Whaling or not whaling is the question of the day
Hvalur níu í Hvalfirði. mbl.is/Þorgeir
The whaling ban in effect is supposed to end at midnight today. Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Svandís Svavarsdóttir, is expected to present her decision on the continuation of whaling in Iceland to the government at its meeting today, while the government is attending a meeting in Egilsstaðir to review the parliamentary matters of the winter.
Three possibilities are considered; that nothing will be done and that the regulation on the ban on whaling will run until 1 September; that the ban will be extended or that a regulation will be put in place to lay down fishing methods of fin whales.
Svandís Svavarsdóttir, Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries is expected to announce today whether the whaling can start tomorrow, Friday, or if the whaling ban will continue or perhaps a third option regarding more regulation on the methods of catching fin whales. Composite image
A report by a task force assigned to review the methods of hunting and suggestions made by Hvalur hf. on improving them was presented this week. Its conclusion was that the improvements the company presented in the methods of fin whale hunting could be beneficial in reducing the number of “deviations” in hunting. Hvalur’s improvements include new type of aim, improved firing line and firing basket, shuttle speed and directional axis, improved distance sighting, change in missile position, increased training and education of personnel, among other things.
If the fishing ban is not extended, it is clear that the fishing will begin when the weather permits, but if it is extended, the boats will not go anywhere. It is unclear what will happen if there is a new regulation of fishing methods put forth.
Went out to search for fin whales
A whaling vessel of Hvalur hf. sailed out of Reykjavík harbour Tuesday morning to search for fin whales in the south, southwest and west of the country. Hvalur hf. has kept all his staff on pay while the whale ban has been in effect and they have been cleaning the premises and the boats, and fixing, painting and other odd jobs waiting to get out to sea.
The whaling ban will expire altogether on Thursday, so fishing could begin on Friday.
However, it seems unlikely that fishing will be possible on Friday and Saturday, because it looks like rough fishing weather this weekend.
