Whales Are More Than Numbers: Our Intervention at IWC70

We were at the IWC70 meeting for the first time last week and we made sure to speak on behalf of whales and our country who´s majority opposes whaling. Here is our full intervention on agenda item Adoption of the SC report and Work Plan;

Hvalavinir – Whale Friends Iceland would like to thank the Scientific Committee for its important work and for the scientific foundation it provides to the Commission. We are particularly interested in the evidence presented of major changes in the distribution of baleen whales across the North Atlantic. New research documents show substantial redistribution between West and East Greenland, a likely influx of whales from the Icelandic shelf and offshore waters into East Greenland, and a range expansion of fin whales into the Irminger Sea.

This is particularly relevant to Iceland. The abundance estimate currently used for fin whales around Iceland is still based on the 2015 survey, while major changes in distribution have occurred since then. Fin whales were counted again in 2024, but fog and ice prevented adequate coverage of important feeding grounds west of Iceland, and the resulting estimate has not yet been approved.

The authors of the SC70 research warn against relying too heavily on local abundance signals when whale distribution is changing. At the same time, the Committee's work increasingly shows that whales are not simply populations to be counted, but functioning components of marine ecosystems, contributing to nutrient cycling, marine productivity, carbon sequestration and biodiversity.

This raises an important question: knowing whether a population can biologically sustain removals is not the same as understanding what ecological functions are lost when whales are removed. Population abundance cannot be viewed in isolation from rapidly changing ecosystems.

We are also deeply concerned that bycatch remains one of the most serious threats to cetaceans worldwide and strongly support continued work to identify high-risk fisheries and develop effective mitigation.

We encourage the Committee to further explore how ecosystem functions can inform stock assessments and consideration of deliberate removals, alongside continued work on marine debris and plastic pollution. This ambitious scientific programme also requires adequate and predictable funding and it is our hope that our country as well as other Northern countries see the value in contributing funds to support it. As the ocean changes, our management must change with it. Whales are mobile components of changing and interconnected ecosystems. Considering the pressures they already face and their ecological importance, ending the deliberate removal of whales should be a priority.

Whales are worth more alive than dead.

Thank you, chair.

Hvalavinir-Whale Friends Ocean Protection