Shipment (earthfirstnews.wordpress.com)
• Iceland resumes whaling (worldfishing.net)
• Greeting Whales, Not Eating Them (ipsnews.net)
• Greenpeace successfully blocks whale meat shipment (greenpeaceblogs.org)
• After Greenpeace protest: Shipping companies committing themselves to send whale meat back to sender (dominicantoday.com)
• Iceland drags back first fin whale of season (wildlifenews.co.uk)
• Whale meat return to sender (greenpeace.org)