(from "ISANA" No. 6, 1992)

Thorsteinn Palsson
Minister of Fisheries

Whales have been harvested in Iceland since the early years of settlement, more than 1100 years ago. An Icelandic law book, Jonsbok, from the year 1281, describes in detail regulations regarding ownership and distribution of stranded whales. Through the centuries, meat from harvested and stranded whales has had a significant role in the nation's struggle for existence, particularly when other sources of food were limited.

Modern whaling was introduced to Icelanders by Norwegians in 1883. No fewer than 12 whale processing factories were built in Iceland during the two decades that followed. The shareholders of the companies were foreigners, mostly Norwegians, but also Britons and Germans. More than 30 catcher boats were in operation, taking as many as 1300 whales annually. This magnitude of catch was more than the whale stocks could sustain. Consequently, the Icelandic Parliament, Althing, imposed a total ban on land-based whaling for large whales, which entered into effect in 1916.

Small-type minke whaling was initiated by a few fishermen of western and northern Iceland in 1914. This was a family-owned enterprise, which employed small fishing vessels specially equipped with harpoon guns for catching minke whales. For many years, the annual harvest numbered around 200 whales.

In 1935, whaling for large whales resumed, this time from a single factory operated by Icelanders. The operation was discontinued 5 years later, due to the Second World War.

In 1948, Iceland joined the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and in the same year, the operation of Hvalur Ltd. started. This land station, which was, and remains, situated near Reykjavik, was the only whale factory licensed to operate in Iceland. The primary species of interest to this operation were, fin, sei, and sperm whales, with average annual catches numbering around 230, 70, and 80 whales, respectively.

The Decline of Whale Management by the IWC

Over the years, the IWC turned away from the active conservation and management of whale stocks. The organization abandoned its focus on specific measures for rebuilding depleted populations, in favour of broad measures of whale "protection". This development coincided with increased activities of private anti-whaling groups, both within the IWC and in its member countries. It is very important to recognize that the entry into the global organization of a large number of countries having no substantial interest in whale conservation and rational utilization contributed strongly to the abandonment of IWC's active management role.

Sperm whaling in the North Atlantic was discontinued in 1982, in conformity with a decision of the IWC. All other commercial whaling in Iceland ceased after the 1985 season, in accordance with the global moratorium adopted by the IWC three years earlier. It should be especially noted that the discontinuation of the small-type whaling for minkes came as a hard blow to the communities concerned, because that activity had long served as the principal source of income for the local people.

The zero catch quotas imposed by the IWC were said to be based, in large part, on the rationale that scientific information concerning the status of stocks was inadequate to allow active management. In response, the Icelandic Government decided to increase research greatly. It is ironic that the very Member Governments of the IWC that argued most strenuously for a moratorium pending a scientific, comprehensive assessment of the stocks, also sought to frustrate the Icelandic program of research. Nevertheless, the four-year Icelandic research project was successfully concluded, and it contributed very significantly to the completion of the IWC assessment of whale stocks in Icelandic and adjacent waters.

The situation in the IWC further deteriorated, when the 1990 deadline for the completion of the comprehensive assessment passed, with no management response by the Commission. Indeed, some Member Governments devised elaborate procedural roadblocks to the establishment of catch quotas. These governments were undeterred by the fact that the IWC's own Scientific Committee had determined there were levels of harvest that would have no significant impact on the stocks concerned, including some in Icelandic waters.

Conservation and Sustained Utilization: A Vital Icelandic Interest

The effective conservation and sustained utilization of living marine resources in the waters surrounding Iceland is a matter of vital national interest. Iceland is overwhelmingly dependent on the seas for its very survival as a society. Only a small fraction of the country's land area is suitable for agricultural activity, and manufacturing is constrained by the small population and capital base; Icelanders number little more than 250,000. Exports are the lifeline of the Icelandic economy; 70% of all export earnings are derived from the nation's fisheries.

Principles of responsible conservation and sustained utilization do not allow any significant living component of the marine ecosystem to remain exempt from management. In that context, it is important to recognize that whales in the waters off the Icelandic coast number in the tens of thousands and their consumption of seafood, including some commercial species of fish, exceeds the nation's total fisheries production. According to the Scientific Committee of the IWC, the minke whale stock in the East Greenland-Iceland-Jan Mayen area numbers 28,000 animals during the summer season. For fin whales, the conclusion of the Scientific Committee is that 15,000 to 16,000 animals inhabit the area between Jan Mayen and East Greenland. Icelandic scientists, based on the best evidence, believe that each of these stocks can sustain significant, though appropriately limited, harvests.

In view of the fact that the IWC refused to take action on Icelandic proposals for only moderate catch quotas both in 1990 and 1991, the Government of Iceland decided to withdraw from the organization, and aim at establishing a new, regional commission for the conservation and management of marine mammals in the North Atlantic. The notice of withdrawal from the IWC was filed at the end of 199l, and will become effective in mid-1992. The Government announced: "The decision to withdraw from the IWC was based, foremost, on the conclusion that the organization had ceased to act in accordance with the management principles of the International Whaling Convention and with the weight of scientific evidence."

Establishment of a Regional Organization for the North Atlantic: The Path to Responsible Conservation and Sustainable Utilization

On 9 April 1992, the Ministers of Fisheries of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland and Norway signed the Agreement on Cooperation in Research, Conservation and Management of Marine Mammals in the North Atlantic. This agreement was based on the conviction that regional bodies in the North Atlantic can ensure effective conservation and sustainable marine resource utilization and development, with due regard to the interests of coastal communities and indigenous people. It was clearly understood by the participating governments that this goal could be achieved because, unlike the IWC, the new North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO) would be comprised only of those countries that have a genuine interest in the responsible management of the marine mammal stocks of the region.

True cooperation among the participating governments in NAMMCO will be achieved because all decisions will be taken by unanimous vote. This system of decision making will ensure that each member of the Commission gives the fullest and fairest consideration to the issue at hand. Important management issues will not be trivialized by the existence of an automatic majority committed in advance to a particular outcome. This will fundamentally distinguish the new Commission from the IWC.

Of course, the new regional organization is consistent with the prevailing principles and rules of the international Law of the Sea, as embodied in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention. Furthermore, the new Commission is consistent with the consensus achieved at the Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. At its final meeting, the Committee decisively rejected the notion that the conservation and management of whales is the sole responsibility of the IWC.

The Government of Iceland looks forward to contributing to the work of NAMMCO. With the establishment of a new regional management regime, effective conservation and sustainable utilization of whales will become a reality in the North Atlantic.

_