Flinging the Harpoon: A quiz on whaling

On Tuesday (April 17) Iceland announced the disbandment of its freeze on the commercial hunting of fin whales, listed as an endangered species by the government. The decision has triggered an outcry from the international community who widely believe the practice to be outdated, inhumane and cruel.

In an attempt to deflate this outcry, quotas have been suggested to restrict whale hunting. However, due to a lack in strong legal protocols and different interpretations of rules, this step for many just isn’t enough and pressure groups such as Greenpeace have continued to intervene.

Gisil Vikingsson, head of the whale research at Iceland’s Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, believes this dissonance is due to misinformation “The common misconception is that we are allowing an endangered species to be hunted, but it is only in the Southern hemisphere that the fin whale population is critical.”

Could the issue be as simple as a miscommunication of facts? Here is a list of statements, some facts, some fictions. Check it out and see if you can decipher the two.

Fact or Fiction: Whaling Quiz

Look at the following statements and decide which is fact and which is fiction.