Blogposts tagged 'Iceland'

Scotland, Norway, EU, Iceland and Faroes square up in mackerel smackdown

Posted by Willie - 20 August 2010 at 6:35pm - 0 Comments

It's a confusing time in the north Atlantic with an international controversy brewing over the humble mackerel. Some are comparing it to last century's 'cod wars', when the UK and Iceland went to battle over access to cod fishing.

Mackerel, an exquisitely beautiful fish related to the tunas, is relatively plentiful, occurs in big shoals, and can be caught quite 'cleanly' by seine nets or handlines. For these reasons (as well as the health benefits of it being an oily fish), it has become a firm favourite for those seeking a sustainable option.

Article tagged as: EU, faroe islands, fish, fishing quotas, iceland, mackerel, norway, oceans, scotland

Tourists invited to try their hand at whaling in Iceland?

Posted by Willie - 17 August 2010 at 9:08am - 0 Comments

Is this the kind of whale watching Icelandic whalers are considering? © Greenpeace/Axelsson

I've long since given up trying to apply any semblance of logic to the arguments for whaling, and the latest news from Iceland doesn't prove me wrong.

Article tagged as: iceland, oceans, whale watching, whales, whaling

Failed whales: status quo remains at IWC

Posted by jamie - 24 June 2010 at 10:45am - 0 Comments

Karli Thomas, Greenpeace oceans campaigner, writes from the IWC meeting in Morocco.

The town of Sidi R'bat on Morocco's Atlantic coast is where the biblical Jonah is said to have been vomited up by a whale. Less than 100km from that spot, something has been going on this week that is again enough to make a whale sick to the stomach.

The International Whaling Commission has been meeting this year beneath a dark cloud of scandal. As delegates descended on the city of Agadir, media headlines exposed Japan 'buying' countries to vote with them - including the accusation that airfares and accommodation for this meeting's acting chairman were paid by Japan. Hardly an auspicious start to a crucial international meeting, nor a good omen for the whales.

Article tagged as: iceland, IWC, japan, norway, oceans, whales, whaling

Whaling: an indecent proposal

Posted by Willie - 25 April 2010 at 8:59am - 0 Comments

If you’ve seen the media reports on whales over the past couple of weeks, you could be forgiven for thinking that there had been some sort of historical deal done. A deal that seems to be being spun as a way to save whales, by allowing some to be hunted. Media spin aside, we’ve been keen to see the detail of what is going to be on the table for our governments at the upcoming International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in June.

Yesterday, at last, the speculation ended when the IWC published the details of a proposal on their website. The proposal is just that, a proposal. Not a deal, and certainly not a done deal. So please, view the over-effusive headlines with some care.

Article tagged as: CITES, fin whale, iceland, IWC, japan, norway, Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, whaling

26 Governments protest at Iceland's continued whale hunt

Posted by Willie - 2 October 2009 at 3:53pm - 0 Comments

Today 26 governments made an official protest (called a 'demarche') to the Icelandic government, caliing on them to reassess their current whaling operations, and end commercial whaling.

Article tagged as: fin whale, iceland, japan, whale watching, whaling

IWC 2009 - whale conservation bloc not playing its hand

Posted by jossc - 24 June 2009 at 1:02pm - 2 Comments

Sara Holden, our International whales campaign coordinator, blogs from the 61st International Whaling Conference in Madeira, Portugal. Even though for the first time in years the anti-whaling nations have a decent majority on the IWC, genuine protection for whales still remains low on the agenda.

As metaphors go, how about this? The IWC meeting is being held in a casino - and anyone betting on a good outcome for the whales would be unlikely to win. Equally aprt, just a few minutes before the opening of the 61st International Whaling Commission meeting, a large rat was seen scuttling through the hotel and out the door. Not a bad illustration of what's going on here.

Article tagged as: cetaceans, iceland, IWC, japan, norway, oceans, whale sanctuaries, whales, whaling

Which way now for Iceland's whaling?

Posted by Willie - 9 February 2009 at 1:27pm - 4 Comments

Whale watching

What with the effective collapse of their economy, you might be forgiven for thinking that people in Iceland have more pressing things to worry about than whaling, and undoubtedly you'd be right. Yet, in the midst of economic and political turmoil, whaling has been thrust back up the agenda by the outgoing fisheries minister's parting shot - granting a commercial whaling quota for up to 100 minke and 150 endangered fin whales per year, supposedly for export to Japan.

He did so knowing that he wouldn't be around to have to deal with the aftermath. It's scandalous that the Icelandic government are even considering exporting whale meat. Lest we forget, fin whales are still listed as endangered, meaning that trade in products from the species would generally be illegal. Unfortunately, such is the weakness of international agreements on conservation that a simple ‘objection' or ‘reservation' to the listing seems to let Japan and Iceland off the legal hook.

Article tagged as: fin whale, iceland, japan, whaling

Whales: a little less conversation, a little more action?

Posted by Willie - 9 December 2008 at 3:10pm - 0 Comments

Dead whale being transferred from bow to midships of whaling ship

While the IWC talks, the whalers are on their way back to the Southern Ocean © Greenpeace / Davison

This week, the International Whaling Commission is having an intersessional meeting in Cambridge to discuss its future. Whilst it's good news that these meetings are taking place (Greenpeace has been pushing for reform of the IWC into a body that works for the whales for many years), you have to ask yourself how much of this is just bluster.

At the same time as the international delegations are meeting, the Japanese whaling fleet is on its way to the Southern Ocean to kill whales for a bogus 'scientific' programme that is not endorsed by the IWC, and will take place in an area the IWC has designated a whale sanctuary. Despite measures to avoid confrontation at the last proper IWC meeting (which basically meant the pro-conservation countries not raising any issues that would be contentious with Japan and its allies), there has been no compromise from the whaling nations. Japan has not even officially reduced its own self-appointed quota.

Article tagged as: fin whale, iceland, IWC, japan, oceans, Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, tokyo two, whaling

World's whales and dolphins may face growing sonic threat

Posted by Willie - 12 June 2008 at 1:06pm - 2 Comments

A dead dolphin - the victim of bycatch - lying on a beach

In Chile, the world's scientists are already meeting in advance of the 60th International Whaling Commission (IWC), which will be held there in late June. At this time of year, the eyes of the world turn to the deadlocked struggle between pro-conservation and pro-whaling countries as they clash over the future of whaling at the IWC meetings. And recent events have not been going well for the whalers - in recent weeks we have seen just how desperate the pro-whaling nations are to play down not only the recent scandal of stolen whale meat in Japan, but also the saga of exporting whale meat from Iceland and Norway. Both stories highlight the extent to which the whalers are routinely flouting not only international opinion but also the global ban on commercial whaling and the trading of whale meat.

Article tagged as: cetaceans, chile, cornwall, dolphins, iceland, IWC, japan, madagascar, norway, oceans, whales

Undermining international opinion on whaling

Posted by saunvedan - 3 June 2008 at 5:00pm - 0 Comments

Fin Whale

It’s been reported that, after a gap of 20 years, Iceland and Norway may have resumed the export of fin and minke whale meat to Japan. These countries continue to blatantly defy the International Whaling Commission’s ban on commercial whaling, and any trade in whale meat also undermines the ban on trading in whale products under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Article tagged as: fin whale, iceland, japan, minke whale, norway, oceans, whale meat, whaling
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