Several NGOs strengthen efforts to put an end to commercial whaling. (Photo Credit: International Whaling Commission)
ICELAND
Thursday, September 11, 2014, 02:10 (GMT + 9)
Several organisations opposing whaling expect that a recent study, revealing that this activity can harm Icelandic seafood product sales, warns the sector about the importance to review its links to the commercial capture of these mammals.
These entities report that despite a ban on the commercial hunting of whales set in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), since 2003 Iceland has exported thousands of tonnes of whale products, almost exclusively to Japan, in defiance of a ban on international trade in whale products imposed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The country’s fin whale exports – estimated to reach USD 50 million at present – are being targeted by several organisations that are exercising pressure to put an end to whaling practices for both minkes and endangered fin whales.
Several NGO environmental entities – including Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Humane Society International (HSI), International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), OceanCare, Pro Wildlife, and Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) – have indicated that to date, more than 100 fin and 22 minke whales have been killed this year, bringing the number of whales killed by Iceland to more than 1,000 since 2003.
In an effort to put an end to this practice, the above mentioned organizations commissioned a poll that has revealed that there is public opposition in Germany and the UK to Iceland’s resumption of commercial whaling, with nine out of ten people in both countries stating they disagree with Iceland’s decision to resume whaling.
Furthermore, survey participants were also queried as to their concerns related to seafood purchases from Icelandic fishing companies linked to whaling and more than four out of five people responded that they would be unlikely to purchase seafood products from these companies.
The results of the poll are being released prior to the 2014 annual meeting of the IWC to be held in Portorož, Slovenia, from 11 to 18 September.
“We urge IWC member countries to denounce Iceland's cruel whaling industry, and to use all diplomatic tools at their disposal to ensure that Iceland abides by both the commercial whaling moratorium and the CITES ban on trade in whale products. As the poll results clearly show, the public will support efforts to bring an end to Iceland's undermining of international conservation measures for whales,” pointed out AWI executive director Susan Millward.
As a further move, on the eve of the IWC meeting a report called Slayed in Iceland: The commercial hunting and international trade in endangered fin whales has been jointly released by this entity, the EIA and WDC, strongly urging the IWC, governments and businesses dealing with Icelandic companies linked to whaling to take action to compel Iceland to cease commercial whaling and trade.
In addition, it exposes the sheer scale of the hunt and overseas trade, as well as the financial and logistical links between the whalers and some of Iceland’s largest companies.
This report also includes recommended actions for governments and corporations to take to ensure that they are not supporting the firm Hvalur on its whaling activities.
“Efforts by HB Grandi to distance itself from fin whaling activities are revealed as mere smoke and mirrors –our report demonstrates that the company remains hand-in-glove with the fin whalers, sentenced WDC Chief Executive Officer Chris Butler-Stroud.
“Given that a recent poll suggests massive public opposition to the notion of purchasing seafood linked with whaling, we hope that our report, combined with falling profits, persuades HB Grandi and companies purchasing from it to urgently re-examine their position,” he concluded.