Entries by Kate O'Connell

Last week, a special committee in Iceland's parliament, the Althingi, voted  to indict four politicians for their roles in the Icelandic economic crash. Among the four that the committee recommended for indictment is former Minister of Finance Arni Mathiesen, who was in office when the three leading Icelandic banks collapsed within weeks of each other in October 2008.

But for those of us concerned about whales, Mr. Mathiesen is equally "notorious" for his previous role in government, as a key player in the Althingi's pro-whaling faction.

As Fisheries Minister from 1999 to 2005, Mathiesen created a well-financed government campaign to promote Iceland's view that whales should be hunted. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent in the US and UK to hire public relations/lobbying firms,  to try to convince people that whaling is acceptable. It was during his tenure as Minister of Fisheries that Iceland began its scientific whaling program in 2003, the precursor to its current commercial whale hunt.  

By training, Mathiesen is a vet, who graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1983.  From 1994 to 1999, he sat on the board of the Icelandic Council for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.  So how can a person with a background in veterinary science, who is apparently against animal suffering, morph into a pro-whaling Fisheries Minister… and then morph even further into Finance Minister?

A look at Mathiesen's CV gives some clues.  He has been closely linked to the fishing industry from the beginning of his career. He managed a fish farming company, and served as a member of the government board overseeing aquaculture loans from 1990 to 1994.  During his tenure as Finance Minister, the Icelandic national banks issued millions in loans to the fishing industry -- including to companies linked to the Hvalur fin whaling company.

Fishing and whaling are deeply embedded in both the psyche and the power structure in Iceland, cutting across party lines. The current Finance Minister of Iceland, a member of the Left Green party, worked with the whaling industry in the summer of 1980 while a student on holiday.  He opted to keep whaling quotas in place in 2009 when he, too, briefly served as Fisheries Minister.

Whales have been caught up in the current debate over Iceland's accession to the EU, with both pro- and anti EU proponents using them as a symbol.  Unfortunately, the slaughter is far from symbolic, and more fin whales have been killed in 2010 than in any year since 1985.

If you are worried about whaling in Iceland, keep a close watch on how the country handles the indictment of the former ministers, including Mr. Mathiesen.  Depending on the outcome, and if it is business as usual, the whales should seriously consider altering their migratory routes to avoid being caught (literally) in the messy tangle of Iceland's politics.