Iceland Fisheries Minister Rebuked Over 2023 Whaling Ban
- Parliamentary Ombudsman says whaling ban lacked legal footing
- Fisheries Minister Svavarsdottir rejects calls for resignation
Iceland is one of just three countries in the world, along with Norway and Japan, to have allowed commercial whaling in recent years.
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Iceland’s Fisheries Minister Svandis Svavarsdottir was rebuked by the country’s ombudsman for imposing a sudden whaling ban last summer that stopped the hunt for most of the season.
The ban instituted on June 20 by Svavarsdottir, who oversees food, agriculture and fisheries in the coalition government, lacked legal footing and was disproportionate, parliamentary Ombudsman Skuli Magnusson said in a statement on Friday following a complaint by Iceland’s only whaling company, Hvalur hf.