LOFTSSON HAS A NEW PLAN. HE WANTS TO TURN WHALES INTO IRON
At 83, Kristján Loftsson is still at the helm of Icelandic whaling company Hvalur. This year, after a two-year hiatus, he returned to hunting fin whales. But with domestic demand for whale meat negligible and Japan effectively no longer interested in Icelandic whale meat, Loftsson has come up with a surprising plan: to turn the meat into iron supplements.
150 WHALES SET TO BE HUNTED AGAIN
In the summer of 2026, Hvalur’s whaling vessels returned to Icelandic waters. After a two-year break, the company resumed hunting fin whales, with a quota of 150 animals for this year. The same number corresponds to the recommendation issued by Iceland’s Marine and Freshwater Research Institute for 2026.
For Hvalur, it is a return to an activity its boss, Kristján Loftsson, refuses to regard as a relic of the past. He is 83 and has run the company since 1974, when he took over the family business after his father’s death. He had already been involved in whaling since the age of 13. But this year’s return comes with one major problem.
Who does he actually want to sell the whales to?
ICELANDERS HARDLY EAT THEM
The idea that whale meat is a regular part of the Icelandic diet is highly misleading.
According to available surveys, fewer than two percent of Icelanders regularly eat whale meat. A survey cited by whale conservation organisations also found that around 82 percent of Icelanders said they had never eaten it.
Some of the whale meat sold in Iceland does not go to local consumers at all, but to tourists. According to conservation groups, tourist demand accounts for a significant share of Iceland’s whale-meat market.
But for Hvalur, another market has traditionally been far more important.
Japan.
And that market has all but collapsed.
JAPAN NO LONGER WANTS ICELANDIC WHALES
Japan used to be the main foreign buyer of Icelandic fin whale meat. But Japanese demand for whale meat has been declining for years.
In August, Hvalur announced a major change: it was putting sales of fin whale meat to Japan on hold for the time being.
The last major shipment from Iceland arrived in Japan in February 2023. It contained more than 2,500 tonnes of meat, which, according to available reports, has still not been completely sold.
The economic problem is therefore obvious.
An Icelandic company has permission to kill dozens or even hundreds of enormous whales, yet its main foreign market is no longer as interested in their meat as it once was.
And still Loftsson went back to sea this year.
SO WHY IS HE STILL HUNTING THEM?
There is no simple answer.
Loftsson has long maintained that whaling is primarily a business and a way of making use of a natural resource, rather than some romantic struggle to preserve tradition. He considers fin whales sufficiently abundant and the hunt sustainable as long as it remains within scientifically determined quotas.
This is precisely where his view comes into direct conflict with that of his opponents.
They argue that the economic case is becoming increasingly difficult to defend. In 2025, Loftsson himself acknowledged that Japanese prices had fallen so low that, in his view, it was no longer economically justifiable to go whaling.
Yet in 2026, he decided to continue.
Why?
Because for Loftsson, it is not simply about how many kilograms of meat can be sold today.
It is the business he inherited from his father. He has spent virtually his entire adult life at Hvalur, and whaling has become not only a source of income but also a matter of his right to operate in an industry he considers legitimate.
And that is why he is now trying to find a new way to make money from whale meat.
HE WANTS TO TURN A WHALE INTO “IRON”
In August, Loftsson came up with an idea that sounds almost absurd.
He wants to make an iron supplement from whale meat.
The product is to be called Reyðarjárn and would be made by processing the muscle tissue of fin whales into a powder, which would then be sold in capsules.
Loftsson explains the idea by pointing to the high concentration of heme iron in whale muscle. He claims that this form of iron is more easily absorbed by the body than some commonly used forms of iron salts. According to his description, the resulting powder would contain approximately 700 milligrams of heme iron per kilogram.
His argument goes even further.
Loftsson points to the global problem of iron deficiency and anaemia and claims that the new product could find customers in countries where iron deficiency is widespread.
The whale meat does not have to end up on a plate, he argues. It could end up in a capsule.
Profile: KRISTJÁN LOFTSSON
Kristján Loftsson is an Icelandic businessman best known as the longtime head and co-owner of Hvalur hf., the company involved in commercial whaling.
Basic information
Born: March 17, 1943
Birthplace: Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
Nationality: Icelandic
Occupation: Businessman, executive in the fishing and whaling industry
Career
Kristján Loftsson comes from a family with deep connections to whaling. His father founded Hvalur hf., and Kristján entered the industry at a young age – according to available sources, he took part in whaling expeditions from the age of 13.
1974: Took over management of Hvalur hf. following his father’s death
Has served ever since as the company’s CEO and key figure
Main business
Hvalur hf. is Iceland’s last major company engaged in commercial whaling, particularly fin whale hunting
The company also processes and exports whale meat, historically mainly to Japan
Kristján is considered one of the company’s largest shareholders
Controversy
Kristján Loftsson is one of the most controversial figures in Icelandic business:
He has long defended commercial whaling, despite strong opposition from conservation groups
He has faced criticism from international environmental organizations
His activities are closely linked to debates over the ethics of whaling and wildlife conservation
He has sometimes been described in the media as the “last whaling magnate” or “Icelandic Ahab”
Interesting facts
He is considered one of the most influential figures in Iceland’s fishing industry
His company is one of the last active players in commercial whaling in the world
He has repeatedly participated in international discussions on whaling as an Icelandic representative
A NEW BUSINESS OR A DESPERATE ATTEMPT?
This is where Loftsson’s plan becomes particularly interesting.
His company is losing its traditional market, while domestic demand remains small. Instead of ending whaling, it is looking for a new product.
But there is a huge difference between an idea and an actual commercial product.
Reyðarjárn is not yet a widely available dietary supplement on the global market. Loftsson has described its potential and how it could be produced, but selling such a product in individual countries would be subject to their food and health regulations.
And that is where he could run into trouble.
While a kilogram of whale meat can relatively simply be treated as a food product, a product marketed as a dietary supplement has to meet a completely different set of requirements.
Loftsson may have found a new way to think about his product. But it is far from certain that it will become a significant business.
AND WHAT ABOUT THE WHALES THEMSELVES?
A fin whale is no small fish.
It is the second-largest animal on Earth, after the blue whale. It can grow to more than 20 metres in length and is among the largest animals ever to have lived on the planet.
It is worth pausing here to clarify the terminology: the English fin whale is the plejtvák myšok in Czech. The Czech plejtvák obrovský is the blue whale, the largest animal on Earth.
Iceland’s quota for 2026 is 150 fin whales.
According to Iceland’s marine research institute, the population is sufficiently large for scientific advice for 2026 to allow a hunt of up to 150 animals. At the same time, the institute points to uncertainties in the latest population estimates and takes a precautionary approach when setting the recommended catch.
That distinction is important.
Scientific advice supporting a particular catch level does not mean that scientists support whaling itself. It means that, under the population models used, a certain number of animals can be taken while remaining compatible with population management.
Opponents of whaling, meanwhile, focus primarily on the ethical aspect of the hunt and argue that the economic benefits of the industry are becoming increasingly difficult to justify.
THE LAST WHALER IN A CHANGING COUNTRY
Hvalur is currently Iceland’s only active company engaged in commercial whaling.
And that is why Loftsson’s story is bigger than the story of one businessman.
On one side stands an 83-year-old man who argues that if whales are sufficiently abundant and a legal quota exists, there is no reason to stop hunting them.
On the other is a country where most people do not eat whale meat and where opposition to commercial whaling is growing. Surveys suggest that only a few percent of Icelanders regularly consume whale meat.
And in between, the business model itself is changing.
Japan is no longer a reliable market. Domestic consumption is small. And the new plan is for a product that would leave the dinner table behind and enter the world of dietary supplements.
WHALING IN ICELAND: LOFTSSON REFUSES TO QUIT
Perhaps that is the answer to the question of why Kristján Loftsson is still going to sea at the age of 83.
It may not be just about the money from selling a few dozen tonnes of meat.
It may be about refusing to accept that the industry to which he devoted his entire life no longer has a future.
Whaling in Iceland is therefore not over yet.
Hvalur went back to sea this year. According to the latest publicly available figures cited at the end of August, the company had killed 59 of the 150 fin whales permitted under its quota.
While some see this as the final convulsion of a slowly disappearing industry, Loftsson is looking for another way forward.
First, he sold whale meat.
Then he wanted to export it to Japan.
And now he wants to turn a whale into iron.
Perhaps it is the last attempt to save his business. Or perhaps it is simply another chapter in the story of a man who refuses to be the one who eventually closes the doors of the whaling station.
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