Arni Finnsson, chairman of the Nature Conservation Union of Iceland, said it will prove very expensive to get Icelandic fin whale meat to market in Japan. It is out of the question that the Icelandic government is in a position to supplement the whaling industry with the extra hundreds of millions of kronur it has cost and continues to cost the nation every year.
Finnsson said in an article today in Fiskifrettir that the upper limit of supply to Japan is 116.4 tonnes per year, or around 13 fin whales from Iceland – nearly twice as much as whaler Kristjan Loftsson exported there in May 2008, mbl.is reports.
Finnsson says that the Japanese government has for years been trying to breathe life into the country’s whale output with advertising campaigns, free recipe books, free whale meat supply to schools and retirement homes etc; but all with little success. Japan has since closed its whale marketing office since it failed to increase domestic demand.
Finnsson believes the market for Icelandic fin whale meat in Japan is already being filled by Japanese fin whale meat and that Kristjan Loftsson’s chances of widening the marketplace are slim while damage to Iceland’s international reputation is huge.
It seems even Faroe Is. are trying to get rid of that meat. (well, never been there, so I cannot say if the Burger King in Torshavn…. :D )
I dont know why japqan is going to such great lengths to create amrket for the mercury ridden meat of dead whales. mercury will make you very very sick. Fin whales are listed as andangered, so why do japan feel the need to kill them?
This is disgusting. Anyone watch Whale Wars on Animal Planet? Japanese are allowed to slaughter 800 whales in protected waters per year for “research”. Research being “diet of whales” and “tissue samples”. All of which can be taken from observation of live whales or taken from live whales without harming them. The Japanese then claim that because of their culture the “researched” whale meat cannot be disposed of and must be consumed so it is not “wasted”. Whale meat sells for about 160$ a pound in Japan. One whale is about 11 tons. That’s 3.52 million a whale, 2.8 BILLION a year. I doubt they care about any “research”. This is just a profitable business. I hope Iceland does not participate in these greedy demands from the Japanese whaling industry. Less mammals in our oceans, less chance we as humans can survive on this planet.
>Whale meat sells for about 160$ a pound in Japan
No way! You’re not making a very good case for cash-strapped Iceland staying out of the whale butchering market :) .
I think that might be one of the best cuts. But even then, this anti-whaling site (which broadly confirms your $160/lb figure for the good stuff), says a minke would retail for ~$165k. It’s not all tasty whale-flesh.
http://www.campaign-whale.org/campaigns.php?act=full&article=Japanese%20whaling
Of course, the Japanese apparently buy the meat at ~$41k per whale. Then there’s shipping costs to Japan and other barriers, like health checks, not to mention prices falling as supply increases. Still, if they can catch and sell the 100 minkes, even at say $25k a whale that’s $2.5m. It all helps.
$2.5m hey maybe I can get in on some of that! I never thought about what a large cash cow(pun intended) they could be!!! But seriously as a vegetarian of 14 years, I find it funny listening to people talk about saving the whales because they watched some television program while eating their super sized bacon cheese hamburger and felt sorry for ‘those poor whales’. At least they get to be in the wild and are somewhat fair game (not locked up in some pin). Plus if whales are so smart (I’m not saying their not but still) why don’t they just stay away from people and teach their young to do the same. (maybe they’re suicidal or it’s their version of an Extreme Sport ’see how close we can get to the hairless apes without getting a hole blown in you’) But none the less Japan and Iceland has as much right to harvest whales as any one else does to harvest cows,pigs and fish. And the greater the profit the better. That being said, if the industry cannot support itself on it’s own two feet (or rather fins) then it should be allowed to die or shrink until it becomes the size that the market will bear. One day I hope this same discussion will be taking place about other meats, but til then nobody should be allowed to harm nor help the whaling industry except for maybe cultural preservation purposes.
There is no longer a market for whale meat. The meat is also heavily burdened.
If Iceland is in the EU, it will be the end to the whaling!
“One whale is about 11 tons. That’s 3.52 million a whale, 2.8 BILLION a year”
LOL, there are a few types of whales, different in sizes, some are endangered and others are not, you forget that whales have bones, blubber, organs etc,
this busyness is not profitable in Iceland, the only smart reason to hunt specific types of whales is to make sure they dont get to many for the eco system to handle, if there is a explosion in the numbers of some types of whales other types may disapear, along with the food they all need, thats not what you want anymore than we do here in Iceland.
Caren Smith said: If Iceland is in the EU, it will be the end to the whaling!
You’re right Caren it is another great reason to stay out of the EU!
Avoid animal rights by staying out of the EU…
Anti-whale eaters are just masking their own misanthropy and prejudices with a thin veneer of compassion and ignorance of facts.
“We have to base resource management on science and knowledge, not on myths that some specifically designated animals are different and should not be hunted, regardless of the ecological justification for doing so. There is no alternative to the principle of sustainable development. This is necessary and logical. People haven’t understood how important this is.”
Gro Harlem Brundtland