Slayed in Iceland: The Commercial Hunting and Trade in Endangered Fin Whales

Slayed in Iceland: The commercial hunting and international trade in endangered fin whales has been jointly released by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) on the eve of the 65th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

Iceland’s fin whale hunt revolves around Kristján Loftsson, a multi-millionaire and the Executive Director of Hvalur hf. In his bid to create a viable market for fin whale products in Japan, he has used the resources of another company for which he serves as Chair of the Board – Icelandic fishing giant HB Grandi.

The report exposes the sheer scale of the hunt and overseas trade, as well as the financial and logistical links between the whalers and some of Iceland’s largest companies. It includes recommended actions for governments and corporations to take to ensure that they are not supporting Hvalur's whaling activities.

To download and read the full report, click here.