Iceland isolated at whaling summit

Japan and Norway continue to hunt whales despite a moratorium introduced in 1986

LONDON, England -- Iceland's bid for membership of the International Whaling Commission has been put on hold over its refusal to sign a commercial hunting ban.

The country, which applied to rejoin the organisation last month after resigning nine years ago over its anti-whaling stance, was given observer status instead at the annual meeting of the IWC in London.

Iceland, which wants to be allowed to resume commercial whaling, reacted by describing the move as illegal.

"Iceland's membership bid has not been rejected, but nor has it been accepted. It has been given observer status for the next year so it can talk but not vote," British delegation leader Richard Cowan told Reuters.

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The 38 nations with voting rights voted 19 in favour of the move, with three abstaining and 16 describing the vote as illegal and refusing to take part.

Icelandic delegation leader Stefan Asmundsson told Reuters: "It is completely illegal. We are full members and we want to show that by not backing down."

IWC chairman, Sweden's Bo Fernholm, said Iceland should view the decision not to reject its bid outright as a conciliatory gesture and it was up to Reykjavik to consider its next move.

"This was a very difficult issue. It was certainly the most difficult I have had to face, but my IWC experience only goes back seven or eight years," he said later.

Iceland argues that the rising whale population is consuming its vital fish stocks, but environmentalists fear that Iceland's refusal to abide by the IWC's rules will cripple the organisation.

Minke whales, the smallest of the great whales but which still grow up to a weight of 15 tonnes, live on a diet of shrimps and small fish.

"We are relieved that Iceland's blatant attempt to undermine the IWC has been defeated, but are worried at the closeness of the vote," a spokeswoman for Greenpeace said.

Norway and Japan, which have consistently opposed the 16-year-old ban on commercial whaling of all species of great whale, were in the forefront of efforts to rally support for Iceland, against opposition from Britain and the United States. In 1993 Norway unilaterally resumed commercial whaling.

Britain, which ceased commercial whaling in 1963, last month banned Norwegian whale research ships from its 200 nautical mile territorial waters to protest Oslo's resumption of whale product exports to Japan.