ICELANDIC FISHERIES MINISTER PESSIMISTIC ON REVERSING

UNCLAS REYKJAVIK 000036

STATE FOR OES/OA MAGGIE HAYS AND LISA PHELPS AND EUR/NB
USDOC FOR NMFS CHERI MCCARTY
TOKYO FOR BART COBBS
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SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV EFIS KSCA PREL IWC ETRD PGOV IC
SUBJECT: ICELANDIC FISHERIES MINISTER PESSIMISTIC ON REVERSING
PREDECESSOR'S WHALE HUNT QUOTAS FOR 2009

REF: REYKJAVIK 25


1. (SBU) Summary: At the head of a delegation of seven ambassadors,
the Ambassador urged the new Minister of Fisheries February 7 to
rescind the quota established by his predecessor last month that
would allow a large commercial hunt for fin and minke whales over
the next five years. The Minister, who will make a decision this
week, described the constraints that limited a complete revocation
of the quota, but implied he was exploring options to limit or
restrict the hunt in future years. The new Minister of Foreign
Affairs later assured the ambassador that he does not endorse the
quota decision. End summary.


2. (SBU) Accompanied by ambassadors from the U.K., Sweden, Finland,
Germany, France, and The Netherlands, the Ambassador presented
Minister of Finance, Fisheries, and Agriculture Steingrimur J.
Sigfusson a joint letter (text below) protesting the decision by
outgoing Fisheries Minister Einar K. Gudfinsson on January 27 to
issue a quota allowing a harvest of 150 fin whales and 100 minke
whales this year and for each of the subsequent four years.
Speaking for the delegation, the Ambassador thanked Sigfusson for
his willingness to review the decision and urged him to rescind it.
Pointing out that the seven countries signing the demarche
represented almost half of all tourists to Iceland last year
(tourism is a pillar of the Icelandic economy, particularly since
the economic crash last fall),she stressed the growth of the whale
watching sector in Iceland and the negative impact of whaling on
Iceland's international image. She questioned assertions by the
pro-whaling sectors that the hunt would employ significant numbers
and that export of the meat would be profitable. She further
deplored the decision for undermining efforts in the IWC to find a
solution to the polarization of that organization.


3. (SBU) Sigfusson made it clear that he personally opposed the
decision by his predecessor, resented that the new government had
been saddled with such a controversial issue, but expected the legal
review now underway would certify that Gudfinsson had acted within
his mandate. Sigfusson believed that revocation might not be
constitutionally possible, though this option was being explored by
Ministry experts. He noted that he was in a "tricky situation" in
that a majority of the 63-member parliament had already put forward
a bill to validate the Gudfinsson quota. Sigfusson observed that
cabinet ministers in Iceland are answerable to parliament, and said
he faced the threat that parliament could and most likely would
depose him from office were he to attempt to rescind the quota.



4. (SBU) Sigfusson agreed that the question of the economic
viability of the harvest is important to the government and is still
unresolved; whether an international market exists for the whale
meat, and whether the claims by the whaling lobby that the hunt
would produce 300 jobs for Icelanders, are question that remain to
be determined. He appreciated the ambassador's point about the
importance of tourism from anti-whaling countries to the stricken
local economy, but said that the support of the Icelandic people for
whaling was so deep-seated it constituted a "clash of cultures" with
the outside world.


5. (SBU) Sigfusson said he had "limited possibility to reverse the
decision in terms of quota or time scale," hinting that he would not
be able to do much to change the decision for this year. The
whalers were preparing for the hunt despite warnings issued by the
Fisheries Minister not to move ahead until the issue was settled.
However, Sigfusson said that "the longer future is easier to deal
with," implying he is exploring a two-phase solution in which he
could make changes in the season length, the quota, and perhaps the
species for the second through fifth years.


6. (SBU) Ambassador also raised the issue February 18 with new
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ossur Skarphedinsson, who is
concurrently the Minister of Tourism. Skarphedinsson said flatly
that he was against whaling (and in fact came from a family
well-known for its anti-whaling views). He noted, without details,
that he understood that Sigfusson is working on a bill to present to
parliament that would give the Fisheries Minister authority to alter
some parts of the quota decision. Skarphedinsson mentioned that
restricting whaling to defined areas of Iceland's waters might be
one of the actions Sigfusson could take for this coming season.


7. (U) Text of joint letter to Minister of Finance, Fisheries, and
Agriculture, dated February 12, 2009 and signed by ambassadors of

U.S., U.K., Sweden, Finland, France, Germany, and The Netherlands:

We are writing you today to express our governments' extreme
disappointment in the decision of your predecessor to issue a quota
for 150 fin and 100 minke whales to be harvested in Icelandic
waters. We applaud your interest in re-evaluating this decision.
We deeply regretted Iceland's decision to resume commercial harvest
of fin and minke whales in 2006, and each of our governments
objected to Iceland's reservation to the commercial whaling
moratorium adopted pursuant to the International Convention for the
Regulation of Whaling.

Our governments are concerned that the issuance of a quota at this
time will undermine the "Future of the IWC" efforts, in which
Iceland has been a participant. It is critical that the
continuation or expansion of Iceland's commercial harvest or
international trade in whale meat does not undermine goodwill or
hamper progress in resolving issues pending before the Commission.
We call on Iceland to reconsider this decision and focus on the
advancement of the Commission, and the long-term rather than
short-term interests of the whaling industry.

End text.

van Voorst