[House Document 108-195]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





108th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 108-195

                     WHALING ACTIVITIES OF ICELAND

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

 
  A REPORT REGARDING CERTIFICATION BY THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE THAT 
      ICELAND HAS CONDUCTED WHALING ACTIVITIES THAT DIMINISH THE 
 EFFECTIVENESS OF A CONSERVATION PROGRAM OF THE INTERNATIONAL WHALING 
            COMMISSION (IWC), PURSUANT TO 22 U.S.C. 1978(b)




    June 23, 2004.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the 
Committees on International Relations and Resources, and ordered to be 
                                printed
To the Congress of the United States:
    On June 16, 2004, Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans 
certified under section 8 of the Fisherman's Protective Act of 
1967, as amended (the ``Pelly Amendment'') (22 U.S.C. 1978), 
that Iceland has conducted whaling activities that diminish the 
effectiveness of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) 
conservation program. This message constitutes my report to the 
Congress consistent with subsection (b) of the Pelly Amendment.
    The certification of the Secretary of Commerce is the first 
against Iceland for its lethal research whaling program. In 
2003, Iceland announced that it would begin a lethal research 
whaling program and planned to take 250 minke, fin, and sei 
whales for research purposes. The United States expressed 
strong opposition to Iceland's decision, in keeping with our 
longstanding policy against lethal research whaling. Iceland's 
proposal was criticized at the June 2003 IWC Annual Meeting by 
a majority of members of the IWC Scientific Committee, and the 
IWC passed a resolution that urged Iceland not to commence this 
program. In addition, the United States, along with 22 other 
nations, issued a joint protest asking Iceland to halt the 
program immediately. The United States believes the Icelandic 
research whaling program is of questionable scientific 
validity. Scientific data relevant to the management of whale 
stocks can be collected by non-lethal techniques. Since 
Iceland's 2003 announcement, Iceland reduced its proposed take 
to 38 minke whales and in implementing its lethal research 
program, killed 36 whales last year. For this year, Iceland has 
proposed taking 25 minke whales. The United States welcomes 
this decision to reduce the take and to limit it to minke 
whales, and we appreciate Iceland's constructive work with the 
United States at the IWC on a variety of whaling issues. These 
adjustments, however, do not change our assessment that 
Iceland's lethal research whaling program is of questionable 
scientific validity and diminishes the effectiveness of the 
IWC's conservation program.
    In his letter of June 16, 2004, Secretary Evans expressed 
his concern for these actions, and I share these concerns. I 
also concur in his recommendation that the use of trade 
sanctions is not the course of action needed to resolved our 
current differences with Iceland over research whaling 
activities. Accordingly, I am not directing the Secretary of 
the Treasury to impose trade sanctions on Icelandic products 
for the whaling activities that led to certification by the 
Secretary of Commerce. However, to ensure that this issue 
continues to receive the highest level of attention, I am 
directing U.S. delegations attending future bilateral meetings 
with Iceland regarding whaling issues to raise our concerns and 
seek ways to halt these whaling actions. I am also directing 
the Secretaries of State and Commerce to keep this situation 
under close review and to continue to work with Iceland to 
encourage it to cease its lethal scientific research whaling 
activities. I believe these diplomatic efforts hold the most 
promise of effecting change in Iceland's research whaling 
program, and do not believe that imposing import prohibitions 
would further our objectives

                                                    George W. Bush.
    The White House, June 22, 2004.

                                  
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