Icelandic Fisheries Minister Einar K. Guofinnsson has announced that the Icelandic government will not issue new quotas for whales when the present quota expires on August 31st. "I will not issue a new quota until the market conditions for whale meat improve and permission to export whale products to Japan is secured," said Guofinnsson. "There is no reason to continue commercial whaling if there is no demand for the product."
Iceland has been deterred by condemnation from the International Whaling Commission for their illegal slaughter of whales. They have been deterred by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which will not authorize the sale of Icelandic whale meat to Japan. And they have been deterred by international public criticism.
