A Whale of an Auction on eBay

In an effort to raise public awareness of Iceland’s recent return to commercial whaling after a 20-year hiatus, the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), an international wildlife conservation group, is using the online auction site eBay to sell off “shares” of a fin whale to prevent it from being killed. WSPA hopes to raise US$180,000, the full market value of the whale’s meat, and to offer the money to Icelandic hunters in exchange for the animal’s life.

“We’re asking the public to go and bid for the life of this whale, and send Iceland a message that the public will not stand for the hunting of these whales,” Leah Garces, WSPA’s campaign director, told BBC News. If the hunters or the government of Iceland refuse the exchange, the money will go toward WSPA’s ongoing anti-whaling campaign.

Iceland, like Japan and Norway, hunts whales despite an international ban on commercial whaling in place since 1986. The Reykjavik government plans to allow 30 minke and 9 fin whales to be hunted this year, even though fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) have been listed as “endangered” by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) since 1996. International trade in the species, which witnessed serious declines throughout much of the 20th century, is also prohibited. In early November, diplomats from 25 countries delivered a formal letter of protest against the resumed whaling to the Icelandic government, according to the BBC.

Worldwatch Institute researcher Brian Halweil notes that WSPA’s creative grassroots action is the type of consumer-driven campaign that can save the world’s declining sea life from over-harvesting and devastation. “Cultures that have traditionally hunted and eaten whales may have a right to resume hunting whale populations that have recovered from centuries of overfishing,” he observes. “But that isn't the case for fin whales or many of the other species being taken for commercial purposes.”

This story was produced by Eye on Earth, a joint project of the Worldwatch Institute and the blue moon fund. View the complete archive of Eye on Earth stories, or contact Staff Writer Alana Herro at aherro [AT] worldwatch [DOT] org with your questions, comments, and story ideas.