Iceland Officially Cancels Whaling Operations for the Next Year

[Barrett808]

Source: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Iceland Officially Cancels Whaling Operations for the Next Year
Sea Shepherd News
News Releases

Sea Shepherd's Operation Ragnarok stands down with the announcement that Iceland will not resume commercial whaling for the next year. However, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society will continue to monitor the trade discussions as Iceland seeks to find ways to skirt international law in an effort to sell toxic whale meat to the Japanese public.

Icelandic Fisheries Minister Einar K. Guofinnsson has announced that the Icelandic government will not issue new quotas for whales when the present quota expires on August 31st.

"I will not issue a new quota until the market conditions for whale meat improve and permission to export whale products to Japan is secured," said Guofinnsson. "There is no reason to continue commercial whaling if there is no demand for the product."

Iceland has been deterred by condemnation from the International Whaling Commission for their illegal slaughter of whales. They have been deterred by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which will not authorize the sale of Icelandic whale meat to Japan. And they have been deterred by international public criticism.

Much of that public awareness came about because of Sea Shepherd's Operation Ragnarok. The announcement in April 2007 that Sea Shepherd was sending its ship Farley Mowat to intervene against illegal Icelandic whaling generated a great deal of media attention towards the issue.

After an 11,500 miles voyage, the Farley Mowat is now in Bermuda and there is no reason to continue on to Iceland. However, Sea Shepherd intends to keep the ship within range of Iceland if there is any attempt in 2008 to kill whales again.

For over twenty years the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been the most aggressive opposition to illegal Icelandic whaling. In November 1986, a Sea Shepherd crew sank half of Iceland's whaling fleet in Reykjavik harbour. In January 1988, Captain Paul Watson flew to Iceland and demanded to be charged for the sinking in order to stand trial in response to Iceland's bogus charges of criminality. Iceland refused to lay charges, a silent acknowledgement that they were well aware of the illegal nature of whaling under international law.

"Iceland knew that to put us on trial would in fact put the nation of Iceland on trial," said Captain Paul Watson. "By refusing to lay charges, Iceland acknowledged that Sea Shepherd's action was a justifiable policing action."

Iceland announced last year it would slaughter 30 piked whales and 9 endangered fin whales. They killed 7 piked whales and 7 fin whales and have not been able to market the meat. They cannot ship it to Japan because of CITES restrictions and most Icelanders will not eat whale meat because of the extremely high levels of toxins including heavy metals in the meat.

"In other words, Icelanders will not eat the meat because it's poison, but they have no qualms about selling poisoned meat to the Japanese," said Captain Paul Watson.

Despite this, Stefan Asmundsson, an officer at the ministry of fisheries, said negotiations for market access to Japan were ongoing.

"We are talking to the Japanese government but so far we have not reached a conclusion on how best to secure the health and quality of the products," said Asmundsson. "Hopefully this will clear up soon as the uncertainty is not good for anybody."

Icelandic whalers angry at the government, insist that they should be allowed to continue to kill whales despite the lack of a market. "In my opinion the minister should not have any say on whether there is a market for our products or not," said Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson, who leads a piked whaling association. "How are we supposed to find markets if we don't have a product?"

The whalers of course expect the government to compensate them financially until markets are found.

"The whaling industry, like any other industry, has to obey the market. If there is no profitability there is no foundation for resuming with the killing of whales," said Guofinnsson.

"The bottom line is that whaling is illegal, the meat is unsafe to eat and Iceland is trying to negotiate the sale of a toxic product to the Japanese public," said Captain Paul Watson. "All of this simply underscores the illegal and immoral nature of Icelandic whaling operations and the people who are encouraging the continued slaughter of whales."

Read more: http://seashepherd.org/news/media_070824_1.html

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You can make your tax-deductible donations to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society at: http://seashepherd.org/donate.html .

[LeftyMom]

1. woohoo!

nom'd

[Judi Lynn]

2. Wow! What wonderful news. Iceland has tried so hard to keep a low profile, too.

Iceland deserves all possible publicity until it stands down on this issue. This is tremendous news. The best! Thank you.

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[Number9Dream]

3. We should send thanks to Iceland govt... link?

We should send thanks to the Iceland govt. and / or Mr. Guofinnsson. Can anybody come up with a link?

[Lochloosa]

4. Why? They aren't cancelling because of the whales.

They just don't have anywhere to sell them.

[Number9Dream]

20. It's called positive reinforcement

It can only help. The HSUS and other animal organizations do it all the time.

[HEyHEY]

5. Fuck, this is gonna drive the price of whale meat through the roof.

Shit, shit, shit.

[nam78_two]

8. delete -wrong place.nt

[Barrett808]

19. I don't think so -- Japan has a glut of whale meat sitting in freezers

There's really no reason to take any other whales to satisfy demand for whale meat.

[flvegan]

6. The story behind the sinking of the whalers

by Rod Coronado and Dave Howitt...Hewitt...one or the other is a great read. I recall it was on No Compromise's website somewhere. I'll see if I can drum up a link.

This is indeed great news.

[I Have A Dream]

7. Very good news! Happy to give 10th rec. n/t

[nam78_two]

9. Good to hear-K&R.nt

[Lochloosa]

10. Damn people read the fucking article

Despite this, Stefan Asmundsson, an officer at the ministry of fisheries, said negotiations for market access to Japan were ongoing.

"We are talking to the Japanese government but so far we have not reached a conclusion on how best to secure the health and quality of the products," said Asmundsson. "Hopefully this will clear up soon as the uncertainty is not good for anybody."


They are not stopping because of the fucking whales. They can't sell them! It's just a "product" to them.

[LeftyMom]

11. Yeah, but they're fucked on that one.

Japan already has an enormous excess of whale meat, and the international sale is illegal under both the IWC rules and CITES, both of which both Japan and Iceland signed and agreed to be bound to.

[Maraya1969]

18. They are not going to change their minds about something that they

have been making a living off of for years. The point is if the demand goes away the business will too. And I love what they did with those walking ships.....sinking a bunch of them and then demanding to go to trial over it. They knew that the trial would turn into a trial about whaling.

I think this is a process that has been going on for a while and will keep going. And it looks to me like that whales are winning. Thank God.

[intaglio]

12. K&R n/t

[ozone_man]

13. The Farley Mowat

is the name of this Sea Shepard boat. What a fitting name. Read Sea of Slaughter by Farley Mowat sometime, when you can handle such a depressing story about the marine life exploitation in the North Atlantic.

http://www.longitudebooks.com/find/p/1623/mcms.html

[OneBlueSky]

14. thankful for small victories . . . we'll take 'em where we can get 'em . . .

particularly since they're so few and far between these days . . . a toast to Sea Shepherd! . . .

[ben_meyers]

15. Great, now what to do with my whale oil lamps?

Just when I try to go off the grid.
How the Oil Industry Saved the Whales

Prior to the 1800s, light was provided by torches, candles made from tallow, and lamps which burned oils rendered from animal fat. Because it burned with less odor and smoke than most fuels, whale oil, particularly oil from the nose of the sperm whale, became popular for lamp oils and candles. However, sperm oil, widely known as "spermaceti", was very expensive. In fact, a gallon in the early 1800s cost about $2.00, which in modern values equates to about $200 a gallon. Nonetheless, whale oil was the illuminant of choice for those rich enough to afford it.

A thriving whaling industry developed to provide sperm oil for lighting, and regular whale oil as a lubricant for the machine parts of trains. In the United States alone, the whaling fleet swelled from 392 ships in 1833 to 735 by 1846. At the height of the industry in 1856, sperm oil sold for $1.77 a gallon, and the United States was producing 4 to 5 million gallons of spermaceti and 6 to 10 million gallons of train oil annually.

The demand for whale oil took a tremendous toll on whales, and some species were driven to the very brink of extinction. The right whale, one of the scarcer varieties, was killed in the early 1800s at a rate of about 15,000 per year. When the growing scarcity of this whale forced attention to other species, only about 50,000 right whales remained. Had demand for whale oil continued, extinction would have undoubtedly claimed several species.

When a clean-burning kerosene lamp invented by Michael Dietz appeared on the market in 1857, its effect on the whaling industry was immediate. Kerosene, known in those days at "Coal Oil", was easy to produce, cheap, smelled better than animal-based fuels when burned, and did not spoil on the shelf as whale oil did. The public abandoned whale oil lamps almost overnight. By 1860, at least 30 kerosene plants were in production in the United States, and whale oil was ultimately driven off the market. When sperm oil dropped to 40 cents a gallon in 1895, due to lack of demand, refined petroleum, which was very much in demand, sold for less than 7 cents a gallon.

If petroleum products, such as kerosene and machine oil, had not appeared in the 1850s as alternatives to whale oil, many species of whales would have disappeared long ago. Clearly, the expanding population and economy of the 1800s, together with the development of more deadly hunting tools, would have driven the whaling industry to even greater heights than the banner year of 1856. The September 3, 1860 edition of the "California Fireside Journal" sums up the attitude of the times:

"Had it not been for the discovery of Coal Oil, the race of whales would soon have become extinct. It is estimated that ten years would have used up the whole family".

[Sarah Ibarruri]

16. Aren't there other products Iceland can concentrate on instead of whaling?

However, we kill cows, chickens and pigs for food. :( Is there a solution?

[Teaser]

17. Cows, chickens and pigs aren't endangered...

Whales are.

I'd support a controlled hunt for whales if their numbers supported it. They don't and so they're off the hunting list AFAIAC.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

21. I know they aren't, but it's still horrible. :( Oh well... nt

[Barrett808]

22. Iceland Puts Down Its Whaling Harpoons for a Year

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2007/2007-08-27-04.asp

REYKJAVIK, Iceland, August 27, 2007 (ENS) - Whale conservationists are declaring victory and celebrating the decision by the government of Iceland not to issue any more commercial whaling quotas until market demand for whale meat improves, especially in Japan.

Icelandic Fisheries Minister Einar Guofinnsson told the Reuters news agency Friday that the government believes that there is no reason to allow more whaling after the current quota expires on August 31.

"I will not issue a new quota until the market conditions for whale meat improve and permission to export whale products to Japan is secured," said Guofinnsson. "There is no reason to continue commercial whaling if there is no demand for the product."

Icelandic whalers want to continue killing whales, saying they cannot build up the market if there is no product to sell.

But fears of high toxic levels in North Atlantic whale meat have made both Icelanders and Japanese consumers reluctant to buy it.

...

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Founder Captain Paul Watson says his 20 year long "aggressive" campaign against Icelandic whaling has turned public opinion against the twin ideas of whale hunting and eating whale meat, although he acknowledges the pressure from his organization is one factor among many.

"Iceland has been deterred by condemnation from the International Whaling Commission for their illegal slaughter of whales. They have been deterred by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species which will not authorize the sale of Icelandic whale meat to Japan. And they have been deterred by international public criticism," Watson said Friday.

"Much of that public awareness came about because of Sea Shepherd's Operation Ragnarok. The announcement in April that Sea Shepherd was sending its ship Farley Mowat to intervene against illegal Icelandic whaling generated a great deal of media attention towards the issue," he said.

After an 11,500 mile voyage from Antarctica where it fought against Japanese whaling in January, the Sea Shepherd vessel Farley Mowat is now in Bermuda, and Watson says there is no reason to continue on to Iceland. But, he says, Sea Shepherd intends to keep the ship within range of Iceland if there is any attempt in 2008 to kill whales again.

(more)

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2007/2007-08-27-04.asp