Iceland catches second fin whale (endangered species "hunted")

dpa German Press Agency
Published: Tuesday October 24, 2006

Reykjavik- Icelandic whalers have caught a second fin whale since the North Atlantic nation resumed commercial whaling a week ago, Icelandic company Hvalur said Tuesday. The whale was harpooned Monday off Iceland's west coast, Brinna Loftsdottir of Hvalur told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in a telephone interview.

Hvalur operates the 10-man whaler Hvalur 9 that over the weekend landed the first fin whale caught in Icelandic waters since the country resumed commercial whaling.

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The two fin whales caught were part of the commercial quota of nine fin whales announced last week by Fisheries Minister Einar Kristinn Gudfinnsson. The government has also set a quota of 30 minke whales during the whale hunting season that lasts until next August.

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The fin whale is the second largest of the seven great whales. They are up to 24 metres long, and can weigh between 45 and 64 tons. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has listed the fin whales on its red list of threatened species.

http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Iceland_catches_second_fin_whale_10242006.html

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Exploding harpoon meets endangered species...somehow that just doesn't seem right.

Don't put me down as a fan for this whaling - the case this is nationalist political BS is quite compelling in this instance - but there's a big difference between the classification of threatened and endangered, even though both categories fall under the rubric of "endangered species list(s)".

"Fin Whales are rarely encountered today in those areas of the Southern Hemisphere where they were taken in large numbers. The species was classified as Endangered (under the 1996 categories and criteria) on the basis of an estimated decline of at least 50% worldwide over the last three generations (assumed generation time was 20/25 years)."

If they are genuinely endangered, I have no freaking clue why Iceland should be hunting them for any reason...

in that the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species contains species that are of concern, and then puts them in their respective categories (to me, as you, confuses status between "endangered" and "threatened").

From their site:

This system is designed to determine the relative risk of extinction, and the main purpose of the IUCN Red List is to catalogue and highlight those taxa that are facing a higher risk of global extinction (i.e. those listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable). The IUCN Red List also includes information on taxa that are categorized as Extinct or Extinct in the Wild; on taxa that cannot be evaluated because of insufficient information (i.e. are Data Deficient); and on taxa that are either close to meeting the threatened thresholds or that would be threatened were it not for an ongoing taxon-specific conservation programme (i.e. are Near Threatened).

Pure evil, Pure unadulterated, inexcusable evil.

When Icelandic fishing whalers try and harpoon me, I NEVER see any whales protesting.


What's good for the goose is good for the gander...that's what I say.

whaling is criminal.

I also understand that Greepeace changed her mind and is sending 2 boats this year, too.

I think that this year will be VERY different for the Japanese whalers.

:grr:

-LM, too pissed to manage a more coherent reply

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since all that matters is making money, why the hell not?

I'm so god damned sick of greedy stupid bastards destroying all life on this earth!