On the 17^th of October 2006, Iceland’s fisheries minister Einar K. Gudfinsson announced the decision to resume commercial whaling in a “sustainable way”, justifying its decision with the whale’s impact on the fish stocks. After the resumption of “scientific whaling” in 2003, 161 minke whales have been culled and their stomach contents analyzed to seek justification for the depleting cod stocks. The plan is to catch 30 minke whales and 9 fin whales in addition to the 60 minke whales that have been taken throughout the summer. Minke whales and fin whales are primarily plankton feeders and it has been acknowledged internationally that blaming whales for the depletion of fish stocks is scientifically not supportable.

The term “sustainable commercial whaling” primarily serves as belittlement to calm down the international community. Sustainability according to the Icelandic policy is defined by consideration of economic value, social effects and the effects on the resource. The latter would require exact knowledge on the state of the resource, including population size, which is still highly disputable.

Whaling does neither benefit economically, since there is no whale meat market, nor socially when considering the damage to the country’s image being a nature hot spot in the tourism industry. Whaling is likely to have serious impact on Iceland’s reputation in the international community and harm the creditability regarding the responsible and sustainable management of its natural resources.