If you haven’t heard this name before, now’s the time.
One man profits from slaughter in two countries.
As you may have seen in one of our latest posts, we recently shared the GREAT news that Hvalur hf, the last whaling station in the world, has officially cancelled its fin whaling season. This is a massive win for whales not only in Iceland, but everywhere—a testament to the power of collective action, and a direct result of our collaboration with passionate partners and organizations around the world.
But while this victory deserves celebration, the fight is far from over.
Minke whales are still in danger. Their suffering continues, as the hunting of these incredible beings remains legal in countries like Norway.
In fact, the 2025 Norwegian whaling season has just begun, and tragically, the first victim has already been claimed. Just after 6 a.m. near the coastal town of Vadsø, Finnmark, a 1,700kg minke whale was killed by the vessel Reinebuen.
And now, Kato—one of the most lethal vessels in Norway’s whaling fleet—has left port and is heading north to begin its killing. Last year alone, Kato was responsible for nearly 50% of Norway’s total whale kill count.
But this isn’t just about one ship.
It isn’t even just about one country.
This is about a man whose reach extends across borders and industries, leaving a trail of dead whales behind him.
This is about the man behind the curtain.
Kristján Loftsson.
If you haven’t heard his name before, now’s the time to remember it.
Scroll down to read the full story.
A whaler with too much power
Loftsson is the man behind Hvalur hf, Iceland’s last remaining whaling company. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
He’s not only Iceland’s wealthiest man, he’s also its most deeply entrenched industrialist. His empire spans:
Arion Bank – one of Iceland’s top financial institutions
Brim hf – a dominant player in the fishing sector
Marel – a multinational food processing company
Origo hf – a major IT and tech provider
And of course, he bankrolls political parties, including the Independence Party and maintains ties with the Progressive Party, alliances that conveniently shield his whaling operations from scrutiny.
But when it comes to whales, Loftsson’s power extends far beyond Iceland.
Whales know no borders, and neither does he
Loftsson owns a 12.2% stake in Lofothval, the Norwegian whaling company that operates the Reinebuen. That’s the very vessel that just killed Norway’s first minke whale of the 2025 season.
🐋 In 2024, the Reinebuen killed 111 minke whales—roughly a quarter of Norway’s total.
Meanwhile, Loftsson also sits on NAMMCO’s Committee on Hunting Methods, a regional body supposedly dedicated to the “sustainable management of marine mammals.”
That’s like putting a trophy hunter in charge of national park wildlife policies.
Old friends, new profits
According to Norwegian media, Loftsson is an “old friend of Norway,” with deep contacts in Norwegian fisheries and whaling management. But this isn’t about friendships—it’s about profit pipelines and political protection.
Lofothval, co-founded by Rune Frøvik (formerly of the pro-whaling High North Alliance), has traded minke whale products across Iceland, Norway, and the Faroe Islands, while Loftsson continues to flood the Japanese market with Icelandic fin whale meat.
Let that sink in:
The same man who profits from endangered fin whales in Iceland
Now also profits from minke whale hunts in Norway
And helps shape the very policies that allow it to happen
Whale meat: A product of cruelty, packaged as culture
Most of Norway’s minke whale meat ends up in Japan, used for:
Pet food
Fur farm feed
Whale oil cosmetics
And gimmicky "local delicacies" for tourists in Reykjavik
This is not tradition.
This is not heritage.
This is commercial slaughter, wrapped in a flag and sold to the highest bidder.
The context: Fewer ships, higher quotas
Whaling vessels in Norway have dropped from 31 in 2005 to just 9 in 2023, yet the government increased the national kill quota from 1,157 to 1,406 minke whales. All while last year, the country managed to kill less than half of that quota.
So what does Norway do? Instead of listening to science, they double down on death.
And while the Reinebuen is the only ship to have begun hunting so far this year, history tells us that it won’t be alone for long.
The consequences: Ecological collapse, tourist deception
Every minke whale killed is a blow to already fragile ecosystems, however data from 2024 shows that over half of the 301 female minke whales killed were pregnant. The killing of the unborn only accelerates the population decline and loss to the delicate ecosystem.
Every exported package of whale meat is a message that cruelty sells.
And every season that goes unchallenged pushes us closer to a world where the ocean’s giants are memories, not miracles.
The time to act is now
We cannot let men like Kristján Loftsson continue to shape marine policy for their own gain.
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Because if we don't speak up now, the next generation may never know the ocean as we do, with whales breaching the surface, not bleeding beneath it.
This Sea Story has been written thanks to information provided by Gary Stokes’ article for Neptune’s Pirates UK.