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🇮🇸 Iceland /Culture & Society

Union leader: Leak of whale hunt data to activists is 'gravely serious'

From Morgunblaðið · () Icelandic

Translated from Icelandic, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • A union leader calls it a "gravely serious matter" if suspicions are true that whale hunting surveillance reports were leaked to animal activists.
  • The CEO of whale hunting company Hvalur suspects reports detailing fin whale locations were given to the vessel Bandero, operated by Paul Watson's Sea Shepherd.
  • The fisheries authority MAST has stopped collecting location data, and the union leader insists that if leaks occurred, MAST management must take responsibility.

Vilhjálmur Birgisson, chairman of the Akranes Trade Union, has declared the situation "gravely serious" following suspicions that surveillance reports on whale welfare during hunting expeditions were handed over to animal activists.

gravely serious matter

— Vilhjálmur BirgissonDescribing the potential leak of whale hunting surveillance reports to animal activists.

Kristján Loftsson, CEO of the whaling company Hvalur, expressed his "reasoned suspicion" in an email to the Director General of the Food and Veterinary Agency (MAST), Hrönn Ólína Jörundsdóttir, and media outlets. He believes MAST's reports, which include the locations where fin whales are caught and thus the positions of Hvalur's ships, may have fallen into the hands of Bandero. Bandero is owned by the organization of activist Paul Watson and is currently sailing off the coast of Iceland with the aim of stopping Hvalur's operations.

Loftsson stated that such a leak would endanger the safety of the fishermen. "This concerns the safety of the crew members of the relevant ships, so I do not want to believe that such data leaks to these extremist organizations, I just refuse to believe it," Vilhjálmur told mbl.is. He described the attacks on legal whaling as reaching new heights, calling Watson's actions "unbelievable."

reasoned suspicion

— Kristján LoftssonThe CEO of Hvalur expressing his belief that surveillance reports were leaked.

MAST responded to Hvalur's concerns by ceasing to collect information on where Hvalur hunts fin whales. Vilhjálmur asserted that if Loftsson's accusations prove true, MAST's management must accept responsibility. "Then it is gravely serious for MAST. It is completely clear and the truth just needs to come to the surface," he said. However, he reiterated his disbelief that public institutions would provide information to such extremist organizations.

This concerns the safety of the crew members of the relevant ships, so I do not want to believe that such data leaks to these extremist organizations, I just refuse to believe it.

— Vilhjálmur BirgissonExpressing disbelief that official data could be leaked to activist groups.

Hrönn Ólína Jörundsdóttir told mbl.is that Bandero had not requested the surveillance reports. If the reports reached the crew of Bandero, they must have obtained them through other means. Vilhjálmur dismissed Watson's threats as "empty talk," suggesting the group's primary goal is to solicit money and gain attention from foreign donors. He acknowledged, however, that Watson's past actions, such as sinking whaling ships in 1986, warrant taking such threats seriously.

Then it is gravely serious for MAST. It is completely clear and the truth just needs to come to the surface.

— Vilhjálmur BirgissonStating that MAST management must take responsibility if leaks are proven true.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Morgunblaðið in Icelandic. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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