Icelandic Whale-hunters On The Prowl

In spite of all the protests from its foreign minister and various conservation groups, traditional Icelandic whale-hunters have already set set sail in defiance of a worldwide moratorium on the practice.

The whale-hunting season began last Tuesday in Iceland. The various conservation and environmental groups and concerns have protested to the government through Iceland's forest minister, stating the fact that allowing whale-hunting in Iceland could hamper the popular business of whale-watching in Iceland, the reason being that the government has granted whale-hunting (40 minke whales, only) concessions in Iceland for the next six months, for the sole purpose of its meat. Conservation groups, which include Greenpeace and the International Fund for Animal Welfare, argue that such a move could cause damage to the environment and harm the country's international reputation, raison d' etre being, Iceland's tourism industry would suffer, according to the country's foreign minister, Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir. Iceland's tourism industry gets an annual 1, 00, 000 visitors with the craze to view its magnificent whales in their natural environment. Icelandic whalers place their claim on the foothold, that it is their tradition to hunt whales. Japan and Norway, which also permit limited hunts, have long campaigned with Iceland to reintroduce commercial whaling. "We have had a few years' experience hunting whales, both commercially and for scientific purposes. The experience does not indicate that we are harming ourselves by hunting." states the fisheries minister, Einar K. Gudfinnsson, of Iceland. Robbie Marsland, director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare in Britain, says, "When Iceland killed seven endangered fin whales for commercial use in 2006, the move was met with unprecedented public outcry and the meat went straight into frozen storage with no markets found for it," Some of those who oppose the hunt, say Iceland has struggled to find a market for its whale meat, as well. Such concerns were absolutely dismissed by Gudmundur Haraldsson, captain of Njordur, one of three ships given permission to hunt whales. He says, "We have heard there is a lot of life in the waters now, more so than in recent summers. We are optimistic."