The big news in Iceland this week has been the election of a new Government which has previously said it will look at ending commercial whaling.
The world’s first openly gay leader, Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir will lead a coalition government formed from Social Democratic Alliance and the Left Green Movement.
Just before he was forced to hand over power to a caretaker Government, the outgoing Fisheries Minister Eniar Gudfinnsonn controversially allowed a huge increase in whaling quotas for the whaling lobby for 5 years.
This was widely criticised as an undemocratic and inflamatory move and led for renewed efforts to ban Icelandic fish exports and for tourists to stop visiting the unique island.
Currently only Iceland and Norway defy the International Whaling Commission’s ban on commercial whaling whilst Japan undertakes its whaling under the pretense of “scientific” whaling, a loophole in the IWC rules.
If Iceland finally ends its whaling program this will help further isolate Japan and Norway.
