A response from Iceland to a letter I wrote protesting whaling

From the ambassador of Iceland (to the US). It's hard to read as his english isn't
great. It's also hard to read because it is full of lies and misinformation. I guess
it was assumed that all americans believe everything they are told. It's dated
11/14/06.


Thank you for your correspondence concerning Iceland?s policy on
whaling.

I wish to assure you that Iceland has no intention of catching
any of
the endangered species of whales, killed on a large scale by other
whaling
nations in the past. Iceland?s resumption of sustainable whaling only
involves abundant stocks and is linked to Iceland?s overall policy of
sustainable utilisation of marine resources.

Several countries catch whales, most of them on a much bigger
scale
than Iceland. The biggest whaling countries among the members of the
International Whaling Commission (IWC) are the United States, Russia,
Norway, Japan and Greenland. The whaling operations practiced by all
those
countries, as well as Iceland, are sustainable and legal and in
accordance
with the rules of the IWC.

Iceland fully appreciates the need for careful conservation of
marine
resources. Our economy depends on those resources as marine products
constitute around 60% of Iceland?s revenue from exported goods and
almost
40% of all Icelandic exported goods and services. Disruption of the
ecological balance in Icelandic waters due to overfishing or other
reasons
could have catastrophic consequences for the livelihood of Icelanders.

As you may know, Iceland was among the first countries in the
world
to extend its fishery limits to 200 nautical miles in the year 1975, in
order to put an end to the uncontrolled fishing around Iceland by
trawlers
from other countries. Since then Iceland has taken great care in
maintaining balanced and sustainable fishing in Icelandic waters by
enforcing an effective management system for various fish species
including
cod, herring and capelin.

Iceland takes pride in its pioneering work in this field, which
has
been emulated by many countries in the world wishing to avoid
unsustainable
practices. The annual catch quotas for fishing and whaling are based
on
recommendations by scientists, who regularly monitor the status of the
stocks, thus ensuring that the activity is sustainable.

For a number of years, Iceland has acknowledged the need for
scientific research on whales to gain a better understanding of the
interaction between the different whale stocks and other marine species
and
the role of whales in the marine ecosystem. Therefore, Iceland began
implementing a research plan on minke whales in 2003. So far, 161 minke
whales have been taken and we look forward to the completion of the
research plan in 2007 when the sample size of 200 minke whales has been
obtained. Whaling quotas will take into account the number of whales
that
are taken in the implementation of the research plan, ensuring that the
total number remains well below sustainable levels.

There are many different whale species and stocks in the world's
oceans. Some are in a poor state and in need of protection. However,
many
whale populations are far from being threatened or endangered. The
total
stock size of Central North-Atlantic minke whales, for example, is
close to
70,000 animals. Of those, around 43,600 live in Icelandic coastal
waters.
Fin whales in the Central North Atlantic number around 25,800 animals.
Both
estimates have been agreed by consensus by the Scientific Committees of
the
International Whaling Commission (IWC) and the North-Atlantic Marine
Mammal
Commission (NAMMCO).

Iceland?s decision to resume sustainable whaling involves takes
of 30
minke whales and nine fin whales, during the current fishing year which
ends on 31 August 2007. This will bring the total catches of minke
whales
in Icelandic waters during this fishing year to 69, including the minke
whales taken in completing the research plan. These takes equal less
than
0.2% of the number of minke whales in Icelandic coastal waters, an even
smaller fraction of the total stock, and less than 0.04% of fin whales
in
the Central North Atlantic. Both are considered to be close to
pre-exploitation levels and estimated sustainable annual catch levels
are
200 and 400 fin and minke whales respectively. As the catch limits now
issued are much lower, the catches will not have a significant impact
on
whale stocks. A responsible management system will ensure that the
catch
quotas set will not be exceeded. The catches are clearly sustainable
and
therefore consistent with the principle of sustainable development.

Iceland?s resumption of sustainable whaling is legal under
international law. At the time of the re-entry of Iceland into the IWC,
Iceland made a reservation with respect to the so-called moratorium on
commercial whaling. As a part of that reservation, Iceland committed
itself
not to authorise commercial whaling before 2006 and thereafter not to
authorise such whaling while progress was being made in negotiating the
IWC?s Revised Management Scheme (RMS), a management framework for
commercial whaling.

At the IWC?s Annual Meeting in 2005, Iceland went on record
expressing its regret that no progress was being made in the RMS
discussions. At this year?s IWC Annual Meeting, Iceland?s judgement of
the
situation was reconfirmed as the IWC generally agreed that talks on an
RMS
had reached an impasse. As a result, Iceland?s reservation has taken
effect. Therefore, Iceland is no longer bound by the so-called
moratorium
on commercial whaling. In this respect, Iceland is in the same position
as
other IWC members that are not bound by the moratorium.

Iceland was one of the first countries in the world to realize
the
importance of a conservation approach to whaling. As signs of
overexploitation of whales emerged early in the last century, Iceland
declared a ban on whaling for large whales around Iceland in 1915.
Whaling
was not resumed until 1948, except for limited catches 1935-1939.
Strict
rules and limitations were applied to whaling in Iceland from 1948 to
1985
when all commercial whaling was halted again following a decision by
the
IWC.

Iceland has been a leading advocate for international cooperation
in
ensuring sustainable use of living marine resources, including whales.
This
has been the position taken by Iceland within the IWC, based on the
International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling from 1946. The
stated role of the IWC, according to its founding Convention, is to
?provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make
possible
the orderly development of the whaling industry?.


I hope that this information will be useful to you in
understanding
Iceland?s position on sustainable whaling. You may rest assured, that
the
desire to ensure the conservation of the whale stocks around Iceland
and
elsewhere is fully shared by the Icelandic Government.



Sincerely yours,

Helgi Ágústsson
Ambassdor of Iceland



For information on the governance of Iceland?s living marine
resources on the web, please refer to, www.fisheries.is Forinformation
on
various scientific research projects on whales and other marine mammals
in
the North Atlantic please refer to the web site of the Marine Research
Institute: www.hafro.is as well as the North Atlantic Mammal
Commission:
www.nammco.no

That's news to me....

but it doesn't make the US in the top of the list
of whaling nations. There are natios ns that still allow
indiginous people to whale, like Canada, although they
are trying to relax whaling rules so they can commercialize
it again).

still, that's very small scale subsistence hunting.

Come to think of it, the Makah tribe in Washington also won the right to hunt- though there are a few qualitative differences with Iceland....



http://www.makah.com/whaling.htm

between the Inuit and Makah, I doubt 2 or 3 whales get taken a year.

I have Icelandic friends who own a fish camp taking in salmon fishermen from all over the world. They are extremely uncompromising about the rules of salmon fishing because, as the ambassador mentions, their economy depends on those resources.

and without it, would suffer greatly. There are many tourist
areas in the world that are profiting greatly by having whale
watching tours. Just as hunting is declining to make room for
bird watching and nature (eco) trips, these nations could profit
by switching over to a more humane attitude towards whales.