Scotland 12 Iceland -1

Iceland doesn’t seem that far away to us as we sit in the northwest corner of Scotland and listen to the Stornoway coastguard reporting on the offshore weather forecast every day. However, in another way we are worlds apart. Iceland has begun its whaling season. We wished them rough seas - but they weren’t rough enough. The first minke whale was killed yesterday outside Faxafloa. He was 8 metres in length.

The wind and the rain here give us plenty of time to contemplate the fate of the Icelandic minke whales. And the fatality caused by the whalers harpoon. And although the minke whales that we are watching in the Minch face threats of a different kind, none are so cruel or unnecessary as the finality of the weapon that penetrates deep into the chased minke whale and surely causes a slow and painful death.

Please visit our home page for more information: www.wdcs.org.uk

This tragic news from Iceland really brings it home to us how privileged we are to spend time studying these amazing whales. During our survey this month we have so far observed 12 minke whales (and we’re hoping for more before we leave on Saturday!). More people are visiting Scotland and tourism continues to increase despite the recession. Minke whales have an important and much welcome role to play in this boom. Why not follow in our footsteps and experience the beauty of Scotland and its marine inhabitants for yourselves….and the birds ain’t bad either!

This entry was posted by Sarah Dolman on Wednesday, May 27. 2009 at 11:59. and is filed under Gairloch 2009. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own blog. All new comments are subject to moderation before being displayed.

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