From: "KENNETH HALL" To: References: Subject: Re: Iceland: Stop Whaling Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2005 09:24:24 +1000 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1437 Disposition-Notification-To: "KENNETH HALL" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1441 Mr Baldursson Thank you for your response. I was completely aware of Iceland's, Japans and Noway policy on whaling and find them all completely unacceptable. They are also immensely cruel, particularly the Norwegian methods of driving pods of small whales into the harbours and beating them to death. During the period 1950 - 1970 I was a resident of the United Kingdom when the Royal Navy supported the English fishing fleets in their struggle with the Icelandic patrol boats. For such a small nation as yours to take on that role and finally win in the international courts was a credit to Iceland. Iceland was protecting a national resource, you thumbed your nose at the British and won. After serving in the British Army for many years I sailed from the Hook of Holland to return home to UK leaving Germany for the last time and saw the English fishing fleets rotting away in the docks on the River Humber. If Iceland could do that with a population of less than 200,000 people at that time, think of what the worlds population can do for the whale. I am now very interested in the whale as a world resource for my grandchildren and their children but that is to watch and admire, there are many others who will help thumb their nose at the whaling nations like yours. I do not accept your right to serve these wonderful animals for breakfast, dinner or tea, it is a strange policy that requires your "scientists" to continually kill something to study it. I guess it's a little like us mass killing parrots to study them. The newspapers report that the Icelandic population is losing interest in eating whales, one asks why would a government expose itself to such bad publicity world wide when it's own population is losing interest. In addition I am absolutely furious at Japans intention to kill whales in our (Australias) territorial waters, remember the battle you had with the Brits over your territorial waters? Well many Australians, if not all, feel the same to the point where our own government will eventually feel the backlash. There is a mounting anger against Japan world wide which no doubt will eventually be directed at you. I guess you have heard all this before, I have taken the steps to publicise my research on the Internet through my clubs Web Site http://home.iprimus.com.au/kenhall/whale.html and encourage the people of the world to contact me. I have also put up the pros and the cons for whaling, I must admit that the pros seem few, somewhat pathetic and carry little if any weight at all. As in the 1950 - 1970 period when you fought for the cod breeding grounds, I cannot accept your decision to hunt whales. Every person I speak to supports my views, although not a members of Greenpeace I have now come to support them and direct the public to them. The time has come to take a stand against people who wish to destroy the worlds natural resources for the sake of the dollar. Perhaps you might visit some of the links on my Web Site, they speak for themselves, particularly on the subject of fish and krill the whales consume. I will finish this Email by saying that I have a very good example to follow in protecting the whales, that example is Iceland's own tenacious fight to protect the cod breeding grounds. Regards Ken Hall The ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Monday, June 20, 2005 10:18 PM Subject: Re: Iceland: Stop Whaling Thank you for your e-mail concerning Iceland's policy on whaling. To begin with, I can assure you that Iceland's scientific whaling program does not involve any of the endangered species of whales. The scientific program, launched in 2003, is designed to establish a knowledge base on the role of minke whales in the marine ecosystem, including their interaction with fish stocks. A total number of 36 minke whales were taken in 2003 and 25 were caught this year as a part of the research program.. According to scientific studies presented to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission, there are abundant stocks of some species of whales while some others are still threatened. It is estimated that there are more than 67 thousand minke whales in the Central North Atlantic Ocean, 24 thousand fin whales and 10 thousand sei whales. The scientific program is based on a research plan Iceland put forward within the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission. According to the plan, a total of 100 sei whales, 200 fin whales and 200 minke whales are to be taken during the whole research period. In implementing the plan, Icelandic authorities are exercising utmost restraint. Icelandic authorities are extremely attentive to the conservation of marine resources. Iceland's economy depends heavily on the sustainable utilization of such resources. Thus, marine resources account for more than two thirds of Iceland's exports. Disruption of the ecological balance in the sea around Iceland due to over-fishing or physical degradation of the marine environment would have catastrophic consequences for the livelihood of Icelanders. This is why the Government of Iceland has invested substantial expertise and resources in ensuring that the marine resources in Icelandic waters are appropriately managed. As you may know, Iceland was among the first countries in the world to extend its economic zone to 200 nautical miles in the year 1975 to put an end to the uncontrolled fishing around Iceland by trawlers from other European countries, endangering the fish stocks. Since then, Iceland has taken great care in maintaining balanced and sustainable fishing in Icelandic waters by enforcing a strict quota system for various fish species, including cod, herring and capelin, based on rigorous scientific assessment and monitoring. Iceland takes pride in its pioneering work in this field, which has been emulated by many other countries wishing to avoid over-fishing. The quotas for fishing are based on the recommendation of scientists, who monitor the status of each stock. As whales form an integral part of the marine ecosystem, they also need to be included as part of a comprehensive study. Environmental groups have suggested that Iceland could profit more from whale watching than whaling. However, the main objective the research program is intended to serve is long-term sustainable development, not short-term profit. Besides, whale watching and whaling are not mutually exclusive, as the healthy conditions of the whale stocks around Iceland attest to the beneficial effects of sustainable utilisation. Selective marine resource management, excluding all factors of major importance, is bound to induce unsustainable imbalances in the ecosystem. Various species of whales are major factors in the ecosystem of the ocean and must be taken account of in any policy meant to ensure the sustainable utilization of marine resources. The annual consumption of fish, krill and other biomass by whales in Icelandic waters has been estimated around 6 million metric tons, several times the total Icelandic fishery landings of 1.5 to 2.0 million metric tons. This is an indication of the impact that whales are having on the marine ecosystem. It would be irresponsible to ignore a factor of such a magnitude. It has been pointed out that the great number of minke whales can threaten various species of fish such as cod, consumed by the minke whale in great quantities. At the same time, it is probable that the more numerous whale species, such as minke whales, fin whales and sei whales, may actually be taking over the ecological niche, which some of the endangered whale species used to fill, making it more difficult for them to recover as a result. This also is an object of further study. Iceland's research program on minke whales is a part of a comprehensive scientific study on the ecological interactions between minke whales and other marine species. Similarly, it is necessary to carry out research on various aspects of the biology, feeding ecology and pathology of fin and sei whales in the Northern Atlantic. This will be considered at a later stage. Iceland was one of the first countries in the world to realize the importance of a conservation approach to whaling. As signs of overexploitation of whales emerged early in the last century, Iceland declared a ban on whaling for large whales in Iceland 1915 - 1935. Whaling was not resumed again until 1948 (except for limited catches from one land station 1935 - 1939). Strict rules and limitations were applied to whaling in Iceland and they were restricted to small-scale land based operations from 1948 to 1985 when all commercial whaling was halted again because of the so-called international moratorium on whaling. This is an important reason for the robust condition of the main whale stocks of large whales Iceland used to utilize, i.e. the fin whales and sei whales in the Central Northern Atlantic. Iceland has been a leading advocate for international cooperation in ensuring sustainable use of natural resources, including whales. This has been the stance taken by Iceland within the International Whaling Commission (IWC), based on the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling from 1946. The stated role of the IWC is to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry. The IWC is presently working on a Revised Management Scheme (RMS), to provide a framework for ensuring the sustainability of commercial whaling when it resumes. Iceland has committed itself to not authorizing commercial whaling before 2006 or while progress is being made on the RMS. It has also made it clear that commercial whaling will not be authorized in Iceland without a sound scientific basis and an effective management and enforcement scheme. Iceland has no plans for commercial whaling at this stage. I hope that this information will be useful to you in understanding the views of the Icelandic authorities and ally any possible fears regarding Iceland's position on whaling. You may rest assured, that the desire to ensure the conservation of the whale stocks around Iceland and elsewhere is fully shared by my Government. Sincerely yours, Ragnar Baldursson, Counsellor For information on the governance of Icelandic marine living resources please refer to the Icelandic Web Page, www.fisheries.is and for information on various scientific research projects on whales and other marine mammals in the North Atlantic please refer to the Web site of the Marine Research Institute: www.hafro.is and the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission: www.nammco.no