Icelandic whale slaughter (1 Viewer)

[Stevie babe]

Seeing some of your comments about the "official response" most, if not all, got I felt compelled to go back to them. Most was written as frustrated anger at the smooth talking *astar*s. The details as follows but bear in mind it was written without reference to other publications, more on knowledge gained which I hope is mostly correct especially re. statistics. This was sent on 27th Oct. Cetaceans and birds are top most in my interests in natural history and am looking forward to next years Ultimate Pelagics in Biscay.

(See Mr Baldvinsson - I am sure you and your colleagues are reading this. This is whale watching almost on your doorstep. These same organisers are also doing one in the Irish sea next year as well - even closer to you. Several hundred people in one vessel for 2 nights. Why, why why are you so blind to the opportunities to tourism that whale watching gives but you are ready to destroy because you prefer to return to the "hunt".


Thank you for your informative reply.

I am aware that other countries also hunt whales and I have similarly made objection to this.

What your reply does not answer is why????

Why hunt? What is the benefit to Iceland?

As I understand it whalemeat is not a very sellable commodity unless described as otherwise or goes into pet food. Therefore the financial returns must be minimal and probably barely covers the cost of the whalers. For export to Greenland and the Faroes etc is probably pointless as they already hunt for themselves, probably to excess.

Given the size of the population of the world today most animals in the wild are being wiped out including most of the food taken from the sea. I also think that many countries including Iceland and, regrettably the UK, are hell bent on removing competitors for the fish stocks in our rivers and seas and that is the reason why you were partaking in killing for scientific study and now commercial whaling. The human race, of which you are part, are unwilling to accept that our fish stocks will be wiped out along with all cetacea, many species of birds and animals such as seals because of our reluctance to practice sustainability .

To say that hunting at the levels you envisage is sustainable is nonsensical. Please bear in mind that until relatively recently the current estimated populations of whales you give in your reply where hunted in one year. The oceans are huge. If, before whaling became mechanical, there were cetacean species in the hundreds of thousands then we can confidently say those levels were at naturally controlled sustainable levels not at artificially sustainable levels you, Norway, Japan etc consider. They are levels that suit those countries, politically and commercially - and so that
fish stocks are not so rapidly depleted. Have your figures for sustainability included all the cetacea caught in fish nets, killed by naval sonar or by vessels' propellers.

You are recommencing hunting at the wrong time. Whale watching is the business of the moment and you could build on the revenue this has already generated in Iceland. Whalers and struggling trawlermen, etc could easily convert to accomodating more eco tourists so that they and everyone else involved in tourism would benefit. In view of the above surely this is far more beneficial to Icelanders and will also send very ecofriendly messages to other whaling nations. Saving the planet is more important than commercial exploitation

Be brave - go Eco

Funny thing though - I don't expect a reply to this from anyone in Iceland (apart from a whale harpoon)

Steve

 

[Katy Penland]

Below is a demarche (an official instrument) sent on November 1 to the government of Iceland from the governments of the listed countries, all members of the IWC. This was forwarded to me from one of my NGO colleagues.

International Demarche to Iceland

AIDE MEMOIRE
​

JOINT DEMARCHE BY ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, BRAZIL, CHILE, THE CZECH REPUBLIC, THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, FINLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, IRELAND, ISRAEL, ITALY, LUXEMBOURG, MEXICO, MONACO, THE NETHERLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, PORTUGAL, THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC, SPAIN, SWEDEN, THE UNITED KINGDOM, and THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

​

We, the Governments of Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, The Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, The Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, The United Kingdom and The United States of America, together with The European Commission are extremely disappointed that the Icelandic Government has decided to resume commercial whaling in Icelandic waters, in spite of the internationally agreed moratorium.

Furthermore, we are very concerned that Iceland is considering the taking of nine fin whales, which have been classified as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and are listed under CITES Appendix I, together with thirty common minke whales. We do not agree with this proposed action, adding as it does to the current catches of common minke whales under the research plan, which Iceland has been implementing since 2003.

At the 22nd Animals Committee meeting of CITES – the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora – which took place in Peru only last July, Iceland’s proposed inclusion of the central stock of North Atlantic fin whales in the periodic review was agreed. Nevertheless, the Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries has now set its own catch limits, without awaiting the outcome of this review.

Similarly, Iceland has set its quota using criteria that have not been presented to or reviewed and approved by the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) Scientific Committee. It deeply concerns us that the Icelandic Government awards itself a quota that has not been approved according to the applicable international provisions, before any possible effects on whale populations have been properly assessed and peer reviewed by those bodies recognised as competent to manage whale resources.

We would wish to point to the significant economic and social benefits which accrue to Iceland arising from its growing whale-watching industry and express the view that the decision to commence commercial whaling could seriously undermine those benefits. We are of the opinion that the decision to commence commercial whaling sends a wrong signal with regard to Iceland’s growing whale watching industry.

We call upon Iceland to respect the moratorium and halt its commercial whaling operations. We believe that commercial whaling quotas determined and prosecuted in the absence of any agreed management system undermines the proper functioning of the IWC.

We repeat our countries' opposition to this operation and urge the Government of Iceland to reconsider its position and reverse this unnecessary decision, and to abandon its current operations. We remind Iceland that 19 countries registered a formal objection with the United States Government (as the depository country for the instrument of adherence to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling) to Iceland’s Reservation on commercial whaling when they rejoined the IWC in 2002.

1 November 2006

 

[ikw101]

Interesting article in the Times

http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,10295-2433154.html

An extract from it below:

Tourists have reacted angrily to Iceland’s decision to slaughter nine fin whales, classified as endangered by International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and 30 minke whales. Dozens have cancelled their holidays in the past fortnight but the real impact is expected to be felt next year. Tourist numbers in Iceland reached record 400,000 this year, 89,000 of whom went whale watching. Clive Stacey, of Discover the World, one of the biggest operators of tours to Iceland, said that his company organised trips for 7,000 Britons this year, but that in the past fortnight bookings for next year had dropped 25 per cent. The company had expected that bookings would increase by 50-100 per cent. “We’ve had a few people write to cancel and the level of interest in booking holidays to Iceland has dropped. It’s now about 25 per cent down,” he said. “There have to be reasons for this. The most obvious is that people are reacting to the whaling. We are very concerned about what’s going on.”
Discover the World estimates that its customers put £15 million into the Icelandic economy.

Also some very encouraging news from Iceland’s Young Socialists, the youth movement within the country’s Social Democratic Alliance Party, they have issued a press release in which they urge Icelandic authorities to stop commercial whaling, as it is likely to damage Iceland’s image substantially in the international arena. Morgunbladid online reports. This shows that support for whaling is Iceland is far from unanimous. The Social Democratic Alliance currently holds 20 seats in the Althing, second only to the Independence Party with 23 seats, and is the largest opposition party in Iceland.

Source: http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16539&ew_0_a_id=240859

 

[nirofo]

Signed and glad to have done so!!

This whale killing is just wanton murder and has no justification in a modern world, it's obvious to anyone with an ounce of common sense that this gross act is nothing to do with research, unless that is, it's research into how much money they can make from murdering scarce and rare species.

nirofo.

 

[Katy Penland]

Whaling fleet boss to defy ban and sell to Japanese


By Charles Clover, Environment Editor



Last Updated: 1:28am GMT 06/11/2006








The owner of the Icelandic whaling company that has killed seven endangered fin whales despite an international outcry said yesterday he was now going to export the meat to Japan in defiance of a trade ban.

One of the seven fin whales is gutted at a port in Iceland. Despite being endangered, there are plans to trade the meat







Kristjan Loftsson, the chief executive of the whaling company Hvalur, told The Daily Telegraph that there was "no problem" about finding markets for the meat in Japan and "no restriction on whale exports to Japan".



It is the first time his fleet of four vessels — two British and two Norwegian — has been used since 1989.



Mr Loftsson said: "We are back in business with about 100 tons of excellent eco-friendly whale meat and blubber ready for the market."

He added though that they had stopped whaling for this year because of bad weather and little daylight.

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Mr Loftsson said he disagreed with the rationale used to list the fin whale as "endangered" on the Red List compiled by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature [IUCN].



The 60 to 70ft fin whale, the second largest animal after the blue whale, was put on the list, says the IUCN, because almost three-quarters of a million were taken in the southern hemisphere between 1904 and 1979 along with vast numbers of blue whales, of which fewer than 1,500 remain in the world.



The fin whale's population is poorly understood in most areas outside the North Atlantic, where recent studies show there are more than 40,000.



Mr Loftsson said there were 25,000 animals in the central North Atlantic between Iceland and Greenland, a population that was calculated by scientists to be close to the pre-exploitation level. The quota of nine fin whales granted by the Icelandic government represented 0.04 per cent of the stock size.



"They say they have been caught so heavily in the southern hemisphere that world stocks are endangered. You can't do that because these are local populations," said Mr Loftsson. "Our Marine Research Institute says it shouldn't have any effect on stocks if you took 150 fin whales a year."



There is a ban on trade in fin whale meat under the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species, but whaling countries argue that there are provisions for trade under the International Whaling Commission's rules.



Clare Sterling, of the International fund for Animal Welfare, said: "Japan has said officially that it will not be buying Icelandic whale meat.



"We think that Iceland has underestimated the reaction to its decision to resume commercial whaling despite the international moratorium."



Ben Bradshaw, the fisheries minister, last week called on Iceland to respect the moratorium and halt its commercial whaling operations.



He said: "We believe that commercial whaling quotas determined and prosecuted in the absence of any agreed management system undermines the proper functioning of the International Whaling Commission. We urge the government of Iceland to reconsider its position and reverse this decision."