"We are playing with fire ... Resuming whaling is putting this growing industry in jeopardy. We have literally spent billions in marketing Iceland as a tourist destination but that gain might be lost if we continue," said Gudmundur Gestsson, the operator of the Hafsulan whale watching company in Reykjavik and deputy chairman of the Association of Whale Watching Operators.

Iceland resumed whaling in mid-August last year, ending a 14-year moratorium in defiance of world opinion, and authorizing a two-year cull of 200 minke whales, 200 fin whales, and 100 sei whales for the country's so-called scientific whaling program.

Its decision caused outrage abroad, and the contentious nature of the whaling issue will be highlighted once again when the International Whaling Commission (IWC) stages its annual meeting in Italy this week.

In 2003 however, Iceland culled only 36 minke whales, and the Icelandic government announced last month that it would only cull 25 minke whales in

But even that low number is too much, according to the Icelandic Tourist Industry Association. "The government is taking a risk in sacrificing larger interests for lesser, especially in light of the fact that there is no market for whale meat in the world," it says.

Gestsson agrees. "We heard from sales offices abroad that they had difficulty selling the whale watching packages because of the kill."

A relatively new form of tourism, whale-watching has recently become an integral part of Iceland's tourism industry.

While only about 2,000 Iceland tourists opted to go on whale-watching cruises in 1995, more than 70,000 visitors to the island last year took a tour in the hope of catching a glimpse of the marine mammals.

That breaks down to nearly a quarter of all foreign tourists in the country taking a whale-watching tour, which at about 3,500 kronur (50 dollars, 40 euros) for a three-hour cruise means a lot of money.

"It is estimated ... that the whale watching industry brought in about 24 million dollars (19.3 million euros) in direct revenues last year and according to forecasts this figure will rise to 40 million dollars by 2007 when the number of whale tourists will reach 100,000" Gestsson said.

Some economists however claim that such estimates have been grossly overrated. Vilhjalmur Bjarnason, associate professor of economics at the University of Iceland, believes the estimates include everything from the so-called whale tourists' airfare to hotel expenses.

People have been led to believe that the sole purpose of these tourists is to try to see whales, he says, pointing out that Paris does not credit its famous Notre Dame church for all tourist expenditure in the city.

"I can understand why people would go to Paris to see Notre Dame, but to go to Husavik (in northern Iceland) to watch the whales is beyond me," Bjarnason was quoted as saying in Icelandic daily Morgunbladid.

Gestsson started selling whale watching tours in 1997 using a boat that took 38 passengers.

"Everybody told me this boat was too big and I would lose money on this," he said, pointing out that he instead had been forced to buy a larger boat, the Hafsulan, that takes 150 passengers.

Icelanders themselves, traditionally in favor of whaling, seem to be changing their mind.

According to an opinion poll conducted earlier this month by Gallup for Greenpeace and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), over a third of Iceland's 300,000 inhabitants no longer support whaling.

Since April 2003, the percentage of Icelandic people in favor of whaling has dropped from 74.6 percent to 67.3 percent, according to the poll.

"This is very promising. The pro-whaling majority has been between 75 and 80 percent during the recent decade," says Frode Pleym of Greenpeace International, adding that "such a shift in opinion in just a year on an issue that has been so stigmatized has been a major breakthrough."

TERRA.WIRE