A moratorium on whaling, with the exception of the needs of the indigenous population of certain regions, has been in effect since 1982. But Japan, Norway and Iceland continue to harvest whales through quotas and withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission.
Iceland, one of the last countries to conduct commercial whaling, will end the fishery in 2024. The reason for this decision was a sharp drop in demand for whale meat. Iceland plans to stop issuing licenses to kill whales for commercial purposes, the Mornungsbladid newspaper reports.
Japan officially ended commercial whaling under a moratorium in 1982. However, the country has been hunting whales as part of “scientific research” since the late 1980s. As The Guardian notes, whale meat appeared on open sale, indicating the continuation of commercial hunting under the guise of scientific work. In 2018, after the country’s withdrawal from the International Whale Commission, Japanese whaling ships began sailing from the ports of Kushiro (Hokkaido Island) and Shimonoseki (Honshu Island) and caught 227 whales by the end of the year.
In Russia, the only region where non-commercial whale hunting is permitted is Chukotka. For indigenous peoples living in permafrost, this is the only way to survive and feed their families. Lorino is the largest village on the shores of the Bering Sea, which is inhabited by whalers. The annual quota for local hunters is 140 animals.
A ban on whaling does not guarantee complete conservation of the population, since the existence of whales is still under threat: entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships and anthropogenic climate change significantly reduce their numbers.