The list of arguments against whaling long and compelling,
but the key point is a shocker.
Yesterday when I went to document the first ships leaving harbor, the
first thing I noticed were the massive crowds of tourists boarding and
de-boarding whale watching ship after whale watching ship. Mothers, fathers, brothers, daughters,
friends and couples from 2 to 90 years old traveling from countries all over
the world. I watched as they
passed right by the HVALUR 8 and HVALUR 9, the ships that were leaving the
docks to go and kill the whales the tourists had just enjoyed. Some of the tourists walked directly
into restaurants in the same harbor and ordered the whale they had appreciated
just minutes before.
I’m here in Reykjavik to expose this problem, but it has
already proven difficult. There
were three separate occasions in three different locations where men in
different vehicles approached me as I filmed Hvalur 8 and 9. A van with three men pulled up directly
in front of me and reversed at high speed before slamming on their breaks. They got out of their car glaring at me
until I packed up my gear and left.
Similar instances ensued with an Explorer that pulled up directly in
front of me to obstruct my view and a Tourag that did two circles around me,
looked me in the face and zoomed off.
It is clear they know their industry is a dying one, and I believe we
need to put an immediate end to it via awareness.
Whaler heads out (c) Jonny Zwick 2013
Seeing Hvalur 8 and 9 in the old harbor in Reykjavik for the
first time is something that I will never forget.; not due to the ships’ size,
design or some other impressive attribute one might remember a ship for, but
for the sheer purpose of their existence.
It was the intention that the murderous sea vessels represented that had
my skin crawling. I was entranced
by them as they peacefully bobbed back and forth in the early morning, trying
to grasp the idea of men blasting explosive harpoons into an endangered species
from the platforms I was staring at.
Over the duration of this Icelandic fishing season, Hvalur, the sole
whaling company in Iceland, will utilize the very boats I’m describing to
slaughter 184 endangered and highly intelligent fin whales and many other
minkes.
I arrived in Iceland on Friday, June 7 and the first of Loftsson’s (CEO of Hvalur) vessels was
scheduled for departure the coming Sunday. After stopping at the harbor, I walked towards my American
friend’s apartment where I would be staying in Reykjavik. I was introduced to the three Icelandic
women she lives with, who with utter curiosity, asked, “why the hell did you
buy a one-way ticket to Iceland?”
Understanding how sensitive of a subject whaling is in Iceland, I
thought I’d keep it to myself that I’d traveled to their country to expose the
illogical and internationally illegal practice of hunting whales. This turned out to be a good decision
as one of the girls’ fathers was a professional whale hunter before sustaining
a critical injury at sea. The
content I have since collected has been and will continue to be uploaded in
coffee shops!
I decided it would be important to see if the majority of
the population felt the same as my new Icelandic roommates. I spoke with young people at bars and
at a house party where the general consensus was “whaling is good, the whales
eat the fish that we export so we need to kill them.” This is really their only argument and I followed with a
diplomatic barrage of rebuttals that can be broken down in key points:
-Iceland’s global image and
reputation will take a large hit and sanctions against their exportation are
already being discussed.
-Inhumane to kill intelligent and
ancient creatures that have been roaming these oceans for millions of years
before humans existed. The
harpoons often miss and lead to a slow, miserable death.
-A lead shareholder in Hvalur has
recently admitted that whaling is wrong and archaic, saying it is time for
Iceland to move on with the times.
-No country has the right to
sacrifice global biodiversity for a marginal profit that has not even been
proven. Whale meat still sits in
Hvalur’s freezers from their last hunting season in 2009!
-Japanese companies are using fin
whale meat in dog treats. An
endangered species is being fed to pets as a status symbol.
-There will be less whale
watching, one of tourism’s biggest industries. Tourism has increased 300% in two years.
Hvalur 8 and 9 have each gone out multiple times now, but
never at the same time. They seem
to be test runs, and no fin whales are yet to be killed. That will come
soon.
