Minke whale hunt stops early

摘要

A change in government regulations has led an Icelandic whaling company to temporarily stop hunting minke whales. The new regulation expanded the protected area for baleen whales, meaning IP-Utgerd Ltd. would have to travel farther out to sea in order to kill them, the company said. Company owner Gunnar Jonsson said it wouldn't be economically viable to travel so far, and the company will stop hunting the whales about a month earlier than expected. He said the company will focus on improving its boats and may hire more crew members. "For next year, we will have to arrange something," he said. The International Fund for Animal Welfare lauded the news, calling it "very good news for minke whales and for Iceland," but added that Iceland had imported minke whale meat from Norway instead.