Björn Leví Gunnarsson, þingmaður Pírata, greinir frá því á Facebooksíðu sinni í morgun að þingmönnum hafi borist bréf frá engum öðrum en Paul Watson, stofnanda Sea Shepherd samtakanna, sem berjast gegn hvalveiðum.
Björn Leví birtir bréfið í heild sinni, en þar er Kristján Loftsson og fyrirtæki hans, Hvalur hf. sakaður um að hafa veitt steypireyði (Blue whale), en sú tegund er sögð í útrýmingarhættu. Er Kristján og starfsmenn Hvals hf. sagðir fullmeðvitaðir að um hvaða tegund hafi verið að ræða og þeir hafi stillt sér upp í myndatökur með hvalnum. Þá hafi yfirvöldum ekki verið tilkynnt um að um steypireyði hafi verið að ræða.
Að sögn Sigursteins Mássonar, fulltrúa Alþjóða dýravelferðarsjóðsins, hefur ekki verið skorið úr um hvaða tegund sé að ræða og því beri að taka fullyrðingum Watsons með fyrirvara:
„Þeir sérfræðingar sem ég hef talað við hafa sagt að þær myndir sem liggja til grundvallar séu ekki næg sönnun, það er ýmislegt sem þurfi að skoða betur. Því er tekið sýni úr hvalnum til að fá um það skorið. Það er ekki komin niðurstaða um það ennþá, ég sendi í gær fyrirspurn til Fiskistofu og Matvælastofnunar, sem rannsakar sýnið úr hvalnum, en svar hefur ekki borist. Það er möguleiki á að þetta sé steypireyður, en það er líka möguleiki á að þetta sé svokallaður blendingur, afkvæmi steypireyðar og langreiðar. En miðað við framgöngu Paul Watsons hér á Íslandi á árum áður, ætti hann nú bara að hafa sig hægan,“
segir Sigursteinn, sem telur framgöngu Paul Watson ekki málstaðnum alltaf til framdráttar.
Sigursteinn segir þetta dæmi hinsvegar sönnun þess hversu órökréttar veiðarnar séu:
„Öll þessi óvissa sýnir bara hversu erfiðar og ónákvæmar þessar veiðar eru. Það er erfitt að vera viss um hvaða tegund verið er að veiða og það er enn ein ástæðan, ofan á velferðarsjónarmiðið og hagsmuni Íslands á alþjóða vettvangi, fyrir að rík ástæða sé að hætta þessum veiðum.“
Sigursteinn segir að steypireyður sé vissulega í útrýmingarhættu, en óljóst sé um viðurlögin við veiðar á tegundinni:
„Steypireyður er óumdeilanlega í útrýmingarhættu. Ísland hinsvegar, sem og Japan og Noregur, gera fyrirvara við lista IUCN yfir dýr í útrýmingarhættu varðandi steypireyði, þó svo ekkert þessara landa stundi veiðar á þessari tegund. Lagalega er þó ekki skýrt hver viðurlögin séu við veiðar á þeim.“
Paul Watson sökkti tveimur hvalveiðiskipum í Reykjavíkurhöfn árið 1986. Nánar má lesa um það hér.
Hér má sjá myndir frá veiðunum:
https://www.facebook.com/paul.watson.1426
Bréfið frá Paul Watson:
„Iceland has illegally slain an endangered Blue Whale
Kristián Loftsson has illegally slaughtered 21 endangered Fin whales since June 20th, 2018.
Emboldened by the silence of other nations and the lack of media coverage since the first whale if the season was slaughtered, Loftsson’s 22nd whale was an even more iconic endangered species of whale – a Blue Whale!
Iceland has now truly surpassed both Japan and Norway as the most destructive outlaw whaling nation on the planet.
No other nation slaughters Fin whales and there has not been a Blue Whale harpooned by anyone for the last fifty years until this one harpooned by Hvalur 8.
Loftsson has committed a blatant crime and he has done so with impunity. Not only that, his whaling station crew posed for photos next to and even on top of the whale in a sign they knew very well this was a rare Blue whale. Then, presumably without reporting the Blue whale to authorities Loftsson ordered his crew to butcher the whale just like it was another Fin whale – the meat, skin, blubber and bone all now mixed in with the Fin whales previously caught to hide his crime – or maybe being hidden from potential inspections by the authorities.
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has outlawed all commercial whaling activities. Blue whales and Fin whales are protected by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Photographs and video taken by the Sea Shepherd UK team on the ground near the whaling station clearly shows that the whale was a Blue whale. Icelandic authorities should do a DNA analysis but the chain of command for the evidence has been removed from the cutting area to inside the warehouse where the remains of the 21 Fin whales have been also stored and where the processing is out of public view.
Using species identifying indicators of skin colour/pattern, baleen colour, dorsal fin shape, tail stock – the 22nd whale to be landed by Hvalur 8 on the 7th July at the whaling station in Hvalfjordur (Iceland) appears to be a Blue whale not a Fin whale from the photographs and video from Sea Shepherd UK’s crew. According to several scientific experts specializing in whale identification contacted by Sea Shepherd, the whale is without question a Blue whale.
„While I can’t entirely rule out the possibility that this is a hybrid, I don’t see any characteristics that would suggest that. From the photos, it has all the characteristics of a blue whale; given that – notably the coloration pattern – there is almost no possibility that an experienced observer would have misidentified it as anything else at sea“ – Dr Phillip Clapham, NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Centre
Sea Shepherd Founder Captain Paul Watson is appealing to Icelandic authorities to stop these crimes against conservation by Kristján Loftsson. “This man must be stopped from ruthlessly violating international conservation law and bringing such disrepute to the nation of Iceland. There can be no legal justification for this crime.”
Captain Paul Watson has spent over a half a century defending whales. After viewing the photos and video taken by his team in Iceland, he said, “I have viewed plenty of Blue whales on the surface, dived with them beneath the surface in West Australia, off the coast of California, in the Southern Ocean and in the waters off Newfoundland. I know a Blue whale when I see one and this whale slaughtered by Kristján Loftsson is a Blue whale.
Sea Shepherd UK’s Chief Operating officer Robert Read stated, “The crime committed against this iconic whale must be fully investigated by independent inspectors with DNA samples taken from all the whale meat and parts in storage at Loftsson’s whaling station and warehouses since the whale has been butchered and removed from view potentially to hide the evidence as Loftsson has no authority (even within Iceland) to kill a Blue whale. In addition, environmental DNA samples should be taken from whaling station equipment, surfaces and containers to look for Blue whale DNA in case the butchered parts have been removed to hide this latest atrocity.”
Sea Shepherd has had crew on the ground since the slaughter of Fin whales began on June 20th. Their aim is that every whale will be documented for the entire Fin whaling season.
Photos: (1) The Hvalur 8 bringing in a Fin and a Blue whale. (2) Fin whale and Blue whale being prepared to be hauled up to the cutting area. (3) Kristján Loftsson viewing the Blue whale (4) Butchers posing Blue Whale. (5) Blue whale with fin verification. (6) Butchers posing at the head of the Blue whale. (7) Japanese inspector and crew taking pictures of the Blue whale. (8) Nothing wasted but the whale itself – No. 22, an illegally slaughter Blue whale – Iceland’s shame.
Pictures on my Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/paul.watson.1426“
