Iceland whaling station at Hvalfjordur where they are flensing large balleen whales - fin whales
Hvalfjörður (Icelandic: Whale-fjord) is situated in the west of Iceland between Mosfellsbær and Akranes. The fjord is approximately 30 km long and 5 km wide. The name Hvalfjörður is derived from the large number of whales which could be found and caught there[citation needed]. One of the biggest whaling stations in Iceland is still located in this fjord. In the past the fjord also contained a large number of herring fisheries. During World War II, a naval base of the British and American navies could be found in this fjord. One of the piers built by the United States Navy is today used by the Hvalur whaling company for the processing of fin whales for sale to Japan. The recent revelation that meat of these endangered whales is being used to make luxury dog treats caused some public protest. Until the late 1990s, those travelling by car had to make a long detour of 62 km around the fjord on the hringvegur (road ), in order to get from the city of Reykjavík to the town of Borgarnes. As of 1998, the tunnel Hvalfjarðargöngin, which shortens the trip considerably, was opened to public traffic. The tunnel is approximately 5,762 m in length, and cuts travel by car around the fjord by about an hour. The tunnel runs to a depth of 165 m below sea level.
Size: 5612px × 3769px
Location: Iceland
Photo credit: © Steve Morgan / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: banning, batchdigitized, blubber, commission, cutting, flensing, iceland, icelandic, international, iwc, meat, moratorium, mv, nation, oceans, processing, sirius, skeleton, station, whale, whales, whaling
