The Resumption of Whaling by Iceland and the Potential Negative Impact

Whale-watching tourists were surveyed to determine their opinion onwhether they would visit, to go whale-watching, in a country that conducted whale-watching operations: 79 % of whale-watchers in the study area said they would boycott a country that conducted hunts for cetaceans, and a further 12.4 % stated that although they would visit a country conducting whaling operations, they would not partake in a whale-watching trip in that country (i.e. 91.4 % of whale-watcherswouldnot gowhale-watching ina country thathuntedwhales). The resultsof this studyareofgreat significance to thewhale-watching industry in Iceland (currently estimated to be directly worth over US$12 million per annum), a countrywhose government has stated itswish to resume commercial whaling in 2006, and ‘scientific ’ whaling prior to this date