WDC Blog - From the Front Line

Two months after the US Secretary of Commerce recommended that the US take strong action against Icelandic whaling, President Obama issued a strongly worded statement that fires a warning shot across Iceland’s bows if its fin whaling does not stop for good.Although the President did not go as far as WDCS and its follow NGOs hoped by imposing trade sanctions on Iceland, he directed his administration to review its diplomatic relationship with Iceland, potentially including cancelling meetings with Icelandic officials and withdrawing funding for joint projects in the Arctic.

Iceland did not undertake any fin whaling this summer, blaming reduced markets in Japan following the tsunami in March, but it has given no indication that its aggressive policy on fin whaling has changed. If Iceland resumes fin whaling, President Obama has sought an immediate report from his officials, suggesting that the door remains open for punitive economic measures against Iceland by the US in the future.

WDCS’s efforts

In late 2010, WDCS co-authored an 80+ page petition to the US government that set out how Iceland is undermining the effectiveness of both the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) by its ongoing whaling and international trade in whaling products in defiance of international bans.

The petition, which identified whaling-related commercial targets for sanctions in Iceland, was supported by nineteen other US conservation and animal welfare groups. Together, in recent weeks, we have collectively rallied hundreds of thousands of US citizens to send emails, faxes and letters to the President calling for sanctions. 

Although we are disappointed that Iceland is not facing trade sanctions for its fin and minke whaling, we believe our months of effort paid off; the petition and your messages of support reached the President’s desk and he took us seriously. WDCS remains optimistic that strong action by the US will help bring an end to Icelandic whaling and trade.We expect to receive a response from the Department of Interior next month to the part of the petition related to Iceland’s trade in whale products.

One the last resorts of the proponents of whaling is that it’s a defence against moves to eliminate cultural diversity, or that it’s a form of ‘cultural imperialism. For the real hardcore moneymakers in the whaling industries, it’s a small step to accuse people of racism, and I can assure you that some are happy to do so at the drop of a hat.

Well, the actual history of whaling puts paid to most of those arguments (its quite modern in most places and opposition comes from all types of people, including those living in Japan, Norway and Iceland), but I also think that this formulaic defence of the indefensible is just downright wrong, and seeks to confuse the public debate from the real arguments.

If you want to read a rationale discussion on the issue of Icelandic whaling that avoids the stereotypes, please read Katharina Hauptmann’s blog on Iceland Review - Insightful.

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.

Okay, having time to reflect on the 'deal' I am am now convinced that its doomed to failure.

Not only does the 'deal' try to overturn legal measures such as the Southern Ocean Sanctuary, but both Japan and Iceland have major problems with it. It would seem Japan has welcomed all the bits where its stands to gain something and at the same time is saying that it is going to campaign for higher quotas in the forthcoming negotiations.

Iceland is just 'barmy' when it comes to whaling and appears will accept nothing but an extra 50% on their existing quotas, plus first class airfares to fly their whale meat around the world. - there again, it appears its not the Iceland Government that dictates their whaling policy but the whalers themselves...

I have a feeling that even the New Zealand Government will baulk at accepting legalized whaling in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary but the US delegation seem to have forgotten what whale conservation is all about, and actually think its about conserving their own jobs in defending ASW quotas.

So, a deal that the Whalers hate (all except Norway who get more whales than they can actually catch) and a deal that overturns everything positive that the conservation countries have fought for, for so long.

Who thinks this is going anywhere?