http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...4&refer=europe
Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Iceland will resume commercial whale hunting for the first time in two decades, disregarding a global effort to outlaw the practice.

Iceland issued a permit to hunt 30 minke whales and nine fin whales, the Ministry of Fisheries said in a statement on its Web site yesterday. The quota constitutes less than one percent of each species, which populate Iceland's waters and the Central North Atlantic, the ministry said.

``None of the planned catches involve any endangered or threatened stocks of whales,'' the ministry said. ``A responsible management system will ensure that the catch quotas set will not be exceeded.''

Commercial whale hunting was outlawed by the International Whaling Commission in 1986 as populations dwindled, and Iceland ceased commercial whaling in 1989. At the same time, the country continued to hunt whales for research purposes, a practice permitted by the IWC. Countries including Japan and Norway have also killed whales for research reasons.

Iceland's fishing industry makes up about 60 percent of revenue from exports, the ministry said. Including whales hunted for research, fishers will catch a total of 69 mink whales in the season through August 2007, the ministry said. Minke whales grow to about 30 feet and can weigh about 7 tons, while the larger fin whale is the second-biggest species after the blue whale.

No Agreement

Iceland, whose population is about 300,000, agreed to refrain from whaling after 2006 only under the condition that the IWC would seek to establish rules for sustainable whaling, the ministry said.

Because no such agreement was reached, Iceland decided the conditions attached to the moratorium no longer apply, giving the country permission to resume commercial whaling, the ministry said.

The stock of Central North-Atlantic minke whales is almost 70,000, of which 43,600 roam Iceland's waters, according to the ministry. There are 25,800 fin whales in the central North Atlantic. The whale was put on the International Conservation Union's list of endangered species after an estimated decline of at least 50 percent of its population over the last three generations.

`` This permit should be revoked before the first whale is killed,'' environment protection group Greenpeace said on its Web site. ``The Fisheries Ministry has done a favor for a very small interest group.''


Cant beleive they are doing this again .I think the rest of the world should punish Iceland for this