Iceland Returns to Whaling
August 2003 Action Alert ! 
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There has been a worldwide condemnation of Iceland's so-called "scientific" whaling program, beginning with the IWC itself where the Scientific Committee characterized Iceland's original proposal to kill 500 whales over 2 years as "bad science." Conservation groups, including ACS, anti-whaling countries and the majority of IWC Commissioners believe that "scientific whaling" is a blatant attempt to begin commercial whaling operations, side-stepping the IWC's whaling moratorium.
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Less than a year after voting itself back into the International Whaling Commission (IWC) by a majority of one vote (its own!), Icelandic whalers defied the IWC's resolution against its so-called "scientific" whaling program) and, in August, slaughtered the first twelve (of a self-granted quota of 38) minke whales, claiming the kills are for scientific purposes.
Finding a growing lack of support for their arguments that commercial whaling is an inherent right, pro-whaling countries -- including Iceland, Japan, and Norway -- also argue that whale numbers may need to be reduced to preserve fish stocks. Japan has been using this unfounded argument for years, despite leading fisheries and marine mammal scientists' complete disagreement. Mark Simmonds, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society's Director of Science and a member of the UK government's IWC delegation commented, "This argument misses the point that abundant whale stocks and abundant fish stocks have co-existed through millennia. What is upsetting the equation is man. Whales are an integral and natural part of the healthy marine ecosystems."
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The success of Iceland's growing whale watching industry shows that whales are worth much more alive than dead. In fact, whale watching is the second largest industry in Iceland, after commercial fishing, an industry that will be in serious jeopardy as visitors choose not to spend their tourist dollars in Iceland.
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Your voice can make a difference! We urge you to protest to both the Icelandic Prime Minister and the U.S. Ambassador to Iceland. A sample letter and contact information can be found below.
Background
Iceland was the first nation to begin a "scientific" whaling program in 1986 in defiance of the IWC's moratorium on commercial whaling that entered into force that same year. Japan followed suit and began its still ongoing "scientific" whaling program the next year. After sustained international pressure, Iceland stopped whaling in 1989 and left the IWC in 1992 in protest over the continuing moratorium. Iceland re-joined the IWC in October 2002 (a controversial issue itself, as stated above).Many members of the IWC's Scientific Committee viewed Iceland's proposal to hunt 500 minke, sei and fin whales as technically and scientifically deficient. They concluded that, "information relevant to management of these stocks of whales can be obtained with considerably more efficiency by well-established, non-lethal methods."
The IWC has repeatedly passed resolutions condemning "scientific" whaling and calling for the use of non-lethal methods of research. At this year's annual meeting, the IWC adopted a strongly worded resolution that called on Iceland to abandon its lethal scientific whaling proposal, and stated clearly that the provision in the treaty which allows whaling for scientific research "is not intended to be exploited in order to provide whale meat for commercial purposes and shall not be so used." It stated further that "scientific whaling operations represent an act contrary to the spirit of the moratorium on commercial whaling and to the will of the Commission."
Iceland announced in early August 2003 that it would kill 38 minke whales in August and September 2003. The primary stated purpose of the hunt is to examine the contents of the whales' stomachs. It is anticipated that the data collected will be used to bolster the ridiculous and scientifically unsupportable argument that whales are destroying fish stocks needed by humans, when commercial over-fishing is the cause of the global collapse of fisheries.
ACS, along with other leading cetacean conservation organizations, believes that even if the meat from these first 38 whales is not exported, Iceland will seek overseas markets for future exports as the program continues, as it did in the past.
ACS urges you to protest to the Icelandic Government immediately and the U.S. Ambassador to Iceland. Simply copy and paste the suggested text into your word processor or email program, complete the salutation, and edit as desired. The letters are most effective if you use some of your own words. If you can email now, please do, and express your feelings over this appalling decision of Iceland's to start killing whales again.
Contact Details
Please send your letter to:
The Prime Minister of Iceland:
David Oddsson: postur@for.stjr.is
Please copy your letter to:
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Letter Template
Dear Prime Minister
I am appalled to learn that Iceland has decided to resume commercial whaling under the guise of scientific research, and plans to kill 38 minke whales this summer. I am deeply disappointed that Iceland has taken this decision in spite of the declaration of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) at its recent 55th meeting, that commercially motivated research whaling represents "an act contrary to the spirit of the moratorium on commercial whaling and to the will of the Commission". At this meeting, the IWC specifically urged Iceland not to start so-called "research" whaling.
As you will recall, during the IWC's debate about Iceland's proposal to resume Scientific Whaling, thirty nine national delegates of the IWC's Scientific Committee's from many nations concluded that, not only was Iceland's research proposal poorly contrived and unlikely to yield relevant results, but that it was "deficient in almost every respect".
I find it hard to believe that, despite this degree of criticism, Iceland intends to proceed with its hunt. The fact that Iceland has reduced the number of species, and whales, to be hunted, for the moment makes the proposal no more credible, or acceptable. In fact, it simply suggests that Iceland fears an adverse reaction from the international community and wishes to test the waters on a more moderate scale.
I can assure you that the world community will react very decisively to Iceland's decision, no matter how many whales are taken.
In addition to the impact that Iceland's decision will have on its international reputation and economy, I believe that it will also, sadly, have severe repercussions for its valuable whale watching industry. Iceland has had one of the highest growth rates for whale watching in the world, with thousands of tourists contributing millions of dollars to the Icelandic economy. Adverse consumer reaction to whaling will be devastating for Iceland's tourism-reliant economy.
I strongly urge you to reconsider your decision to resume scientific whaling.
Sincerely,
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(Thank you to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society for much of the information contained in this Action Alert.)
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