21/07/2018
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society rejects the findings of the Icelandic Marine and Freshwater Research Institute that 'whale 22' is a Hybrid.
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The Marine and Freshwater Research Institute has released their DNA test findings on whale 22 stating - "The genetic results confirm the preliminary assessment that the whale in question that was caught on July 7th was a hybrid of a fin whale father and a blue whale mother".
Dr Phillip Clapham, Leader at the Cetacean Assessment and Ecology Program, NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center commented to Sea Shepherd UK on this DNA test result:
"I have to say I find this very difficult to believe given the appearance of this animal. Irrespective of whether it is indeed a hybrid, it looks like a blue whale from stem to stern, and as such it should not have been killed."
In Sea Shepherd's opinion, this investigation was tainted by the chain of evidence being broken. The authorities were required by Icelandic law to shut down the whaling operations pending the conclusion of the investigation - They did not, and while this testing was going on another 18 endangered whales have been killed and that in itself indicates a bias in favor of Loftsson’s whaling operations.
Kristian Loftsson cut up the Blue whale and stored it in his whaling station with the remains of over 20 Fin whales and potentially other hybrids as Loftsson has himself stated that he has killed at least 4 hybrid whales to date. It is therefore possible that meat from any of those whales could have been substituted for being 'whale 22'.
Loftsson broke the chain of custody of samples/evidence before the investigation even began and it is possible that he or his crew selected the samples for IMFRI to analyse. No sampling strategy or comments on the chain of custody of samples have been stated in the DNA test press release.
Fin whales are in any case still an endangered species and trading in whale meat, be it Fin, Blue or Hybrid is a violation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Icelandic sales of whale meat to Japan is an international crime.
Even if 'whale 22' really is a blue x fin hybrid (Sea Shepherd does not accept if was) it would be treated as an Appendix I species and therefore exporting the meat of a blue whale x fin whale hybrid to Japan or any other country for commercial purposes is also prohibited leaving this whale likely destined for disposal in an Icelandic landfill site.
Sea Shepherd UK, on expert advice, now calls on IMFRI to release the microsatellite data for this whale AND all the hybrids they have tested. If Loftsson has substituted an old sample from a Hybrid whale, then there should be a complete genotype match at all 15 loci with samples from this and a previous batch. The probability of an exact match at 15 nuclear loci is vanishingly small, so if all the Hybrid whales analysed are indeed different whales they should all be unique genotypes.
Read the press release from the Icelandic Marine and Freshwater Research Institute here: https://www.hafogvatn.is/en/about/news-announcements/category/1/press-release-from-the-marine-and-freshwater-research-institute-mfri-peculiar-baleen-whale-genetic-results
