Icelandic company Hvalur hf. will begin hunting fin whales again following a two-year break, Morgunblaðið reports. The company is collaborating with researchers on the development of iron supplements made from fin whale meat. Hvalur hf. also hopes to use gelatin from whale bones and blubber for medicinal and food products.
Hvalur hf. suspended their whale hunting operations in 2016 due to difficulties in exporting the meat to Japan. In the interim, the company has been researching the possibility of producing other types of products. Hvalur hf. CEO Kristján Loftsson expressed his hopes the Japanese market would prove easier this year. Hunting will being around 10. June.
Iceland’s whale hunting practices have been the subject of international criticism in recent years, including from the President of the United States. In 2015, the hacker Anonymous took down Icelandic websites in protest against the hunting of fin whales.
