US findings on Icelandic whaling welcomed by WDCS
7/20/2011 10:25 AM EST
Move towards strong action a massive step forward in the fight against Icelandic whaling
The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) has today welcomed a decision by the US Secretary of Commerce which recommends a series of strong actions, including the possibility of trade sanctions, be imposed on Iceland over its commercial whaling and trade in whale products, and WDCS now calls on President Obama to back the Secretary’s bold stance.
Although certifications have been issued under Pelly on a number of occasions over the years, the last time that sanctions were issued was in 1994 when the U.S. imposed an embargo on Taiwan for its trade in rhinoceros and tiger parts in violation of CITES.
To-date, diplomatic efforts to negotiate with Iceland over its illegal whaling and international trade in whale products have failed and so, in December of 2010, WDCS filed a petition on behalf of the ‘Whales Need US’ coalition and the Species Survival Network, urging authorities to bring into force U.S. conservation legislation - known as the Pelly Amendment - against Iceland.
WDCS and the partner organizations have also been calling on the public to contact the US government urging that sanctions be imposed with the total number of protests sent currently standing at over a quarter of a million, a figure that has clearly influenced the U.S government’s thinking.
Iceland has killed 280 endangered fin whales, and 186 minke whales since it resumed commercial whaling in 2006. The country’s overseas shipments of whale products have also increased since 2008, and Iceland has exported more than 1200 tons of whale meat, blubber and oil, worth millions of dollars, to Japan, Norway and the Faroe Islands, and has even sent illegal shipments of whale products to Latvia and Belarus.
Kate O'Connell of WDCS said, “It is time for stronger steps to be taken against Iceland's expanding commercial whaling program and WDCS is extremely pleased that the Commerce Department has decided to listen to public opinion and take action.
“Iceland’s whale hunt clearly defies the International Whaling Commission (IWC) ban on commercial whaling. We now call on President Obama to follow through on the Commerce Secretary’s recommendations, and to take swift, strong action.”
In May, Iceland’s only fin whaling company, Hvalur hf, announced a halt to the start of its 2011 whaling season, at least temporarily, due in part to uncertainties over the market situation in Japan following the devastating earthquake and tsunami. Company CEO Kristjan Loftsson said that the decision will be revisited later in the summer. Meanwhile, Iceland’s minke whale hunt opened in April and 32 animals have been killed in Icelandic waters.
WDCS urges the President to look at Iceland’s history, and not to be lulled by this postponement into thinking that sanctions are no longer called for.
On the occasion of last week's meeting of the IWC, WDCS and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) delivered a report, Renegade Whaling: Iceland's Creation of an Endangered Species Trade, which outlines how Iceland's whaling and trade in whale products constitute an abuse of rights under international law.
O’Connell said, “In 2007, Iceland announced that it was stopping commercial whaling, only to return in 2009 with larger quotas, more boats, and a full-fledged export industry. The only way to make sure that whaling is finally ended in Iceland is for the President to send a strong and unambiguous message to Iceland’s whaling industry -- and that means sanctions.”
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Contacts
For more information, please contact the WDCS Press Office on 01249 449 534, 07834 498 277 or email
Notes to editors
1 WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, is the global voice for the protection of whales, dolphins, porpoises and their environment. WDCS has offices in the UK, Germany, Argentina, Australia and the US.
Background to Pelly
Pelly Amendment:
Pelly Amendment of the Fishermen’s Protective Act 22 U.S.C. §1978, as amended Pub. L. No. 95-376, 92 Stat. 714 (Sept. 18, 1978)
The United States has acknowledged that the Pelly Amendment "has been one of our most effective tools in the effort to conserve the greatest [sic] whales" and, in addition to Iceland, has certified Japan, Norway and Russia for diminishing the effectiveness of the ICRW (the convention that established the IWC). The United States imposed trade sanctions under the Pelly Amendment against Taiwan in 1994 for diminishing the effectiveness of CITES for illegal trade in rhino and tiger parts.
Iceland’s Whaling:
In 1982, the IWC imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling, effective from 1986/7. Iceland did not formally object to the moratorium, but left the IWC in 1992. In 2002, it rejoined the IWC and its accession documents included a reservation to the commercial whaling moratorium. Under international law, a party seeking to accede to a convention cannot take a reservation to a measure that is incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention. The IWC’s convention does, however, allow objections to Schedule amendments by its members within a proscribed period after the adoption of the amendment. Iceland chose not to file an objection to the 1982 adoption of the moratorium and therefore became bound by it. By including a reservation in its accession notification, Iceland tried to change its previous acceptance of the moratorium. Eighteen countries, including the United States, registered a formal objection to Iceland’s reservation to the moratorium on commercial whaling, and Mexico, New Zealand and Italy do not recognize Iceland’s membership of the IWC.
Iceland’s continued, and expanding, commercial whaling (including of an endangered species) under its reservation to the moratorium on commercial whaling is conducted without IWC supervision and control of the whaling operation. Its commercial whaling is conducted in defiance of objections to its reservation recorded by eighteen contracting governments. These actions clearly diminish the effectiveness of the ICRW/IWC. Iceland has ignored all diplomatic criticism of its hunting, including several strongly worded official diplomatic protests (demarches) from a wide range of countries in 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2011.
Timeline:
• 2002: Iceland rejoined the IWC with a reservation to the moratorium on commercial whaling.
• 2003: U.S. objected to the reservation contained in Iceland’s instrument of adherence. Iceland resumed special permit whaling, taking 36 minke whales.
• 2004: Iceland took 25 minke whales under special permit. The U.S. certified Iceland under Pelly for its special permit whaling but opted not to pursue trade sanctions.
• 2005: Iceland took 39 minke whales under special permit.
• 2006: Iceland took 60 minke whales under special permit and resumed commercial whaling under its reservation to the IWC’s moratorium; it took seven fin whales out of a self-allocated quota of nine and one out of 30 minkes under its reservation.
• 2007: Iceland took no fin whales and six minke whales under its reservation, and 36 minke whales in the last year of its special permit whaling.
• 2008: Iceland took 38 minke whales out of a quota of 40 and no fin whales under its reservation.
• 2009: Iceland dramatically increased its annual whaling quotas to 150 fin and 150 minke whales for 2009-2013. It took 126 fin and 81 minke whales.
• 2010: Iceland killed 148 fin and 60 minke whales.
• March 2011: Iceland exported 289.13 tons, its largest single shipment of whale products to Japan since the IWC ban took effect.
Iceland’s Trade:
CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, responded to the IWC’s moratorium on commercial whaling by transferring all whales species to its Appendix I, thereby prohibiting international commercial trade in whale products. Japan, Norway and Iceland lodged reservations that allow them to trade legally in whale products with each other. Iceland’s recent exports of whale products to Latvia and Belarus which do not hold reservations to the CITES listing were illegal. Together with its escalating exports of whale products under reservation, Iceland is diminishing the effectiveness of CITES’ trade controls - grounds for Pelly certification and sanctions.
Iceland illegally exported 2.7 tons of whale oil to Belarus in 2006 and 2010 and 259 kg of whale meat to Latvia in 2010; Iceland has exported 1,200 tons of fin whale meat to Japan since 2008 under their respective CITES reservations; Iceland has exported eight separate shipments of whale oil to Norway since 2008, totaling 708 kg, under their respective CITES reservations; Iceland has exported 1,309 kg of whale meat to the Faroe Islands, a non-party to CITES.
The ‘Hvalur Group’
Iceland’s ‘Hvalur (meaning 'whaling') Group’, comprising Hvalurhf; Fiskhlutfelagið Venus; Vogun; Vænting; HB Grandi and Hampiðjan, is the product of decades-long corporate and familial connections linked to Iceland's fishing and whaling industries. In turn, these companies are themselves tied to major players in Iceland's seafood, banking and investment firms. Hvalurhf, the fin whaling company, is also one of Iceland's leading investment companies. HB Grandi is Iceland's largest fishing and seafood export company, controlling nearly 10 percent of the country's fishing quotas. The U.S represents four percent of Grandi's overseas markets. Hampiðjan is one of the largest fishing gear suppliers in the world.