Among the whalers

The Icelandic media saw the incident as we did, at first: an angry pro-whaling Icelander was telling us that we were not welcome. After all, we were arriving in Isafjordur, the number one Icelandic whaling centre, where we were kicking off our 'Choose the future, not whaling' tour.

But appearances can be deceiving. Upon arrival, our antagonist came aboard, shook hands, and bid us welcome to Isafjordur. The son of a whaler, he told us he had been shouting that he was demonstrating how the relationship with Greenpeace used to be, and that he welcomed the new openness with which Greenpeace was engaging with the Icelandic people. He was mortified to learn that both we and the press had seen him as attempting to blockade the ship, and immediately began to ring around the press to correct the misimpression. When the Esperanza left port the zodiac escorted the ship out of port, this time carrying a Greenpeace rainbow flag.

The incident is illustrative of just how far debate has moved along in this country since Greenpeace's last visit to these shores.

It was about a year ago that Iceland announced a plan to return to commercial whaling, when the government announced its "scientific research" with an aim to hunt 500 whales, including sei and fin, during a two-year period. We abandoned other plans in the Mediterranean and turned our ship, Rainbow Warrior, around in mid-course. The decision required a response.

But we chose a different approach. We went on a tour of Iceland's coastal communities, striking up conversations rather than shouting slogans.

We set up an information centre to inform people of our position on whaling. We tried chipping away at the misunderstandings - among them that Greenpeace only worked on whaling. Some people believed that Greenpeace only worked on Icelandic whaling.

We talked about the areas of common policy with Iceland, and our respect for good positions the government has taken on nuclear issues and global warming.

And when it came to whaling, instead of rehashing arguments we'd had for decades, we decided to use a carrot instead of a stick. We made an offer to the Icelandic government to promote Iceland as a nature tourism destination, if the decision to recommence whaling was 100 percent reversed.

We set a goal of getting 50,000 pledges from individuals stating that they would go to Iceland if the Government gave up whaling. Our cyberactivists got to work. Nearly 60,000 individuals have signed up to the pledge so far, representing over US$ 60 million in potential tourism spend versus the US$ 4 million that Iceland made from commercial whaling in its heyday.

Soon after our activists met the pledge target, the Icelandic government announced that it would put the expansion of its so called 'scientific' whaling programme on hold and limit this year's take to 25 minke whales.

"Iceland is on the border between old and new, future and past," said Greenpeace spokesperson Frode Pleym. "The government of Iceland should make the obvious wise decision and cancel the entire programme. By choosing the only truly sustainable future path, Iceland can set an example for other whaling nations to follow and secure a future for the people of this country."

Two of our dedicated cyberactivists, who got the most people to sign up to the pledge, are also joining the tour to tell the Icelandic people to support whale watching as a more environmentally friendly – and lucrative industry.

To read about Marnee´s impressions of Iceland, follow the daily updates at the Iceland Tour Blog. Here's a sample:

"Now that I'm an accomplished deck hand, I know more about boats than you do. But don't worry, I'll help you out. For example, just because there's a helicopter pad doesn't mean shopping trips into town whenever you want. Also, if the ocean is coming in the round window thingy, you should close it. Lastly, if you are visiting the bridge, do no sit on the "Control Panel." No need to thank me for these tips, I'm just doing my job."

Help us sustain the pressure on the Icelandic government by emailing a letter to Prime Minister David Oddsson.