--- title: "How Captain Paul Watson used chilli to make Iceland's whale hunt harder to hide" description: "Keep your community acting beyond a single post. See how Captain Paul Watson’s foundations used chilli to mobilize 47,674+ actions against Icelandic whaling." url: "https://creators.chilli.club/anti-whaling-campaign-iceland" creator: "Captain Paul Watson Foundation" published: "2026-09-10" --- # How Captain Paul Watson used chilli to make Iceland's whale hunt harder to hide - creator: [Captain Paul Watson Foundation](https://app.chilli.club/profiles/captainpaulwatson) (@captainpaulwatson on Instagram, 428K+ followers) - cause: Protect oceans - published: 2026-09-10 ## what's at stake **Iceland's commercial whale hunt is back. One company, Hvalur hf., is trying to keep killing fin whales while the country moves closer to ending whaling for good.** - Iceland's 2026 quota allowed the killing of 318 whales (fin & minke) - Fin whales are the second-largest animals on Earth and are listed as vulnerable. - Hvalur hf. resumed hunting after two years with no whales killed in Iceland. - Iceland's government has said it will review whaling laws, with the goal of ending whaling. - The Bandero, Captain Paul Watson Foundation's vessel, sailed to Iceland as part of Operation 86. ## the mission The Captain Paul Watson Foundation and Paul Watson Foundation UK wanted to stop Icelandic whaling by making it harder to defend, fund, ship, insure, promote, or quietly ignore. So they did not run one petition and hope for the best. They built a pressure network. - **Hit the whaler:** isolate Kristján Loftsson and Hvalur hf. - **Hit the enablers:** pressure banks, insurers, ports, logistics companies, and fuel suppliers. - **Hit the political system:** push Icelandic ministries, embassies, EU officials, the IWC, ESA, and foreign governments. - **Hit the reputation layer:** make Iceland's tourism brands, hotels, travel platforms, and media answer for whaling. - **Protect the crew:** mobilize public pressure when the Bandero and its crew came under state scrutiny. The goal was simple. If Kristján Loftsson and Hvalur hf. wanted to keep hunting whales, every part of the system helping them do that should feel the heat. ## how Captain Paul Watson Foundation used chilli The Captain Paul Watson Foundation and Paul Watson Foundation UK used chilli to run multiple waves of actions, all tied to the same fight. This created a momentum powered by a strong group of highly engaged supporters. - **47K+ actions taken** - **5K supporters** - **163 CTAs built** - **8+ pressure fronts opened** Supporters were not pushed into one generic action. They were asked to email Iceland's Prime Minister, ministries, embassies, the IWC, ESA, EU leaders, EIB-linked actors, Arion Bank, insurers, travel platforms, hotels, media outlets, ports, logistics companies, and companies tied to the whaling supply chain. They also called hotels, reviewed public-facing businesses, commented on tourism channels, backed the Bandero crew, and pushed media outlets to show the footage. That is where chilli made the difference. When one tactic slowed down, the campaign pivoted to another target, and focused a new pressure point. ## the impact **Across the 2026 whaling season, chilli helped turn Operation 86 into a multi-front pressure campaign, connecting digital actions with IRL operations at sea and monitoring on land.** The Captain Paul Watson Foundation said the Bandero's presence forced Kristján Loftsson's fleet to repeatedly abandon hunting grounds and relocate to avoid detection. The foundation also reported that the 2026 catch was lower than comparable past seasons at the same stage, with around **32 fin whales killed**, compared with **62 in 2018** and **55 in 2022**. - **The Bandero was deployed to Iceland** to document and oppose Hvalur hf.'s commercial fin whale hunt. - **The Captain Paul Watson Foundation reported that the Bandero increased operational pressure** on Hvalur's fleet by making the hunt harder to carry out unnoticed. - **MAST findings confirmed violations during Hvalur's 2026 whaling operations,** according to Captain Paul Watson Foundation. - **Oceanographic reported the brutality of the renewed hunt,** including one fin whale shot four times that took around 31 minutes to die. - **Iceland's government announced a review of whaling laws,** with the goal of eventually ending whaling. The pressure spread far beyond the whaling ships. With chilli, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation turned Icelandic whaling into a fight that reached the individuals, companies, and institutions keeping it alive: politicians, banks, insurers, ports, tourism brands, regulators, media, and the public. **That is the point.** On chilli, supporters were able to engage with different tactics and see the impact they generated through the campaign updates. It kept the supporters motivated and determined to take more actions to protect the whales. ## sources - [After a year-long break, whale hunting to resume: quota for 2026 is 150 fin whales and 168 minke whales](https://grapevine.is/feature/2026/05/22/after-a-year-long-break-whale-hunting-to-resume-quota-for-2026-is-150-fin-whales-and-168-minke-whales/), The Reykjavík Grapevine, 2026-05-22 - [First fin whales killed as Iceland’s brutal whaling industry resumes](https://www.ifaw.org/international/press-releases/first-fin-whales-killed-as-icelands-brutal-whaling-industry-resumes), IFAW, 2026-06-24 - [Icelandic whaling vessel violates animal welfare laws](https://oceanographicmagazine.com/news/icelandic-whaling-vessel-violates-animal-welfare-laws-in-renewed-hunt/), Oceanographic, 2026-06-30 - [Major update on Operation 86](https://www.paulwatsonfoundation.org/major-update-on-operation-86/), Captain Paul Watson Foundation, 2026-07-31 - [A revision of Iceland’s whaling laws could lead to a ban](https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2026/0911/iceland-whales-whaling-ban-february-2027-hvalur-bandero), The Christian Science Monitor, 2026-09-11 ## the tactics behind this win - [pressure points: how to pick the right target for your campaign](https://creators.chilli.club/resources/pressure-points-pick-your-target.md): Every problem has people who can fix it and people who fund, insure or cover it. Name them, pick the pressure angle each one feels, and hit them where they already listen. - [close the loop: show your supporters their action mattered](https://creators.chilli.club/resources/close-the-loop-with-updates.md): People who act and never hear back stop acting. Post an update within a week, name the numbers, and say "because of you". That's how one-time supporters come back. - [comment to DM automation: put your action link in every inbox](https://creators.chilli.club/resources/comment-to-dm-automation.md): Someone comments a keyword, a tool sends them your action link by DM, instantly. It's the shortest bridge from scroll to action, and it takes about 20 minutes to set up.