Export revenue from whaling products amounted to ISK 95 million (USD 825,000, EUR 641,000) last year, as former Minister of Fisheries Einar K. Gudfinnsson said in response to a question on the matter from Social Democrat MP Mördur Árnason in parliament yesterday.
Whaling in Iceland. Copyright: Icelandic Photo Agency.
Gudfinnsson explained that almost 82 tons of fin whale meat had been sold to Japan for ISK 94 million, 900 kilos of minke whale meat to the Faroe Islands for ISK 700,000 (USD 6,000, EUR 5,000) and 90 kilos of whale oil to Norway for ISK 400,000 (USD 3,000, EUR 3,000), Fréttabladid reports.
However, Árnason claimed that the cost for transporting the meat to Japan had amounted to ISK 112 million (USD 972,000, EUR 755,000) and was therefore considerably higher than what the meat was worth.
Independence Party MP Jón Gunnarsson objected to that claim, saying the transport cost was much lower than the selling price of the meat.
Click here to read more about whaling.
