Reply to my letter to Iceland asking whaling be stopped.

[acmejack]

They claim US biggest whaling nation?

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

[rumpel]

1. time to check with greenpeace

new to me - unless they are talking about the limited cultural whaling allowed by the tribes up North...

[LeftyMom]

2. A few native american tribes are permitted small catches of whales and other

marine animals by treaty for subsistence purposes and preservation of traditional culture. This is within their rights as sovereign nations and not something otherwise permitted in the US. They aren't permitted to sell them or make an industry of it as Japan and Norway have done or as Iceland intends to do. The numbers are vanishingly small by comparison, since traditional methods are used (sometimes with the addition of rifles) and these are simply no match for whaling fleets and factory vessels, nor is a catch meant to feed a village going to rival an industry that takes more whale than a whole country can eat, as occurs in Norway and Japan which both have huge quantities of whale meat in storage.