Timing is everything and the time is right for President Obama to deliver the second punch. Two major shipping companies that transport Icelandic whale meat to Japan recently announced they would not longer carry any whale meat. This announcement followed a couple of Greenpeace actions in Hamburg Germany protesting the shipment of Icelandic whale meat through European ports.
Greenpeace activists confronted a large container ship as it entered the port of Hamburg and a second ship on its way to Japan. Both shipping companies announced that they will no longer carry any whale meat or whale products. To add insult to injury, the companies are taking their final load of whale meat and returning to sender by shipping it back to Iceland. This is a huge victory in Greenpeace’s campaign to stop the hunting of endangered fin whales by Iceland. This does NOT however stop the Icelandic whaling but is a big step in the right direction.
President Obama can deliver a second punch to Icelandic whaling by immediately imposing economic sanctions on all fish and other products that are linked to the Icelandic whaling companies. Add your voice to the thousands of others that are asking President Obama to end Icelandic whaling.
In July 2011, then U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke certified Iceland under the Pelly Amendment to the Fishermens Protective Act, finding that its ongoing commercial whaling diminishes the effectiveness of international conservation agreements.
The first fin whale catch of the 2013 season by Icelandic whaling vessel
In September 2011, President Obama concurred with Secretary Lockes conclusion, stating that “Iceland’s actions threaten the conservation status of an endangered species and undermine multilateral efforts to ensure greater worldwide protection for whales.” President Obama issued a series of directives to all Cabinet secretaries and heads of government agencies to ensure that the issue continues to receive the highest level of attention. These directives, known as diplomatic sanctions, are currently in effect.
These diplomatic sanctions not only have failed to permanently put an end to Icelands commercial slaughter of minke and endangered fin whales but, in the intervening years since the Presidents announcement, exports of whale products to Japan have increased such that Icelandic whale meat now represents 20 percent of whale meat sales in Japan.
The Obama administrations actions have been insufficient to ensure that the international bans on commercial whaling and trade are respected by Iceland. Trade sanctions and other robust actions are now urgently required to send a strong signal to Iceland that the U.S. will use all available tools to prevent the resumption of fin whaling, and to stop the flow of trade in Icelandic whale products.
We are asking President Obama to immediately impose targeted trade sanctions against individuals and companies engaged in Icelands commercial whale hunt, as well as those facilitating the hunt pursuant to the current certification of Iceland by the Department of Commerce (DOC). We believe that narrowly targeting such companies would both fulfill the Presidents directive to raise U.S. concerns regarding commercial whaling by Icelandic companies and seek ways to halt such action, and be consistent with U.S. obligations under the World Trade Organization agreements.
One of the main reasons we think this approach will be successful is that the owner of Icelands fin whaling operation is also the owner of one of Icelands largest fish companies who sell fish into the US market. I know I dont want to buy any fish tainted with whale blood with my money going into the pockets of Icelandic whalers.
We reemphasize the need for urgent action by the U.S. government at this time both to end the hunting of fin whales and to compel Iceland to cease trade in whale products. Given the existing evidence, we are convinced that targeted economic sanctions are the only tool that will achieve these outcomes. Because Iceland is already subject to certification by the DOC, President Obama has the authority to immediately impose such sanctions.
