As the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) approaches its 40th anniversary later this year, a retrospective of films and narratives from its archives unfolds, spotlighting the organization’s endeavors in uncovering environmental transgressions across the globe.
Amidst Japan’s recent announcement regarding its intentions to broaden its whaling pursuits to include the imperiled fin whales, attention is drawn back to a documentary crafted in 2014 by the EIA’s Ocean team. This film, “Slayed in Iceland,” was created in collaboration with partners such as the Animal Welfare Institute and Whale and Dolphin Conservation, serving as a complement to an investigative report on Iceland’s continued slaughter of fin whales.
The documentary shed light on the annual hunts orchestrated by the notorious multi-millionaire rogue whaler, Kristján Loftsson, and his enterprise, Hvalur hf. It uncovered not only the magnitude of these hunts but also the intricate web of overseas trade, alongside the financial and logistical ties between the whalers and some of Iceland’s largest corporations.
During this period, Iceland’s export of fin whale meat was valued at approximately $50 million, blatantly contravening both the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on whaling and the prohibition on international commercial trade in fin whale products as mandated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Reflecting on the findings, Clare Perry, the then Ocean Campaign Leader, remarked, “Since 2006, Hvalur has slaughtered over 500 fin whales, driven solely by a limited demand in Japan. It has shipped more than 5,000 tonnes of fin whale products to Japan, including a record-breaking single consignment of 2,071 tonnes in 2014. This ongoing and escalating slaughter not only disregards international efforts to conserve whales but also tarnishes Iceland’s standing on the global stage. It must cease immediately.”
“Slayed in Iceland” called upon the IWC, governments, and businesses engaged with Icelandic entities implicated in whaling activities to take decisive measures compelling Iceland to halt its commercial whaling operations and trade.