Timothy Baker wanted to see whales, but not like this. Photo: Timothy Baker
When an American tourist went on a whale watching boat in Iceland, he saw whales. The situation wasn’t exactly what he paid for, though.
Timothy Baker’s boat came broadside to a whale hunting vessel with two endangered dead fin whale tied its sides. Baker and the other tourists watched as the Hvalur 8, owned by multi-millionaire whaling magnate Kristján Loftsson, towed the dead whales back to port.
“Watching the whaling vessel heading into port dragging the dead whales was the definition of a crossroad for Iceland,” he said. “You can’t have dead whales being the only thing seen by people who spend money on whale-watching.”
Whale watching tourists watch as a whaling vessel tows two fin whales back to port. Photo: Timothy Baker
Baker reached out to different conservation groups after seeing the dead whales. While fin whales are considered to be an endangered species, Iceland is one just a few countries left that still actively hunt whales. Iceland, however, is is the only one still killing fin whales, according to Clare Perry, leader of the Environmental Investigation Agency’s ocean campaign.
After Baker alerted them to the situation, the Animal Welfare Institute, Environmental Investigation Agency, and Whale and Dolphin Conservation are demanding Iceland revokes their whaling quotas, which are not approved by the International Whaling Commission. As is stands now, the country allocates its own quotas, and maintains that fin whale not only aren’t endangered, but are in abundance.
“How can a cruel and unnecessary activity such as whaling be allowed to sabotage Iceland’s thriving whale-watching businesses, asked Chris Butler-Stroud, chief executive officer of WDC, “when the latter industry contributes over US$7 million to the Icelandic economy, while the latest figures show that whaling makes a US$7.5 million loss?”
