American environmentalists demand the US impose targeted trade sanctions against Icelandic companies with ties to the whaling industry. The companies in question include the fishing company HB Grandi and Hampiðjan Group, one of the largest global producers of fishing gear.
Obama asked to target companies with ties to whaling
According to the letter, signed by representatives of 23 environmental groups who are member organizations of the Whales Need US (WNUS) coalition, diplomatic measures have failed to bring an end to whaling by Iceland and international trade in whale products. President Obama is urged to impose targeted sanctions against Icelandic companies with links to the whaling company Hvalur hf.
Kristján Loftsson, the CEO and owner of Hvalur hf is the chairman and principal shareholder of HB Grandi. Loftsson is also the primary shareholder of Hampiðjan Group, both directly and indirectly through Hvalur hf. Both HB Grandi and Hampiðjan Group have significant business interests in the US.
Illegal international trade in whale products
According to the press release of the environmental groups in question, the letter follows reports that Hvalur hf was shipping an estimated 1,800 tons of whale products to Japan in defiance of an international ban on such trade. According to the Pelly amendment to a US law, The Fishermen’s Protective Act, the President is authorized to impose trade sanctions to compel countries to comply with international conservation agreements.
Read more: On a secret mission transporting whale meat from Iceland to Japan … via South Africa
The president has opted against trade sanctions, instead opting for diplomatic pressure. The conservation groups argue this strategy has failed, and demand more direct and targeted action.
Groups opposing whaling are just “small cliques” with “fancy names”
Loftsson, who is one of the richest men in Iceland, has ridiculed environmentalists who oppose whaling, claiming in an interview with local radio station Bylgjan that they represent “groups which are run by a handful of people who are then kept afloat by the media” adding later in the interview that the organizations in question are “just small cliques who have adopted fancy names”.
Among the groups signing the letter to President Obama are Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund and the Humane Society International.
American environmentalists demand the US impose targeted trade sanctions against Icelandic companies with ties to the whaling industry. The companies in question include the fishing company HB Grandi and Hampiðjan Group, one of the largest global producers of fishing gear.
Obama asked to target companies with ties to whaling
According to the letter, signed by representatives of 23 environmental groups who are member organizations of the Whales Need US (WNUS) coalition, diplomatic measures have failed to bring an end to whaling by Iceland and international trade in whale products. President Obama is urged to impose targeted sanctions against Icelandic companies with links to the whaling company Hvalur hf.
Kristján Loftsson, the CEO and owner of Hvalur hf is the chairman and principal shareholder of HB Grandi. Loftsson is also the primary shareholder of Hampiðjan Group, both directly and indirectly through Hvalur hf. Both HB Grandi and Hampiðjan Group have significant business interests in the US.
Illegal international trade in whale products
According to the press release of the environmental groups in question, the letter follows reports that Hvalur hf was shipping an estimated 1,800 tons of whale products to Japan in defiance of an international ban on such trade. According to the Pelly amendment to a US law, The Fishermen’s Protective Act, the President is authorized to impose trade sanctions to compel countries to comply with international conservation agreements.
Read more: On a secret mission transporting whale meat from Iceland to Japan … via South Africa
The president has opted against trade sanctions, instead opting for diplomatic pressure. The conservation groups argue this strategy has failed, and demand more direct and targeted action.
Groups opposing whaling are just “small cliques” with “fancy names”
Loftsson, who is one of the richest men in Iceland, has ridiculed environmentalists who oppose whaling, claiming in an interview with local radio station Bylgjan that they represent “groups which are run by a handful of people who are then kept afloat by the media” adding later in the interview that the organizations in question are “just small cliques who have adopted fancy names”.
Among the groups signing the letter to President Obama are Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund and the Humane Society International.
