Political Action On Whaling In Iceland.

Imagine fishing for a 90 foot mammal like you would an everyday blue gill. That is how the fisherman of Iceland approach the lives of whales in their oceans. The ancient sport dates back to the late 1800's where whales were caught for the sale of frozen meat and meat meal.  

Now, in the twenty-first century there is more controversy of the issue than ever. In October of 2006, Iceland launched a global hunt on whales, violating the global moratorium on whaling. Their Ministry of Fisheries, a cabinet-level ministry regulating agriculture and fishing, granted fisherman permission to catch thirty piked whales and nine endangered fin whales a year. Iceland now takes a seat with Japan and Norway as one of the worlds largest whaling nations. One of Iceland's biggest assailants is the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS), who hope to end the hunting of our oceans wildlife and stop the destruction of habitat.

The SSCS is pushing for the International Whaling Commission to enforce economic authority on Iceland for their illegal hunting.

Another advocacy group on the side of the mammals is the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). This Group has made headlines, and history in some minds, in regards to bringing sanctions against Iceland. In July, WSPA and another group, Care2, urged President Obama to consider bringing this ratification against Iceland. 

They signed and filed a petition along with 18 other groups in 2010 for the Department of Commerce (DOC) to analyze the whaling activities in Iceland. The DOC determined their activities to undermine to global conservation agreement and left the President with two months to decided where or not to take action. A month later, September 2011, he made his decision. Obama agreed to use diplomatic means to deter Iceland's commercial whaling business. Although President Obama did not agree to bring trade sanctions against Iceland, he promised to take other actions. Karen Vale of the WSPA describes them to include:

- The U.S. will raise concerns about whaling at meetings with Icelandic officials;

- U.S. officials will evaluate the appropriateness of visits to Iceland;

- Arctic cooperation projects will be reviewed and the U.S.’s involvement will be linked to whether Iceland abides by the IWC’s moratorium on whaling;

- The U.S. will monitor activities of Icelandic companies that engage in commercial whaling; and

- Under a reporting requirement, the Departments of State and Commerce must keep the situation under review and report back to the President.

Although it is not a full set of sanctions to completely end whaling in Iceland, whale advocates hope this move by President Obama is a step in the right direction towards stopping whale violence. It also instills hope in people that the Government still has a goal of protecting our environment, despite other agenda issues. 

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Victory! The U.S. Takes Action Against Icelandic Whaling - Karen Vale

http://www.care2.com/causes/victory-the-u-s-takes-action-against-icelandic-whaling.html

www.seashepherd.com 

Obama Waives Sanctions on Icelandic Whaling- Agence France-Presse

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/09/15/obama-waives-sanctions-on-iceland-whaling/