Iceland walks out of whaling summit

The rift between pro- and anti-whaling nations deepened today after Iceland stormed out of the International Whaling Commission meeting and hinted it may resume whale hunts following the rejection of its bid for full membership.

The pro-whaling nation's application to join the commission was turned down for the second year in a row on Monday. Iceland has had nonvoting observer status since its delegates quit an IWC meeting 10 years ago to protest the commission's anti-whaling stance.

"It has gone too far," Iceland Whaling Commissioner Stefan Asmundsson said. "We cannot accept it."

The acrimonious start to the five-day meeting, which began in this former whaling hub on Monday, underscores deep divisions within the 48-nation IWC over whether the global ban it imposed in 1986 on commercial whaling should be lifted.

Host Japan, which claims whale populations are large enough to sustain limited catches, is pushing hard for a lifting of the ban. But it faces strong opposition from the United States, Australia and others. Both sides have roughly equal strength.

If Iceland had succeeded in rejoining the IWC, that could have given the pro-whaling forces the simple majority necessary to discuss lifting the ban. Ending the moratorium, however, requires a three-fourths majority.

Without a simple majority, it was unclear whether the pro-whaling bloc could even bring their proposal for a lifting of the ban up for a vote before the conference ends on Friday.

Iceland opposes but has abided by the worldwide ban. Asmundsson hinted Tuesday that it might consider resuming commercial whaling without the IWC's approval.

But he said the country will first review the situation and explore its options, including a membership of the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission, a Norway-based international body for conservation and management of whales and mammals in their waters.

"From the political point of view, it is much better to do it within the framework of the international organization," he said. "We were hoping to do this within the IWC ... We are going to have to sit down and evaluate the whole situation."

IWC discussions on other topics Tuesday also proved to be fractious.

Japan's request for permission to expand its limited coastal whaling was rejected, and Japan also withdrew a proposal to end a whaling sanctuary that is already in place in the Indian Ocean, saying discussions on it were going nowhere.

"It's a waste of time," said Japanese delegation member Masayuki Komatsu.

Japanese delegation members have also said setting sanctuaries in general is a violation of international maritime laws and that the country is considering bringing the case to the International Court of Justice.

The commission's scientific committee failed to reach consensus on a proposed whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic, and a vote on that was likely to be shelved until next year.

The delegates were also scheduled to discuss quotas for aboriginal whaling, and on the development of whale watching.