SYNOPSIS
WhaleWash follows investigative journalists from the Endangered Species Protection Agency as they talk to experts and try to get to the bottom of the justification for Norwegian whaling.
ESPA Investigative Journalist, Peter, has long admired the minke whales that pass by his home in Yorkshire, UK, every year. When he learns that the same whales are being hunted in nearby Norwegian waters, he cannot help but question why. Pete tasks ESPA Senior Investigator Hannah to dive deeper into why this is happening in modern-day Norway. Meanwhile, Pete leads a military-trained operations crew to the northern tip of Norway for the whaling season. Their mission is to capture the reality of Norwegian whale hunting to trigger further investigation into the industry.
The under-researched minke whales perform critical ecosystem services, boosting marine life and drawing carbon from the atmosphere. Onboard a whaling target vessel, a young whaling crew reveal a hunt in action.
Hannah’s intelligence missions uncover whale meat’s dwindling domestic demand and low exports, resulting in industrial use of whale meat in pet food. Their findings become increasingly concerning as severe human health risks – especially for women and children – associated with whale meat consumption are brought to light. Pete’s crew encounter Norway’s biggest whaling operator and records irrefutable evidence of inhumane whale hunts, and they are confronted with the scale of industrial whaling in the 21st century. Which whale species could be next, if whaling in Norway continues?
ESPA investigative journalists Peter Carr and Hannah Coogans.