The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has granted approval for Greenland’s proposed whale hunting quota, allowing aboriginal Greenlanders to hunt a total of 207 whales per year. This decision was made at an IWC summit in Portoroz, Slovenia, and the hunting quota is valid from 2015 to 2018. The approved quota includes 176 minke whales, 19 fin whales, 10 humpback whales, and two bowhead whales.
While the quota is intended to provide subsistence hunting for the local Inuit population, critics express concerns that a significant portion of the meat could be sold commercially rather than being consumed by the indigenous communities. Wendy Higgins of the Humane Society International (HSI) voiced concerns about the impact of the decision on whale populations, stating that “more than 800 whales were condemned today just in the Greenland vote.”
Greenland’s previous attempts to secure larger hunting quotas were rejected by the IWC in 2012. However, certain aboriginal communities in regions including North America, Russia, Greenland, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines continue to receive special quotas for subsistence hunting despite the global moratorium on commercial whale hunting.
Iceland, an IWC member, has been a source of controversy due to its rejection of the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling. In response, the European Union, the United States, and several other countries have jointly called on Iceland to reconsider its commercial whaling program. The letter emphasizes that Iceland’s commercial harvest of whales, particularly fin whales, undermines international cetacean conservation efforts.
At the same IWC meeting, Japan’s proposed expanded Antarctic Ocean whaling program is also under scrutiny. Japan’s program, often claimed to be for research purposes, was ruled as non-scientific by the International Court of Justice in 2014. The new plan is expected to involve a reduction in the number and types of whales to be hunted.
The decision to approve Greenland’s hunting quota and the discussions surrounding Japan’s whaling program highlight the ongoing debates and controversies surrounding the practice of whale hunting, conservation efforts, and international efforts to protect these marine mammals.
