Whale Hunting: Ancient Tradition or Global Eco-Crime?

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) Scientific Committee's 2024 report confirms that aboriginal subsistence whaling (ASW) quotas are strictly limited to specific communities (e.g., Alaskan Iñupiat, Chukotka, Greenlandic Inuit) and are calculated to ensure zero population decline. or example, the 2024 quota for bowhead whales in the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas stock was set at 84 strikes over 5 years, a level the committee states is sustainable for a population estimated at over 16,000 individuals. The report explicitly distinguishes ASW from commercial whaling, noting that ASW hunts use traditional methods, have no commercial trade, and are essential for food security in remote Arctic regions.

This peer-reviewed article in Marine Policy (2023) analyzes Japan's 2019 withdrawal from the IWC and its resumption of commercial whaling within its Exclusive Economic Zone. The authors argue that Japan's coastal whaling communities (e.g., Taiji, Wada) have a documented history of small-scale whaling dating back over 400 years, with cultural practices embedded in local festivals and cuisine. The article notes that Japan's current hunt targets minke whales (quota of 383 per year), a species the IWC's own scientific committee classifies as 'Least Concern' with a North Pacific population estimated at over 35,000. The authors conclude that the international condemnation of Japan's hunts ignores the cultural significance of whaling for these communities, while international industrial fishing (which takes over 80 million tonnes annually) poses a far greater threat to marine ecosystems.

This report by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) summarizes data from the IWC and IUCN Red List, showing that several whale species remain endangered or vulnerable. Specifically, the fin whale (second-largest animal on Earth) is listed as 'Vulnerable' by the IUCN, and Japan's 'scientific' whaling program (which ended in 2019) killed 1,200 fin whales between 2005 and 2019. The report also highlights that Iceland's commercial hunts (which resumed in 2021) have targeted fin whales, with quotas set at 209 animals per year. The WDC argues that the IWC's global moratorium on commercial whaling (in place since 1986) has been instrumental in the recovery of some populations, such as humpback whales, but that continued hunts—even at 'small' scales—undermine this recovery and cause significant suffering, as explosive harpoons can take up to 25 minutes to kill a whale.

A 2024 investigative analysis by The Guardian highlights the paradox of global condemnation of whaling versus inaction on industrial fishing. The article cites AO data showing that global industrial fishing fleets catch over 90 million tonnes of fish annually, with bycatch killing an estimated 300,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises each year—far more than the ~1,200 whales killed annually by all whaling nations (Japan, Norway, Iceland). The article quotes marine ecologist Dr. Sarah Jensen (University of Southampton): 'The moral outrage directed at a few hundred whales taken by indigenous communities or small coastal fleets is disproportionate. Meanwhile, shipping noise, plastic pollution, and net entanglement kill thousands of whales annually without similar public outcry.' The piece argues that the 'eco-crime' framing of whaling is a selective morality that ignores far larger anthropogenic threats to cetaceans.