"It is our conclusion that the decision on whaling remains unchanged for this year," Fisheries Minister Steingrimur Sigfusson told reporters, adding that no decision had been taken for the coming four years.

Iceland's former government announced the increase in late January as one of its last moves before leaving office, saying the annual quota would be valid for five years.

But a new left-wing interim government that came to power just days later vowed to review the decision.

Seven countries -- Britain, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States -- sent a letter to the new government last week urging it to review the decision.

"We realise that this might lead to harsh criticism and even acts against Iceland and we will have to react to that," Sigfusson told AFP.

The new minority government is made up of two anti-whaling parties, the Social Democrats and the Left Green party but it decided to maintain the quota after seeking legal opinion on the matter.

"It is (the lawyer's) conclusion that the Icelandic state is bound by the decision ... Therefore the current minister of fisheries is not able to recall the regulation," Sigfusson said.

Sigfusson said whalers could not, however, expect the quota to remain at the same level for the next four years.

"The government must follow the whaling and issues related to whaling closely and maintain the right to act, even this year, if there are changes in the preconditions" for whaling, he said.

Prior to the announcement of the increased catch, Iceland, which pulled out of an international whaling moratorium in 2006 after 16 years, had a quota of just nine fin whales and 40 minke whales per year.

Sigfusson said Iceland's Whaling Act of 1949 will undergo a review, starting Wednesday. Areas close to several harbours frequented by whale watchers will be closed to whaling, he added.

Iceland and Norway are the only two countries in the world that authorise commercial whaling. Japan officially hunts whales for scientific purposes, which are contested by opponents, and the whale meat is sold for consumption.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
Follow the Whaling Debate