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The Myth of "Whales eat Fish"
 Icelanders look to the sea, and always have. Fishing has always been important to them, and they have a good record of attempting to ensure that their fisheries are sustainable. As the Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries stated in a declaration on 17th October 2006, “The Icelandic economy is overwhelmingly dependent on the utilisation of living marine resources in the ocean around the country.
Fisheries account for approximately 40% of the value of Iceland’s exported goods and exported services, and roughly two-thirds of Icelands exported goods, minus services. Fisheries and fish processing account for little under 10% of Iceland’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), down from more than 15% in 1980. With a population of just over 300,000 in 2007, Iceland is the world’s 178th largest nation, but in 2002 it was still ranked as the world’s 13th largest fisheries exporter. So Iceland’s economy is heavily dependent on its fisheries sector (although “overwhelmingly dependent” seems stretching things).
There have been increasing calls from members of the Icelandic fishing community for a whale hunt, regardless of the market situation, as they claim whales need culling. Such calls have become more common in recent years from people in nations that engage in marine mammal hunts.
Is there merit in these claims? Peter Corkerons paper presents a critique of the case being made by people in whaling nations generally, and by Icelanders in particular, for culling whales in the name of “ecosystem-based fisheries management”. These calls are contrasted with other initiatives in Iceland to use aspects of the ecosystem approach in their fisheries management.
The full paper is to be found here
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