Hard To Port

24/08/2026

Maintaining Our Watch

Hard To Port continues to keep a close watch on the 2026 whaling season.

Showing the reality of commercial whaling through careful monitoring and documentation remains a vital part of our work. Independent oversight, despite becoming considerably more challenging, continues to play an important role in our collective efforts to bring the chapter of commercial whaling in Iceland to a close.

We haven’t released much of the footage captured over the past few days yet, but rest assured, we will be sharing more in the coming days. Our observations during the current season are consistent with what we have documented previously: these hunts continue to take a heavy toll on the whales and, in our view, raise questions under Iceland’s animal welfare standards.

For the past few days, both catcher ships have been forced to remain at the whaling station due to unfavourable weather conditions. As of this afternoon, however, Hvalur 8 and Hvalur 9 have headed back out to continue their hunts.

We will keep our binoculars and cameras ready.

📷: Hard To Port - Marine Conservation

15/08/2026

Close to 50 whales have been hunted during Iceland’s 2026 fin whaling season so far.

This morning, the whale catcher Hvalur 8 returned with a male fin whale after a relatively long 2.5 day round trip.

With access to the whaling station increasingly restricted, our independent documentation has been significantly hampered in recent days. Nevertheless, we will continue our work to the best of our ability over the coming weeks, despite these obstacles.

The whaling season is expected to continue until late September - more updates to come.

03/08/2026

The area surrounding the whaling station was fenced off yesterday. As a result, Hard To Port’s independent investigation into potential violations during the 2026 whaling season has come to an abrupt halt - for now. We have already sought legal advice and are assessing the implications of this new situation.

Ahead of the 2026 whaling season, large areas previously used for observation were made off-limits. On 2 August, an additional fence was (re-)installed. It had originally been erected in 2023 following revelations of repeated animal welfare violations during fin whaling.

As we stated in yesterday’s update on our Instagram channel, our documentation work this year serves two important purposes:

“First, it serves as a tool for accountability. The evidence we collect allows us to identify and report observed irregularities to the authorities. Every confirmed breach has the potential to influence the course of the hunting season, help prevent further suffering, and strengthen the legal and political case for ending commercial whaling."

"Second, it helps create awareness and public understanding. Images can serve as powerful visual reminders to both the public and policymakers of the true nature of this industry and why its continuation must be questioned. That message is further reinforced by official reports that have raised serious concerns regarding animal welfare during the 2026 hunts.”

As of today, this work has become significantly more difficult. If the legality of the fence is upheld, our ability to independently monitor and document the whaling season will be severely restricted. We will provide further updates as the situation develops.

📷 Arne F. | Hard To Port
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If you have the means to support our efforts to help bring an end to commercial whaling in Iceland, please consider making a donation to our campaign. Every contribution, no matter the size, helps us continue our work.

https://hardtoport.org/financial-support/

26/07/2026

Þetta er sárt að horfa upp á – This is painful to watch

Commentary by Arne
(2 min read)

In the autumn of 2023, we documented scenes that should once again intensify the debate over the continuation and ethical defensibility of commercial whaling in Iceland.

Among the whales brought to Hvalur hf.'s processing station was a female in the advanced stages of pregnancy. During the butchering process, staff gathered to remove the nearly full-term calf from her body.

The images we captured were published by local media, prompting many people to express their growing disgust and opposition to commercial whaling.

Marine and behavioural ecologist and assistant professor of biology, Edda Elísabet Magnúsdóttir, expressed what so many people felt in an interview with Heimildin:

"Þetta er sárt að horfa upp á" — "This is painful to watch."

It truly was.

Over the years I have spent in Iceland, I have witnessed the deaths of many whales. I have spent countless hours documenting the butchering process, searching for irregularities that might encourage authorities and policymakers to take meaningful action.

Over time, a certain degree of emotional numbness inevitably sets in. It is difficult to repeatedly witness such disturbing scenes without creating some emotional distance.

But every now and then, something breaks through that distance.

The day the almost fully developed calf was removed from its mother's body was one of those moments. Even after documenting these operations over several years, I found myself reaching my emotional limit. The full weight of what I had witnessed did not hit me until I returned home.

That is when the tears came.

Yesterday, on 25 July, the harpoon vessel Hvalur 9 returned to the whaling station in the late afternoon sun with another fin whale in tow. It was, once again, a pregnant female.

Just as on that day in late September 2023, a fetus emerged and lay exposed on the concrete floor.

In an instant, the memories came flooding back.

So did the sadness. The frustration. And the anger.

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📷 © Arne Feuerhahn | Hard To Port

18/07/2026

Iceland's Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) has concluded its investigation into a case that Hard To Port & Hvalavinir-Stop whaling in Iceland brought to public attention during the opening days of the 2026 whaling season.

According to MAST's report, the whale - the first hunted by the catcher vessel Hvalur 8 - required four harpoon strikes before it died. The animal endured a prolonged killing process that lasted 31 minutes.

Yesterday, MAST announced that neither the crew nor the operating company Hvalur hf. would face any penalties, concluding that no violations had occurred. With that decision, the case has officially been closed.

At Hard To Port, we are profoundly disappointed - and outraged -by this outcome. We believe the decision falls short of Iceland's own animal welfare standards and sends a troubling message about the level of suffering that is considered acceptable during commercial whaling. No animal should have to endure such a prolonged and painful death.

As this decision was being announced, we were at the whaling station, continuing our work to monitor and document the hunt. That same day, three more whales were brought ashore - one male and two females - killed by the crews of the two catcher vessels.

This first investigation may be over, but others are ongoing. So is our commitment to bearing witness, documenting what happens to these animals, and ensuring the reality of Iceland's whaling industry is not hidden from public view.

If you would like to support our work on the ground, please consider contributing to our urgent fundraising appeal. Every contribution helps us continue documenting the hunt and bringing these events to the world's attention.

https://hardtoport.org/2026/07/17/keep-us-in-the-fjord-keep-us-on-the-frontlines-of-commercial-whaling/

📄 MAST's statement, together with two reactions from Iceland to its conclusion, can be found in the comments.

📷 © Arne Feuerhahn | Hard To Port

17/07/2026

Keep Us in the Fjord. Keep Us on the Frontlines of Commercial Whaling.

A fundraising appeal by Arne Feuerhahn
(3 min read)

Dear Community,

For more than a decade, Hard To Port – Marine Conservation has been at the forefront of the fight to end commercial whaling in Iceland.

When we launched our campaign in 2015, commercial whaling remained largely hidden from public view. Thousands of whales had already been killed in the North Atlantic with little scrutiny or public awareness. Through years of documenting whaling operations, reporting what we witnessed, and sharing the reality with the public, we helped bring this issue into the spotlight.

Today, the conversation around whaling in Iceland is profoundly different. Public awareness has grown, political attention has increased, and official inspections carried out by Icelandic veterinary authorities have exposed serious animal welfare concerns through a series of deeply concerning reports. While many people and organisations have contributed to this progress, I believe our campaign has played an important role in helping bring about this change.

Now, in our twelfth consecutive year in the field, we face challenges of our own.

Hard To Port is operating with extremely limited financial resources. To keep our campaign going, I am currently balancing our conservation and documentation work with a full-time job here in Iceland to help cover both our operational costs and my own living expenses. While this allows us to continue our work, it also comes at the cost of time and energy that would otherwise be spent documenting whaling operations, engaging with the media, and supporting our advocacy efforts.

Despite these constraints, we have already documented several suspected irregularities during the opening weeks of this year’s whaling season. Together with our Icelandic partner organisations and legal advisers, we have reported these incidents to the relevant authorities and are now awaiting their response.

Without independent teams on the ground, incidents like these – and much of what happens during Iceland’s whaling season – risk going undocumented.

As Icelandic policymakers review the outdated legislative framework that still permits commercial whaling, this year could prove to be a pivotal moment for the future of whaling in the country. With new legislation expected to be introduced to Parliament later this year, maintaining our independent presence in Hvalfjörður is essential to ensuring that commercial whaling remains under public scrutiny. Through our documentation and reporting, we provide reliable information to the authorities and contribute to the informed public and political debate that could help bring commercial whaling in Iceland to an end.

This is where you can help.

We are seeking to raise €5,000 to keep our campaign running over the coming months. Your support will help us:

👥 Bring a second photographer to Iceland, increasing our capacity to monitor and document whaling operations while reducing the pressure of operating as a one-person field team.

📷 Upgrade essential camera equipment needed for our field work.

🚙 Cover part of the transportation costs required to maintain our presence in Hvalfjörður throughout the remainder of the campaign.

🌏 Secure the remaining funding needed for Hard To Port to participate in this year’s meeting of the International Whaling Commission, where we will share first-hand documentation and insights directly with government representatives, scientists, and fellow conservation organisations.

If you are able to help, every contribution – no matter the size – will help keep us in the fjord and on the frontlines of commercial whaling.

Thank you for standing with us – and for standing with the fin whales of the North Atlantic ✊🐋

Arne Feuerhahn

Hard To Port – Marine Conservation

You can contribute via this link ➡️ https://hardtoport.org/financial-support/

📷 © Boris Niehaus | Hard To Port (2015)

11/07/2026

July 10

Another female fin whale was killed in the North Atlantic.

As shown in our photographs, the whale was struck at least twice, with visible impact wounds outside the recommended target area, known as the vital vulnerability area.

We will initiate another request to the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) regarding this incident to determine whether the company can be held accountable for what appears to have been an inadequately executed kill resulting in unnecessary, prolonged animal suffering.

The whale was brought to Iceland's whaling station in Hvalfjörður at approximately 11:00 p.m. last night. The butchering process continued into the early hours of the following morning.

💬 text box translation: "Target area: The area on a fin whale that should be aimed at when firing. The shaded area in this image."

📷 Arne F. | Hard To Port

30/06/2026

31 minutes. Four harpoon shots

A newly released report from the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority reveals the horrific suffering endured by a fin whale killed on June 22.

Following photographic evidence documented by Hard To Port, we initiated an official inquiry into this incident together with Hvalavinir-Stop whaling in Iceland, with legal assistance from Katrín Oddsdóttir.

The report confirms that it took 31 minutes and four harpoon shots before the whale finally died.

For more than half an hour, the whale remained conscious - diving, struggling, and desperately trying to escape.

This is unacceptable.

No animal should have to endure such prolonged suffering.

Together with a coalition of Icelandic organisations, we are calling on the Icelandic authorities to take immediate action and suspend these inhumane operations without delay.

Náttúru- og dýraverndarsamtök segja dauðastríð langreyðar ekki „einangrað eða tilfallandi frávik“. Ný eftirlitsskýrsla Matvælastofnunar sýnir að langreyður var skotin fjórum sinnum og var áætlaður tími til dauða rúmur hálftími.

24/06/2026

Three lives lost

Iceland’s controversial fin whaling season has begun, with the first three fin whales of the season landed at the whaling station in Hvalfjörður over the past few days. The catcher vessel Hvalur 9 arrived on Tuesday morning at around 4:30 a.m. with two male fin whales secured alongside its port side. Hvalur 8, after spending almost 100 hours at sea, returned yesterday evening with a third fin whale.

Despite having witnessed this procedure countless times before, it remains profoundly distressing. How can such an archaic practice still have a place in 2026?

These three whales are the first animals hunted by Hvalur hf. since the company’s shortened whaling season ended in September 2023. At that time, significant animal welfare concerns led to a temporary suspension of whaling operations. The regulatory framework was subsequently tightened, allowing the hunt to resume only under stricter conditions.

Over the last couple of days, we have resumed our independent monitoring and documentation of Hvalur’s activities, work that we have carried out since 2015.

It is certainly not a pleasant task to point a camera at a slaughterhouse for whales. Nevertheless, we believe this work remains essential. Monitoring and documentation have exposed disturbing aspects of the whaling industry in the past that many people would otherwise never have seen. If we identify potential irregularities or apparent breaches of regulations, it is important that these are brought to public attention.

In the case of the whale brought ashore yesterday, a request has been submitted to the relevant authorities seeking clarification regarding three impact wounds visible across the animal’s body. Given the attention these injuries received from several observers who were not members of staff, it seems likely that something unusual occurred. At this stage, we can only speculate, but we hope to learn more about what this animal endured during its struggle for survival. Judging from our photographs, this was unlikely to have been an instantaneous death, and prolonged suffering appears, regrettably, to have been very likely.

The hunt for fin whales resumed last Friday, and it feels somewhat unreal that we are here again, witnessing these almost daily atrocities. Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, Iceland’s Minister of Industries, has repeatedly stated that a review of the country’s whaling legislation is underway and that a proposal to prohibit commercial whaling altogether is expected to be introduced this autumn. For these three whales, and for those that will follow in the coming weeks, such plans sadly come too late.

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📷 Arne F. | Hard To Port

Please note that some faces of staff and observers on site have been slightly pixelated.

20/06/2026

The 2026 fin whaling season has begun. Both Hvalur hf. catcher vessels have headed to their hunting grounds, taking advantage of favourable weather conditions this weekend. If operations proceed as expected, the first fin whales could be landed later this weekend or in the early hours of Monday morning.

Earlier this week, a last-minute intervention was made in an attempt to delay the departure of Hvalur's fleet. Such interventions at the start of the whaling season have, by now, become a welcome tradition. Whether through public protest or legislative action, efforts that dampen the enthusiasm surrounding the start of the season for those preparing to fire explosive harpoons into the bodies of sentient – and often pregnant – whales are always welcome and appreciated.

On Thursday, such an intervention came from Hólmsteinn Harðarson, who climbed the mast of the catcher vessel Hvalur 9 only hours before its planned departure for final hunting season preparations at the whaling station. To the surprise of many of us on site, the crew of Hvalur 9 chose to leave Reykjavík's Old Harbour with Hólmsteinn still in the ship's crow's nest, turning his protest into an unexpected and potentially involuntary journey that is now being reviewed by his legal support team.

The vessel arrived at the whaling station later that evening, where equipment was prepared to remove Hólmsteinn from the mast.

Seeing him appear in Icelandic media yesterday, we are relieved and pleased to know that he is safe and appears to be in good spirits.

In the coming days, Hard To Port will continue monitoring the fleet's return, providing the public with a critical and uncensored look at this controversial industry. If you value our work, please consider supporting our team with a donation of any size.

https://hardtoport.org/financial-support/

📷 Arne F. | Hard To Port