Tourists Following a Minke

Aug. 18, 2003 — Four days after ending a 14-year moratorium on whale hunting in defiance of world opinion, Iceland's whalers had still not caught anything on Monday because boats full of tourists and the media kept getting in the way.

"Every time we sighted a minke whale, the pursuers came so close we couldn't safely take a shot," said Gudmundur Haraldsson, captain of the Njordur, one of three vessels contracted for the operation.

In the face of widespread international criticism, Iceland on Friday said it was resuming whale catches for the first time since the International Whaling Commission imposed a ban on commercial hunting in 1986.

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But first bad weather and then tourists disrupted plans.

Aside from protests from the European Union, several governments and environmental agencies, Iceland's whaling captains were clearly reluctant to go for the kill under the gaze of the world's media, crew members said.

They were also acting under government rules to keep at least one nautical mile away from other vessels in case they had to use rifles to finish off a wounded animal.

A spokesman in Oslo for Greenpeace said the environmental pressure group, a vociferous opponent of the whale hunt, was "delighted" that no whales had died so far.

"But of course, they will eventually kill whales. Media boats can't follow them around for ever," spokesman Frode Pleym said.

He said Greenpeace was sending its ship Rainbow Warrior to the region to highlight international opposition to the hunt and show the government that "Icelanders themselves are not happy with the whaling."

Iceland's Marine Research Institute has said the whalers may kill a maximum 38 minke whales between Aug. 15 and Sep. 30.

It says the hunt will help provide information on the feeding habits of the minke whales by allowing scientists to study the slaughtered animals' stomach contents.

Scientists say the information is needed to draw up an accurate estimate of the Icelandic fish resources on which the whales feed. Scientists also hope to discover the age, health and reproductive systems of the whales, as well as their exposure to persistent pollutants such as organochlorines.

Theirs is the first such study since similar research was carried out between 1977 and 1980.

Opponents of the hunt say Iceland risks damaging a valuable whale-watching industry that has developed since the ban on commercial catches. Before the ban, Iceland was catching about 200 whales a year.

The Icelandic government says the hunt is unlikely to have an effect on whale stocks. Iceland estimates there are 67,000 minke whales in the mid-Atlantic, including 43,000 in Icelandic waters.

But on Monday the whales were managing to evade the hunters.

"There were several sightings but the whales were elusive," said Gisli Vikingsson, a scientist aboard one of the three ships.