Bankrupt Iceland Flouts Treaty, Resumes International Trade in Endangered Fin Whale Meat
Ignoring both the CITES treaty and the International Whaling Commission, exports of Fin Whale meat hunted by the Icelandic whaling fleet have passed customs and quality checks in Japan. It is hoped that Japanese consumers develop a taste for the meat, apparently one of the tastiest varieties.
Prior to the advent of modern whaling techniques in the 19th century, Fin whales were largely immune to predation by humans. However, modern methods have allowed an estimated 90,000 Fin whales to be caught in the North Atlantic up until around the late 1980’s, with some subsistence catches in Greenland continuing. Populations in the Pacific and Antarctic regions are less well known.
The Fin Whale is currently listed in appendix 1 of the CITES list of endangered species. This list aims to protect endangered species by preventing international trade except when import is for non commercial reasons. However, Iceland along with Norway and Japan hold reservations to this listing. This effectively means that these countries have opted out of this area of the CITES convention, allowing them to trade this species. The catch rates set by the International Whaling Commission have been set at zero since 1976, however this does not apply to Iceland, Norway or the Russian Federation which have all objected to this provision.
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This export from Iceland is the first shipment to Japan for 20 years. The consignment consists of about 70 tonnes of meat from both Fin and Minke whales. Conservation groups see this as an effort to establish a market in Japan for whale meat caught by the Icelandic fleet. It is also seen as a political move designed to show Iceland’s coalition government that whaling can be a profitable venture at a time when Iceland’s economy, like many others, is under severe pressure.
So what is the good of having international treaties such as the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species and the International Whaling Commission if governments are able to opt out if it is inconvenient for them? How are they supposed to protect if they have no teeth? It can be said that they do help to raise awareness, which in turn may bring about pressure for change. But then organizations such as Sea Shepherd do a pretty good job of that, and probably for a lot less money.
Image credit: Ansgar Walk via Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons license
People who eat Whales really do sicken me…
The photo here shows Atlantic White-sided Dolphins in the Faroe Islands, which lies between Iceland and Ireland. Atlantic White-sided Dolphins have been hunted for food and blubber in the Faroe Islands for centuries. Although I don’t support whaling, it is only fair that the photo have an accurate citation.
Who cares about the picture, let’s focus on the issue! Some countries just don’t care about endangered species and need drastic measures. I applaud Sea Sheperd for the action they undertake. Since shaming and blaming does not work with these nations, we need drastic measures. For the majority of nations their international reputation is important. For the few that don’t care we need people that put their lives on the line to enforce treaties like CITES!
I don’t see why people who eat whales should be any more castigated than people who eat cows, especially the ones with the big brown eyes. OK, you can say that it is OK to eat animals that are bred for meat as opposed to animals in the wild. In that case, we should impose equal bans on eating rabbits, fish in general, venison, and anything else that runs free.
If whales are endangered, there should be a blanket ban on hubting them and it must apply to everyone. This must be the same for any species that is endangered. No special cases for historic reasons or ’scientific’ reasons (as per the Japanese).
Just need someone to enforce it now. Tony Blair hasn’t got much to do these days. George could help him soon. He’s likely to have time on his hands.
I do agree that good journalism practice demands that a story’s integrity should not be compromised with inaccurate image to content errors. That aside, the oceans’ bounties and balances are a great challenge in our time. There is really not enough knowledge of marine aminal habitats and migration patterns to allow the dangers of overfishing any species. For those of us who are not vegetarian, it is perhaps time to focus more on sustainably and safely farmed seafood as well as humanely raised meat animals, combined with a reduction in our diet of the amount of meats of all kinds that we consume. I had a thought about the stampede of fear against imports of beef, pork, etc. that occasionally become tainted due to poor husbandry methods. Our oceans have been exposed to huge levels of abuse and considerable areas of toxic chemical invasion. Gee, those brussels sprouts are starting to look awfully good!!!
The greed of the Icelandic people caused the collapse of their banking system. There are increasing protests,with low level violence, and now this. Ouch!
You are right, those are not whales - that’s an editorial error which is my fault.
I’ve replaced the image - although that’s also not a Fin Whale. But it is a whale.
I’d also point out that the previous image is used also on Wikipedia’s Whaling page - so we’re not the only ones who make mistakes!