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### Viewing cable 09REYKJAVIK36, ICELANDIC FISHERIES MINISTER PESSIMISTIC ON REVERSING

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09REYKJAVIK36 | 2009-02-18 15:03 | 2011-01-13 05:05 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Reykjavik

`

    VZCZCXYZ0000
    RR RUEHWEB

    DE RUEHRK #0036/01 0491540
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    R 181540Z FEB 09
    FM AMEMBASSY REYKJAVIK
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3987
    INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
    RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
    RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0037
    RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0018
    RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0059

` `

    UNCLAS REYKJAVIK 000036

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

    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

`